Giants, dragons and towers!

Did you know that there’s a dragon in Tallinn?

You can find it in Nõmme, the “village within the city,” where I joined Ambassador Levine for a tour with District Elder Erki Korp on Monday. Nõmme is one of the eight administrative districts of Tallinn, located at the south-western edge of the city. Although it is located in Estonia’s largest city, Nõmme feels far removed from the high rise metropolis and is known for its small town ambiance. And we definitely got a taste of this on our visit!

Our small group started our tour at the district offices, where we met the administrative staff and quickly moved on to the grounds of Nikolai von Glehn’s stone castle. Von Glehn was a Tsarist-era Baltic-German landowner whose Gaudi-like, eccentric style has left its mark. During his time in Nõmme, he built a fanciful castle, observatory tower and several larger than life statues, including a dragon and a towering colossus of the Estonian epic character Kalevipoeg. Most of these were damaged or demolished during war times, but they have been faithfully rebuilt since then. In fact the castle is now owned by the capital’s own Tallinn University of Technology, whose male chorus raised funds to rebuild and restore it to its former glory.

Von Glehn's Castle

Kalevipoeg

I really enjoyed my visit to Nõmme and learning about its history and architecture. It was especially interesting to learn that, though von Glehn left Nõmme in 1918, his descendants, most of whom now live in Brazil, are still in touch with the town and that many of them planned to visit this very week! I hope they enjoy seeing not only all that their ancestor accomplished during his lifetime, but also what a pleasant, prosperous and green place Nõmme has become.