Why go
Walk Toompea to understand how the fortified upper town relates to the merchant streets below. Toompea Castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral face one another, while Kohtuotsa and Patkuli offer different views over the Old Town. The climb between levels is part of the experience.
What to look for
- Toompea Castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral face each other across Castle Square.
- Kohtuotsa and Patkuli platforms look out over the Lower Town.
The full story
Toompea’s elevated position made it a place of rule as well as defence. The castle became the seat of successive authorities, and today Estonia’s parliament meets there. The hill also carries an older story: in the national epic Kalevipoeg, Linda piles stones over the grave of Kalev, forming Toompea. That legend gives the hill a place in Estonian cultural memory, while the buildings show a more complicated political history. The Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral rose opposite the castle during the late nineteenth-century period of Russification. Its domes still make a striking contrast with the castle’s civic façade and the spires of the Lower Town. Walking from the castle square to the viewing platforms connects these layers: the governmental hill underfoot, the medieval streets below, and the modern city beyond.
Useful to know
- Allow time to walk between the castle area and both viewing platforms; Toompea is a district, not one building.
- Pair the upper town with a descent into the Lower Town to see the contrast in street layout.