Tallinn

Tallinn (pop. 452,000), capital city of Estonia, on the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. Tallinn, which dates from the Middle Ages, was a member of the Hanseatic League from the late 1200s to the mid-1300s. Many churches, castles, and buildings survive from that time. From 1346 to 1710, control of Tallinn and the surrounding area passed from the Livonian Knights to Sweden and then Russia. In 1919 it became the capital of an independent Estonian republic, which was overrun in 1940 by the Soviet Union, along with the rest of Estonia and the other 2 Baltic republics, Latvia and Lithuania. Tallinn today is the capital of independent Estonia and is an important seaport and shipbuilding center.

See also: Estonia.