Christmas markets in east and central Europe have been around for centuries. But not in Tallinn. In fact, the Jouluturg on Tallinn’s Raekoja Plats (Raekoja Square) is barely out of its teens. During the Soviet era, Santa Claus was banned. As soon as Estonia gained independence in 1991, the city organized its first Christmas market.
The hundreds of years of its colorful history have given Tallinn numerous stories, legends and myths about different things in and around town. Legends about certain places, about certain aspects in history, and more.
And for sure we cannot even imagine, what kind of stories the medieval walls in Tallinn Old Town would tell us, if just they could talk.
Founded by the Danes in the eighth century, Tallinn has been the subject of fierce competition and battle between Crusaders, Swedes, Russian tzars, and more.
Estonia is the 132nd-smallest country in the world by land mass, yet it produces more start-ups per head of population than any other country in Europe. It has a population the size of Copenhagen but has one of the world's most advanced e-governments.
ANIMAL spirits have long been soggy in the European Union, but they are thriving in one of its smallest countries. World Bank figures show that registrations of new limited companies (the commonest kind of start-up and a good indicator of entrepreneurial vim) were down by 12.1% in the EU in 2009, the latest year for which figures are availa...
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