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56-740: Toompea is the site of the Government of Estonia and the Riigikogu (parliament), both of which are often simply referred to as Toompea . The parliament meets in the Toompea Castle which is situated in the southwestern corner of the hill and topped by the Pikk Hermann ("Tall Hermann") tower. The flag on the top of the tower is one of the best-known symbols in Estonia of the government in force. Toompea first emerged as an island from

112-420: A trench . A tatebori ( 竪堀 , lit.   ' vertical moat ' ) is a dry moat dug into a slope. A unejo tatebori ( 畝状竪堀 , lit.   ' furrowed shape empty moat ' ) is a series of parallel trenches running up the sides of the excavated mountain, and the earthen wall, which was also called doi ( 土居 , lit.   ' earth mount ' ) , was an outer wall made of earth dug out from

168-677: A design by Erik Dahlbergh was approved in 1686, construction was slow due to financial difficulties and by the start of the Great Northern War only two bastions had been completed around Toompea as intended - the Swedish Bastion and the Ingermanland Bastion, both protecting Toompea from the south. Following the Great Northern War and the conquest of Estonia by the Russian Empire , the first half of

224-657: A key element used in French Classicism and Beaux-Arts architecture dwellings, both as decorative designs and to provide discreet access for service. Excellent examples of these can be found in Newport, Rhode Island at Miramar (mansion) and The Elms , as well as at Carolands , outside of San Francisco, California, and at Union Station in Toronto , Ontario, Canada. Additionally, a dry moat can allow light and fresh air to reach basement workspaces, as for example at

280-1151: A moat. Even today it is common for mountain Japanese castles to have dry moats. A mizubori ( 水堀 , lit.   ' water moat ' ) is a moat filled with water. Moats were also used in the Forbidden City and Xi'an in China; in Vellore Fort in India; Hsinchu in Taiwan ; and in Southeast Asia, such as at Angkor Wat in Cambodia ; Mandalay in Myanmar ; Chiang Mai in Thailand and Huế in Vietnam . The only moated fort ever built in Australia

336-462: A small portion of Toompea, either its then-highest point a bit southeast of today's cathedral or the northern end of the hill. Early archaeological evidence from the hill dates mainly to the second half of the 12th century and first half of the 13th century. Smaller amounts of older finds support the view that the stronghold might have been established already during the Viking Age . The hill fort

392-454: A symbol of the czarist rule and Russian dominance. Due to its very prominent location and an immediately recognizable Russian style the cathedral garnered opposition already during the time it was built and in the end of the 1920s and 1930s, in the independent Republic of Estonia , there were even proposals to demolish it. In 1903, when the Patkuli stairs were built near the northern end of

448-734: A vertical outer retaining wall rising direct from the moat, is an extended usage of the ha-ha of English landscape gardening. In 2004, plans were suggested for a two-mile moat across the southern border of the Gaza Strip to prevent tunnelling from Egyptian territory to the border town of Rafah . In 2008, city officials in Yuma, Arizona planned to dig out a two-mile stretch of a 180-hectare (440-acre) wetland known as Hunters Hole to control immigrants coming from Mexico. Researchers of jumping spiders , which have excellent vision and adaptable tactics, built water-filled miniature moats, too wide for

504-528: A very central part of their cities, the moats have provided a vital waterway to the city. Even in modern times the moat system of the Tokyo Imperial Palace consists of a very active body of water, hosting everything from rental boats and fishing ponds to restaurants. Most modern Japanese castles have moats filled with water, but castles in the feudal period more commonly had 'dry moats' karabori ( 空堀 , lit.   ' empty moat ' ) ,

560-402: Is believed to have been built on the hill in either the 10th or 11th century by residents of the ancient Estonian county of Revala . The late Iron Age fortified settlement did not probably have permanent inhabitants, but was rather seasonally used for protecting the harbour and its adjacent marketplace. The exact location of the stronghold is not known, but it is presumed that it occupied only

616-700: Is mentioned in the Henry of Livonia's Chronicle of the Livonian Crusade by the name Lindanise . As part of the crusade, in the summer of 1219 the King of Denmark Valdemar II launched an attack against Tallinn. His crusaders took over the deserted stronghold and at the same summer started building a new castle in its place, later referred to as the Castrum Danorum . After the Battle of Lindanise which

