Town Hall

History

The town hall, which was first mentioned in the written accounts in 1322 s consistories, but probably existed already in the last quarter of the thirteenth century, was erected during several building campaigns. The earliest parts of the building are in the eastern end of the standing structure. The present length of the building was reached in 1371-1374, when it was lengthened up to Kullasepa Street by an annex. This town hall was a single-storey building and did not have an arcade; its main faÐ"§ade was in line with the rear wall of the present arcade. The cellars were lower and not vaulted. This building also did not have a tower.

The town hall as we know it today, was completed by a major rebuilding of both the interior and the exterior of the existing edifice in 1402-1404. The public rooms were lifted to the specially built first floor. The ground floor and the cellar used the existing perimeter walls, but to allow more space for the public rooms above, an open arcade was added to the front of the building. This architectural motif was a completely new element in the architecture of Tallinn. The exterior was effectively finished with the tower, which could be seen from any point in the town. This building was born from the creative mixture of the local building tradition and foreign influences, and is an excellent example of the artistic abilities of Tallinn stonemasons. The project was led by a local master, called Ghercke Stenwerter, who was the first recorded master-builder of Tallinn, known by name and associated with a particular building campaign.

No architectural changes were made in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

In 1483, the Gothic spire of the tower was repaired.

In 1530, the weathervane with the figure known as Old Thomas was put up.

In 1627-1628, the spire was replaced by a tripartite late Renaissance spire with galleries (carpenter Greiger Graff and Hans thurm Decker), another weathervane was added to the western gable, and gargoyles in the form of dragons heads to the main faÐ"§ade (coppersmith Daniel PÐ"¶ppel).

The first changes to the interior were made in the mid-seventeenth century, when the first partition walls were inserted into the Council Chamber. In 1667, the Council Chamber was decorated with the paintings and woodcarvings, which still distinguish this room.

The solely utilitarian changes made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did not add anything valuable to the architecture of the building.

In 1781, the spire was renewed (master Pascalis Kappen) once more.

In 1840, the Citizens Chamber was partitioned by a floor and walls into small compartments; and in 1859, the rectangular windows of the building were transformed into pointed ones (architect Cristip August Gabler) to make them look more Gothic.

In the 1890s, the small rooms in the former Citizens Chamber were decorated in Neo-Gothic style. In 1952, the spire, which had burnt in the air raid, was replaced, the arcade, which had meanwhile been built into shops/stalls, was opened, and the original windows restored. This was followed by the general restoration of the town hall in 1971-1975 (architect Teddy BÐ"¶ckler, interior designers Leila PÐ"¤rtelpoeg and Udo Umberg). As a festive public building, the town hall continues to perform its original function today. [2]

Architecture

Tallinn Town Hall, as mentioned before, is the most well-known and significant architectural monument of the capital of the Republic of Estonia.

Tallinn Town Hall is a late Gothic monumental building with some fortification elements. An open arcade runs along the front of the building and a crenellated decorative parapet along the top of it; the town hall has a slender minaret-like tower on the eastern front. Its impressiveness is further enhanced by details, beautifully carved from local limestone - the piers and arches of the arcade, window tracery and portals. The quoins and the crenellated parapet are also built of finely finished blocks.

The town hall stands on the south side of the market square. The present town hall was built in 1402-1404 incorporating some walls of earlier town halls, which had been located at the same site. The present building measures 36.8 m x 14.7 m in the ground plan.

The town hall is much older than one would expect, or than its present appearance would suggest. Hidden behind the surface of the latest structures are parts of much older walls, which testify to the gradual construction and rebuilding of the town hall. Recent studies have revealed that the town hall was built in five consecutive phases, enlarging the building towards east. For this reason its ground plan is irregular: the axis of the building is bent, and the western wall is nearly half a metre shorter than the eastern wall. The oldest of the preceding town halls was located in the western end of the present building and its faÐ"§ade was in line with the rear wall of the present arcade.

The main parts of the building - the foundations, walls and vaults - are built of limestone using lime mortar. The stones came from Toompea and other near-by quarries.

The building has two main storeys and an almost full-sized cellar. The main faÐ"§ade is supported by an open arcade with eight piers and topped by a crenellated parapet. High gables and a pitched roof make the building elegant, but the slender octagonal projecting tower with a gallery for bells gives it particular finesse. The tower is crowned by a late Renaissance spire comprising three cupolas and open galleries.

The building transformed from the original meeting place of the town council - consistorium - into a magnificent residence of the magistrate, stressed by the two-stepped pointed main portal in the western end of the main faÐ"§ade.

Although the main architectural outlook of the faÐ"§ades is determined by functional construction logic - the location, interval and size of the windows is determined by the spatial organisation and function of the rooms behind them - there are traces of a number of earlier windows in the rear wall of the arcade. The present arcade is a result of a lengthy architectural evolution and developed as such from a roofed gallery in front of the fourteenth-century town hall.

The exterior of the town hall is significant not only because of the finely finished surfaces on the quoins, but also because of the rough texture of the carefully selected stone blocks of the walls, which have been only slightly smoothed with