Toompea Castle

Toompea Castle, in Tallinn

Toompea Castle is the seat of Estonian power for more than eight centuries, perched on its limestone hill. The Tallinn audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this historic building, today the seat of the Parliament, dominated by the high Pikk Hermann tower.

The seat of power and the Pikk Hermann tower

It is from the top of its limestone hill that Toompea Castle was, for more than eight hundred years, the seat of power in Estonia. This dominant position, which overlooks the old town and all the region, made of it from the Middle Ages a major strategic point: those who controlled Toompea controlled Tallinn. Over the centuries, the castle was the seat of the different powers that succeeded one another over Estonia: orders of knights, kings of Denmark and Sweden, tsars of Russia, each leaving its mark there. Reworked and rebuilt several times, the building mixes the styles, from the medieval vestiges to the baroque and pink façades of the palace added at the time of the tsarina Catherine II. Today, the castle shelters the Riigikogu, the Parliament of Estonia become independent, thus perpetuating its vocation of centre of power. It is dominated by the high Pikk Hermann tower, the Tall Hermann, at the summit of which the national flag flies, a symbol of Estonian sovereignty. A seat of power and a national symbol, Toompea Castle is a must-see stop of the discovery of Tallinn.

What to see

You admire the building that was for more than eight hundred years the seat of power in Estonia, perched on its hill dominating the town, seat of the knights, the kings of Denmark and Sweden and the tsars who left their mark there, mixing medieval vestiges and pink baroque façades, today the seat of the Estonian Parliament, dominated by the high Pikk Hermann tower where the national flag flies. Toompea Castle is a symbol of Tallinn. It is a must-see stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

Toompea Castle lies at the summit of the Toompea hill, in the old town of Tallinn, reachable on foot. You admire its exterior and the Pikk Hermann tower from the surroundings; it is the seat of the Parliament, whose interior access follows its own conditions, which vary. It is best to check them before coming.

What does Toompea Castle shelter in Tallinn?

The Riigikogu, the Parliament of Estonia, perpetuating its vocation of seat of power for more than eight hundred years; perched on its hill and dominated by the high Pikk Hermann tower where the national flag flies, it was the seat of the knights, kings and tsars that succeeded one another over Estonia.

Where is Toompea Castle in Tallinn?

At the summit of the Toompea hill, in the old town of Tallinn, in Estonia.