Tallinn History

Tallinn, the capital and main politics, culture and transport centre of Estonia, was known as Reval under its early history. It lies on the north seashore of Estonia to the Gulf of Finland. Just 80 km to the north is located the Finnish capital Helsinki. Etymology of Tallinn s name Like the city s early history, the very word «Tallinn(a)», so resonant with enigma and romantic legend, still eludes the scholar s grasp, although the word is certainly Estonian. Was it named as «Taani-linn(a)» (Danish castle or town), or rather came from «tali-linna» (winter castle, town)? Nobody can be sure. The «-lunna» suffix has the same meaning as German «-burg» or Slavic «-grad», or even English «-town», i.e. that element is used to form city names. The name of «Tallinna» became in 1918 the new name of the city after Germanic «Reval» (info-help).