As an important port for trade between Russia and Scandinavia, it became a target for the expansion of the Teutonic Knights and the Kingdom of Denmark during the period of Northern Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century when Christianity was forcibly imposed on the local population. Danish rule of Tallinn and Northern Estonia started in 1219. In 1285 the city became the northernmost member of the Hanseatic League - a military alliance of German-dominated cities inNorthern Europe. The Danes sold Tallinn along with their other land possessions in northern Estonia to the Teutonic Knights in 1346. Medieval Tallinn enjoyed a strategic position at the crossroads of trade between Western and Northern Europe and Russia. The city, with a population of 8,000, was very well fortified with city walls and 66 defence towers. During the Great Northern War the Swedish troops based in Tallinn capitulated to Imperial
It occupies an area of 159.2 km2 with a population of 416,470. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn's Old Town is in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is ranked as a global city and has been listed among the top 10 digital cities in the world.The city was a European Capital of Culture for 2011, along with urku, Finland.Tallinn is the oldest capital inNorthern Europe. The city was known as Reval from the 13th century until the 1920s. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tallinn Old Tallinn The Old Town can historically be divided into two distinct areas: Toompea Hill and the Lower Old Town, which were separated by a dividing wall since medieval times. The elevated area of Toompea Hill with its castle was occupied by the residences of Tallinn's rulers and gentry. The Lower Old
annaabi.ee 
