Pikk Hermann: A Defensive Tower of Toompea Castle
Site at a Glance
- Country
- Estonia
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- Eras represented
- Medieval, Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Crusader, Livonian Order
- Site type
- Military
- Remains
- Castle
On this page5 sections
History
Pikk Hermann is a medieval defensive tower of Toompea Castle on Toompea Hill in Tallinn, Estonia. Its first section was built between 1360 and 1370, and the tower formed part of the castle’s defenses. Rebuilding in the 16th century raised it to its present height.
Medieval origins and legend
A local legend links Pikk Hermann with Fat Margaret, another tower on the opposite side of Tallinn Old Town. It tells that Herman, a peasant’s son, and Margarita, a fisherman’s daughter, became the two towers after failing to part before midnight.
Flags and political change
Estonia’s blue-black-white flag was first raised on Pikk Hermann on 12 December 1918, before the Estonian Provisional Government adopted it as the national flag. After the June 1940 coup, it was taken down on 21 June, raised again the next day alongside a red flag, and removed on 27 July.
As German occupation forces withdrew from Tallinn in 1944, the Estonian flag briefly flew again under Otto Tief, the politician who headed a short-lived interim government. On 22 September, when Soviet troops reached the city, a red flag replaced it. The blue-black-white flag returned to the tower on 24 February 1989.
The flag is raised at sunrise, but no earlier than 7 a.m., to the opening phrases of Estonia’s national anthem. At sunset it is lowered to a signal based on Mu isamaa on minu arm (“My Fatherland Is My Love”); until 2009, the lowering used Mu isamaa armas. Flags flown from the tower are numbered and marked with the dates they flew there. They are preserved as honorary gifts of the Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament, and have been presented to people who preserve Estonian identity, Olympic champions, and world travelers.
A major restoration took place in 1998 when the tower was at risk of collapse. Further repairs followed in 2006. Tallinn Old Town, which includes the tower, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1997, an international designation for places judged to have outstanding universal value.
Remains
Tower structure
Built of flagstone, Pikk Hermann stands at the southwestern side of Toompea Castle, beside the former governor’s palace, now Estonia’s parliament building. The tower is 45.6 metres high and contains ten internal floors. A staircase of 215 steps leads to a viewing platform at the top.
The Estonian flag flies at the summit, 95 metres above sea level. Its blue-black-white tricolour measures 191 by 300 centimetres. On the Hirvepark side, the upper section of the machicolation, a projecting defense with openings for attacking below, was restored in 1998.
