Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital of Estonia. It is on the north-eastern coast of Estonia and borders the Gulf of Finland. The city is next to many lakes. The largest of these lakes is called Lake Ülemiste, and most Tallinnites get their drinking water from this lake.
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Coordinates: 59°26′14″N 24°44′43″E / 59.43722°N 24.74528°ECoordinates: 59°26′14″N 24°44′43″E / 59.43722°N 24.74528°E | |
| Country | Estonia |
| County | Harju County |
| First appeared on map | 1154 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Mihhail Kõlvart (Centre Party) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 159.2 km2 (61.5 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 40 m (130 ft) |
| Population (1 August 2012) | |
| • Total | 416,993 |
| • Density | 2,619.3/km2 (6,784.0/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Website | http://www.tallinn.ee/ |
Tallinn's Old Town, which is the historic town center, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1][2]
History
Tallinn first appeared on a map in 1154, when the cartographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, calling the city Qlwn, added it to his map of the world.[3] After being conquered by the Danes, the city was known as Reval until Estonia became an independent nation in the 1920s.
In 1285, the city became a part of the Hanseatic League. As a result, in the Middle Ages Tallinn was an important stop on the trade routes between Europe and Russia.[3] During its history Estonia has been ruled at times by Sweden and by Russia. It became independent in 1918 after World War I, but after World War II it was ruled by the USSR. In March 1944 Tallinn was bombed by Soviet Air Force, killing 436 civilians and totally destroying 5073 buildings. Since 1991, Tallinn has been the capital of an independent Estonia.
Today more than 400,000 people live in Tallinn, which is one third of the population of Estonia. It is a big sea port. Its food and textile industries are important. The town has many pretty, old buildings.
Climate
The chart below shows the climate of Tallinn.
| Climate data for Tallinn, Estonia (1981–2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 9.2 (48.6) |
10.2 (50.4) |
15.9 (60.6) |
27.2 (81) |
29.4 (84.9) |
30.7 (87.3) |
34.3 (93.7) |
34.2 (93.6) |
28.0 (82.4) |
21.8 (71.2) |
12.1 (53.8) |
10.7 (51.3) |
34.3 (93.7) |
| Average high °C (°F) | -1.0 (30.2) |
-1.6 (29.1) |
2.3 (36.1) |
9.2 (48.6) |
15.3 (59.5) |
18.9 (66) |
21.9 (71.4) |
20.4 (68.7) |
15.2 (59.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
3.5 (38.3) |
0.4 (32.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -3.3 (26.1) |
-4.3 (24.3) |
-1.0 (30.2) |
4.5 (40.1) |
10.1 (50.2) |
14.1 (57.4) |
17.2 (63) |
16.0 (60.8) |
11.3 (52.3) |
6.5 (43.7) |
1.3 (34.3) |
-1.9 (28.6) |
5.9 (42.6) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -5.9 (21.4) |
-7.1 (19.2) |
-4.1 (24.6) |
0.6 (33.1) |
5.2 (41.4) |
9.5 (49.1) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.0 (53.6) |
7.6 (45.7) |
3.8 (38.8) |
-0.9 (30.4) |
-4.3 (24.3) |
2.4 (36.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | -31.4 (-24.5) |
-28.7 (-19.7) |
-24.5 (-12.1) |
-12.0 (10.4) |
-5.0 (23) |
0.0 (32) |
4.0 (39.2) |
2.4 (36.3) |
-4.1 (24.6) |
-10.5 (13.1) |
-18.8 (-1.8) |
-24.3 (-11.7) |
-31.4 (-24.5) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 56 (2.2) |
36 (1.42) |
37 (1.46) |
32 (1.26) |
36 (1.42) |
64 (2.52) |
84 (3.31) |
86 (3.39) |
67 (2.64) |
78 (3.07) |
70 (2.76) |
57 (2.24) |
704 (27.72) |
| % Humidity | 88 | 85 | 81 | 73 | 69 | 74 | 76 | 79 | 82 | 85 | 88 | 88 | 81 |
| Avg. rainy days | 10 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 153 |
| Avg. snowy days | 19 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2 | 11 | 18 | 87 |
| Sunshine hours | 25.0 | 55.7 | 129.3 | 202.8 | 292.9 | 285.7 | 307.4 | 240.7 | 151.5 | 87.4 | 28.6 | 18.8 | 1,825.8 |
| Source #1: Estonian Weather Service[4][5][6][7] | |||||||||||||
| Source #2: Pogoda.ru.net (rainy and snowy days)[8] | |||||||||||||
Gallery
View of the Old City
Tower of Fat Margaret
St Nicholas
Kadriorg Palace
Lutheran church
Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
Street in the Old City
Victory column
St Catherine passage
Pikk Hermann
City walls
Tallinn Media
The Danish flag falling from the sky during the Battle of Lindanise (Tallinn), 15 June 1219. Painted by C. A. Lorentzen in 1809.
Small coat of arms of the city of Tallinn
Harju Street in Tallinn old town after the Soviet aerial bombing in March 1944
Port of Reval in 1853. Painting by Alexey Bogolyubov.
Härjapea River
Tallinn's Old Town on a September morning.
Administrative districts of Tallinn
Flag of Haabersti district, Tallinn, Estonia
Flag of Kesklinn district of Tallinn, Estonia
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References
- ↑ "Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn". UNESCO.
- ↑ "History of Tallinn" (PDF). Official Website of Tallinn. 23 January 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Nõlvak, Jaak (2004). "A glance at the history and geology of Tallinn" (PDF). WOGOGOB-2004 Conference Materials. University of Tartu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-08-06.
- ↑ "Climate normals-Temperature". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ↑ "Climate normals-Precipitation". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ↑ "Climate normals-Humidity". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ↑ "Climate normals-Sunshine". Estonian Weather Service. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ↑ "Погода и Климат – Климат Таллина". Pogoda.ru.net. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
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