House Cathedral

We offer you an excursion to the cathedral, which simply cannot be bypassed. The oldest church in Tallinn has been gathering parishioners since 1240. We will see the burials of Livonian knights, and on Saturdays there are concerts of organ music.

The Dome Cathedral is located in the center of Toompea - Upper Old Town. The Cathedral of St. Mary became the main church of the city in Danish time, from 1240. Before the establishment of Swedish power, the cathedral was Catholic, since 1561 it has become Lutheran, as it is today. Since the 14th century, under the floor of the cathedral, the knights of Livonia began to bury their dead relatives and approximately in the place where a coffin was placed in the basement - in a church, on a wall or on a column they hung the coat of arms. Unfortunately, the cathedral was badly damaged during the fire of 1684, the burials were preserved, and all the wooden coats of arms were burned. Now on the walls of the church hang 105 coats of arms-epitaphs. They were carved at the end of the 17th century according to medieval models. Several tombstones of the 13th-18th centuries have been preserved in the floor.

During the tour, the guide will tell you about the main attractions of the church. In the altar on the right you will see the carved Renaissance tombstone of Pontus de la Gardi. The guide will tell you the story of the man who did not allow the troops of Ivan the Terrible to take Reval in the Livonian War. And on the left in the altar, the guide will show you a modest marble obelisk - the burial of Ferdinand Tizenhausen, the prototype of Andrei Bolkonsky from Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace.

On the tour you will learn about the admiral of the Russian fleet Samuel Greig - the hero of the Battle of Chesma and about Adam Johan von Krusenstern, who headed the first Russian circumnavigation. Their burials at the northern wall of the cathedral will be shown to you by a guide. In 1878, the largest organ in Estonia was installed in the cathedral and concerts of organ music are held on Saturdays at 12.00. A brief visit to the cathedral is combined with a walking tour of the upper city or you can order a separately more extensive one-hour tour of the Dome Cathedral.

Entrance ticket is paid separately - 3 €