Tallinn (German Reval), city, capital of Estonia, on the Bay of Tallinn (an inlet of the Gulf of Finland). It is a major Baltic port and naval station and an important industrial center. Manufactures include machinery, electrical equipment, ships, textiles, furniture, and canned fish. The city consists of three sections: an upper town on a steep hill topped by a citadel (13th century to 14th century), a lower walled town built during medieval times (14th century to 16th century), and a new district. Tallinn is the home of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and a polytechnic college. It has several theaters, two symphony orchestras, and an opera company. Dotted with soaring cathedral spires and sentry towers, and linked by a labyrinth of cobblestone streets, most of Tallinn has the appearance of a medieval settlement rather than of a modern capital city.
The first mention of a settlement on the site of Tallinn dates from 1154. In 1219 King Waldemar II of Denmark established a fortress on the site. The name Tallinn comes from the Estonian Taani Linn, meaning “Danish castle.” The castle's stone walls and sentry towers punctuate the city today. The town joined the Hanseatic League in 1285 and soon attained considerable commercial importance. In 1346 the Danes sold Tallinn to the Teutonic Knights. It was acquired by Sweden in 1561 and was annexed by Russia in 1710. The city then became a naval base for the Russian Baltic fleet. During the 17th and 18th centuries war and disease took heavy human and economic tolls on Tallinn. In the 19th century the city finally reversed its economic decline after the Russians built railroads and developed industries in the region. Tallinn was the capital of independent Estonia from 1919 to 1940, when the republic was annexed by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). The city was occupied by German forces in 1941. Retaken by the USSR in 1944, the city then served as the capital of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic (SSR) until 1991, when Estonia again became an independent republic. Population 420,470 (1997 estimate).
