Toompea Castle

Toompea Castle (Estonian: Toompea lost), one of the most beautiful historical sites in Estonia, is a medieval castle located atop Toompea hill in Tallinn's downtown district. It now serves as the seat of Estonia's Parliament. Sweden surrendered the modern-day Estonian area to the Russian Empire in 1710. The Russian government finally completed extensive renovation projects and transformed the castle into a palace. On the eastern side of the castle complex, Johann Schultz planned a new dominant wing in Baroque and Neoclassical style. It held the Governorate's administration as well as the governor's residential quarters. A public park was also built to the southeast of the castle during the czarist era, as well as an archive building.

Following the declaration of independence by Estonia in 1918, a building to house the republic's parliament was built on the site of a former Teutonic Order convent. It was created by architects Eugen Habermann and Herbert Johanson and completed in 1922 after a two-year construction period. The interior is Expressionist in style, despite the classic façade. This is the only Expressionist parliament building in the world. The Riigikogu was dismantled during the succeeding Soviet, German, and second Soviet occupations (1940–1991). During the second Soviet occupation (1944-1990), the Supreme Soviet of the Estonian SSR utilized the castle and the Riigikogu building.

Location: Tallinn, Estonia