A Fortress Facing the Sea

The View from the Sea

In 1853 Alexey Bogolyubov, a distinguished 19th-century marine painter, painted “The Port of Tallinn” as sailors first saw the city: Toompea and the spires of the Old Town rising behind the harbour, drawn not building by building but as one silhouette above the water. At the right edge, long and pale along the shore, stands Patarei, completed only thirteen years before. The large canvas, 123 by 189 cm, is among the rarest works in the foreign collection of the Art Museum of Estonia, and a precious record of how Tallinn greeted those arriving by sea.

Guardian of the Harbour

The fortress grew from a plan approved in 1827 to guard Tallinn’s naval harbour, on ground fortified since the Swedish era. Work began in 1829 with more than 1,800 soldiers and 138 stonemasons, and in 1840 it was consecrated: a sextant-shaped stronghold with a 247‑metre sea front, walls 1.8 metres thick and 90 vaulted casemates. Its vaults, embrasures and forged cannon hooks survive, and the state protects it as a cultural monument. Together with the UNESCO-listed Old Town a short walk away, it forms a heritage ensemble worthy of world recognition.