Freedom Square (Tallinn)
The Liberty Square ( Estonian : Vabaduse väljak ) is the independence of the Republic of Estonia dedicated and one of the most famous squares of Tallinn . In its present form, Freedom Square was reopened on August 20, 2009, the 18th anniversary of regaining independence from the Soviet Union . Today the Freiheitsplatz is a traffic junction and the venue for numerous public events.
history
The history of the square goes back over 700 years. It developed into a traffic junction by the 16th century and was given its current shape in 1900. In 1910 a monument to Peter the Great was erected and the square was then called St. Peter's Square. After the establishment of the Estonian Republic, the monument was removed and the square was renamed Freedom Square. The parade for Estonian independence took place here every year. With the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940, the name changed to Victory Square, before the square was renamed Freedom Square in 1991.
location
Freedom Square is in the Vanalinn district of the Kesklinn district , at the southern end of Tallinn's Old Town .
Development
The buildings on the Freiheitsplatz mainly originate from the 1930s and are modern and rich in contrasts. The memorial for the War of Independence and St. John's Church stand out the most . The Monument to the War of Independence is a plexiglass monument inaugurated in 2009 in memory of all defenders of Estonian independence. To the east of Freiheitsplatz, the neo-Gothic St. John's Church closes the square. Plans to demolish the church in the 1930s were never implemented.
literature
- Thorsten Altheide, Heli Rahkema: City Trip Tallinn . Reise Know-How Verlag, Bielefeld 2015, ISBN 978-3-8317-2434-5 .
Coordinates: 59 ° 26 ′ 1.4 ″ N , 24 ° 44 ′ 43.6 ″ E