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672-511: The Baltic Ice Lake around 10,000 years ago. Due to steady post-glacial rebound it became connected with the mainland during the early Littorina Sea stage. At 5,000 BCE the sea still reached the foot of the cliffs of Toompea. The modern coastline is at a distance of more than 1 km from Toompea and the foot of the hill lies at 17–20 m above sea level. The hill reaches about 48 metres (157 ft) in elevation. The first stronghold

728-611: The Constitution , it exercises executive power pursuant to the Constitution and laws of Estonia. The cabinet carries out the country's domestic and foreign policy, shaped by parliament ( Riigikogu ); it directs and co-ordinates the work of government institutions and bears full responsibility for everything occurring within the authority of executive power. The government, headed by the Prime Minister , thus represents

784-720: The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church and has perhaps best retained a medieval look among the buildings of Toompea. Most of the buildings in Toompea date from the 18th and 19th centuries. While the Small Castle has generally preserved its shape, nothing but a few fragments remain of the Great Castle's walls and towers. Other notable sites in Toompea include the building of the Government of Estonia (also known as "The Stenbock House") and

840-742: The James Farley Post Office in New York City . Whilst moats are no longer a significant tool of warfare, modern architectural building design continues to use them as a defence against certain modern threats, such as terrorist attacks from car bombs and improvised fighting vehicles . For example, the new location of the Embassy of the United States in London , opened in 2018, includes a moat among its security features -

896-749: The Mississippian culture as the outer defence of some fortified villages. The remains of a 16th-century moat are still visible at the Parkin Archeological State Park in eastern Arkansas . The Maya people also used moats, for example in the city of Becan . European colonists in the Americas often built dry ditches surrounding forts built to protect important landmarks, harbours or cities (e.g. Fort Jay on Governors Island in New York Harbor ). Dry moats were

952-574: The Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral overtops it. The cathedral, nowadays the main church of the Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate , has become for tourists somewhat of a symbol of Tallinn due to its exotic look, while the opinion of Estonians about it is rather ambiguous. The Lutheran Cathedral ( Toomkirik ) from which the name Toompea was originally derived, is now the seat of

1008-710: The building of the Estonian Knighthood , which in 1992-2005 housed the Estonian Art Museum and since 2009 is temporarily used by the Estonian Academy of Arts . The Estonian Academy of Sciences is also seated in Toompea, in the Ungern-Sternberg palace (seat of the local German cultural self-government in the interwar period). Toompea is also the location of several foreign embassies to Estonia, including those of Finland,

1064-493: The walls . In suitable locations, they might be filled with water. A moat made access to the walls difficult for siege weapons such as siege towers and battering rams , which needed to be brought up against a wall to be effective. A water-filled moat made the practice of mining – digging tunnels under the castles in order to effect a collapse of the defences – very difficult as well. Segmented moats have one dry section and one section filled with water. Dry moats that cut across

1120-467: The 18th century was a period of general neglect for Toompea and also for the castle, which fell into disuse for several decades. The situation changed in the second half of the 18th century: in 1767-1773 the east wing of the castle was completely rebuilt into an administrative building of the Governorate of Estonia by the orders of Catherine II . For constructing the building the southeastern tower of

1176-612: The Great Castle and the outer ward (southernmost part of the plateau in front of the two castles). The first stone Castle of the Order (the Small Castle) was built in the southwestern corner of the plateau in 1227-1229. The original castle had roughly the same shape as the later expansions of the castle, but was slightly smaller. The castle was returned to Denmark after the Treaty of Stensby in 1238 and remained its property (together with

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1232-687: The Komandandi Street led to the east, close to Harju Gate, where the Independence War Victory Column stands today. The general look of Toompea changed greatly when the architecturally completely different Russian Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was built in 1894-1900. The cathedral, situated on the Castle Square in front of the Toompea Palace, was erected during the period of Russification as

1288-484: The Lower Town was exempted from the rule of the castellan and in 1288 the commanders of the castle also lost judicial power over the citizens of the Lower Town. Construction and expansion works on both castles continued in the subsequent centuries. In the first half of the 14th century the southern wall of the Great Castle was renovated and its moat was joined with the eastern moat of the Small Castle. In this way

