Town square celebrates its long history

  • 2009-08-19
  • By Ella Karapetyan

HAY MARKET DAYS: Vabaduse Square prepares for its long-awaited rebirth.

TALLINN - While walking along the streets in Tallinn, there is a good chance that you will see the colorful and attractive posters all around the city, inviting people to take part in the opening night celebrations of Vabaduse Square, which has been recently reconstructed.

The history of Vabaduse valjak (Freedom Square) goes back to Medieval times, when this square served as a hay and wood market, from which cattle were led through Karja ('herd') Gate into the Old Town. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of Russian rule in 1910, the square was named Peetri plats (Peter Square) and a bronze statue of Peter the Great was erected. Peter was pulled down during the early years of Estonian independence, and that is when the square was renamed Freedom Square. The base of the statue was used to mint the new republic's five-cent coins.

Most of the buildings on the square date back to the 1920s and 1930s. On the south side, the Gloria Palace Cinema (1926) with its sculpted wreaths, grapes and lions, is now the Russian Drama Theater. The grimy Palace Hotel, unofficial headquarters for foreign diplomats during the early 1990s, was built in the mid-1930s. The clinker-clad, expressionist-style City Government building, with lantern carriers on the facade, raised brick patterns and sculpted foliage, is stunning at night when the central stairwell is illuminated. On the north side, take a look at the Functionalist Art Building, its simplicity tempered by the protruding square of glass at the center of its facade, and the neighboring Stalinist structure, decorated with sculpted flames and now home to the Association of Artists. The lonesome-looking, apricot-colored Jaani Kirik (St. John's Church) was built in the 1860s for the Lutheran congregation. The newest building here is the slim, wavy glass-paneled Kawe Plaza.

The official opening ceremony of Vabaduse Square will take place on August 20 at 8:58 p.m., starting with the picturesque sunset. In honor of opening night, all visitors will have the unique chance to watch the colorful performance devoted to the history of the square, which starts with the Stone Age up till today.

According to the vice-mayor of Tallinn, Kaia Jappinen, the concert-performance for the opening will be organized and paid for by the city government.
"The budget for the concert-performance is about one million kroons (63,925 euros)," said Jappinen to The Baltic Times. "The performance will be concentrated on the history of Vabaduse Square for the past 1,000 years and will include different events, meetings, battles, etc., and of course the independence fight and independence meeting 1991. The concert itself will include the performances by well-known Estonian artists 's singers, bands, dancers, etc. It is worth mentioning that this will be the biggest event ever held in Vabaduse Square," Jappinen added.

According to the vice-mayor, the main speakers at the opening ceremony will be Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, and Mayor of Tallinn Edgar Savisaar.
Jappinen also pointed out that all reconstruction of Vabaduse Square has been paid for by the city government, which totaled about 250 million kroons.