The permanent exhibition “Lyndanise. Reval. Tallinn. City Life Through the Centuries” on the 4th floor of Tallinn City Life Museum offers an overview of how everyday life in Tallinn has evolved through the centuries, and how city dwellers have imagined the Tallinn of their dreams.

Every city has a unique character, shaped primarily by its inhabitants. Many generations have called this breezy seaside place their home, creating and passing down legends while shaping the rhythm of city life.

By the end of the prehistoric era, a stronghold stood on a limestone hill called the Lyndanise, later known as Toompea, with a safe harbour at its foot. Tallinn’s story as a city began in 1219, when Valdemar II of Denmark, established a Danish seat of power at Toompea. A settlement of merchants and craftsmen sprang up at the foot of the hill. The lower town was named Reval, after the ancient Estonian county Rävala, while locals started calling it Taani linn (Danish city), a name that eventually evolved into Tallinn.

Over the centuries, Tallinn gained wealth and fame and became a member of the Hanseatic League of German trading cities. Churches and monasteries, guild halls and a stately Town Hall were built. Trading kept Tallinn afloat during Swedish rule, and under the Russian Tsarist Empire, the city remained an exotic phenomenon with its German-speaking merchants and medieval appearance. In the late 19th century, with the arrival of the railway, Tallinn became an industrial city with a rapidly growing population and an expanding business scene. Local products, from European sprats to marzipan, gained fame as far as the Tsar’s court.

The exhibition tells the story of Tallinn as it has been shaped and passed on by previous generations and how it continues to endure to this day. It includes some of the more unique artefacts from the museum’s collection, vividly illustrating the city’s story. You can see the original Old Thomas who once watched over the city from the Town Hall Tower, the 17th-century town hall chest used to store the city council’s most important documents, the gilded key to the city made for King Charles XII, the shame post that once stood in Town Hall Square, the products that made Tallinn famous, and much more. The exhibition also presents ambitious urban projects and visions that have not yet come to fruition.

Come and discover the story of Tallinn – the uniqueness and charm of our beloved capital and its deep connection to the past!