Historical Landmarks

1154 Tallinn is marked on Arab cartographer al-Idrisi’s world map.

1219 King Valdemar II of Denmark conquers northern Estonia.

1227–38 Riga-based German crusaders wrest control of Tallinn and northern Estonia from the Danes; German merchants settle in Tallinn.

1248 Tallinn adopts Lübeck Law, to become a self-governing trade city.

1284 Tallinn becomes a member of the Hanseatic League.

1343–5 Estonian peasants stage the bloody St George’s Night Uprising.

1346 Danes sell their Estonian holdings to the German knights in Riga, putting Estonia under the rule of the Riga-based Livonian Order.

1558–83 The Livonian War between Russia, Poland, Sweden and Denmark leaves Estonia under Swedish rule.

1684 A massive fire devastates Toompea.

1710 During the Great Northern War (1700–21), Sweden loses Estonia to the Russian Empire.

1816 Serfdom is abolished in Estonia.

1860–80 National Awakening.

1870 The St Petersburg–Tallinn rail connection is completed, sparking rapid industrial growth.

1918 Estonia declares independence, which is internationally recognised.

1940 Soviets invade, forcibly annexing Estonia into the USSR.

1941–4 Nazi invasion and occupation.

1944 Soviet forces reinvade; almost 50 years of Soviet occupation follows.

1987–8 Mass protests against Soviet rule, later to be collectively called the ‘Singing Revolution’.

1991 Estonia regains independence.

2004 Estonia joins NATO and the European Union.

2011 Estonia adopts the euro.

2014 Russia allegedly abducts an Estonian border guard but returns him a year later in a spy swap

2016 Kersti Kaljulaid is elected president of Estonia

2017 800 British troops are deployed in Estonia as a deterrent to potential Russian aggression