1344-463: The Netherlands, Portugal, and the office of the embassy of Canada. There are several viewing platforms in Toompea offering good views of the surrounding city. Toompea is a limestone hill covered by an oblong tableland which measures about 400 by 250 metres, has an area of 7 hectares (17 acres), and is about 20–30 metres higher than the surrounding areas. Geologically Toompea is associated with

1400-656: The North Estonian Klint (itself a subsection of the Baltic Klint ). A separate relic klint island, Toompea lies about 1.5 km northwest of the North Estonian Limestone Plateau. The plateau and Toompea are connected with a gently sloped sandstone ridge. From the east, north and west Toompea is bordered for 1.5 km by a cliff with a height of up to 25 m. The southern slope of the hill descends more gently. The upper layer of

1456-534: The Social Democrats. Moat A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle , fortification , building , or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence . Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water defences, including natural or artificial lakes, dams and sluices . In older fortifications, such as hillforts , they are usually referred to simply as ditches , although

1512-508: The Tsardom of Russia in 1710. When Tallinn capitulated to Eric XIV of Sweden in 1561, the king decided not to change the status quo in the relations between Toompea and Lower Town. Toompea, as a separate town ( Dom zu Reval ) under its own administration was able to retain a variety of special rights and privileges, the last of which remained in the books until 1889. Toompea was joined with Tallinn (Lower Town) as late as in 1878, when during

1568-409: The castle ( Stür den Kerl ) was demolished as were the moats filled in; together with it the outer ward of the castles was designed into a square (the Castle Square, Estonian : Lossi plats ). The building resembled an aristocratic palace, which prompted the castle acquiring an alternate name: Toompea Palace. The Stenbock House, one of the most remarkable buildings on the northern ledge of the Toompea,

1624-427: The city's patrimony was given to Toompea. That area, located southwest of the hill and where the suburbs ( Vorstadt ) of Toompea ( Tõnismäe , Kassisaba and Kelmiküla ) were built during subsequent periods, was called "Dome territory" until the 20th century. Soon after returning to Toompea, the Order started expanding the castle – the whole Castle of the Order ( German : Ordensburg ) was extended and developed into

1680-463: The excavated ring, a 'dry moat'. The shared derivation implies that the two features were closely related and possibly constructed at the same time. The term moat is also applied to natural formations reminiscent of the artificial structure and to similar modern architectural features. With the introduction of siege artillery , a new style of fortification emerged in the 16th century using low walls and projecting strong points called bastions , which

1736-424: The fire of 1684 was much larger in scale, destroying most of the buildings in the Great Castle, including the cathedral. The Small Castle escaped of the fire intact. The fires are one cause why Toompea looks architecturally different and newer from the Lower Town. In the end of 17th century several plans were made to strengthen the fortifications of Toompea and Tallinn with earthworks and modern bastions . Although

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1792-704: The first moat built in England for more than a century. Modern moats may also be used for aesthetic or ergonomic purposes. The Catawba Nuclear Station has a concrete moat around the sides of the plant not bordering a lake. The moat is a part of precautions added to such sites after the September 11, 2001 attacks . Moats, rather than fences, separate animals from spectators in many modern zoo installations. Moats were first used in this way by Carl Hagenbeck at his Tierpark in Hamburg , Germany. The structure, with

1848-514: The fourth was far advanced. She heaped a cairn of stones over his tomb, which formed the hill on which the Cathedral of Revel now stands. 59°26′13″N 24°44′24″E  /  59.43694°N 24.74000°E  / 59.43694; 24.74000 Government of Estonia The Government of the Republic of Estonia ( Estonian : Vabariigi Valitsus ) is the cabinet of Estonia . Under

1904-470: The function is similar. In later periods, moats or water defences may be largely ornamental. They could also act as a sewer. Some of the earliest evidence of moats has been uncovered around ancient Egyptian fortresses. One example is at Buhen , a settlement excavated in Nubia . Other evidence of ancient moats is found in the ruins of Babylon, and in reliefs from ancient Egypt, Assyria , and other cultures in

1960-506: The hill consists of Ordovician limestone (thickness about 5 m), which is also the main rock exposed at the cliff. However, most of the cliff face has been hidden behind a protective wall and only a few outcrops are left. In Estonian mythology Toompea is known as the tumulus mound over the grave of Kalev , erected in his memory by his grieving wife Linda , as described in the national epic Kalevipoeg : Linda mourned for Kalev for one month after another till three months had passed, and

2016-512: The hill, Toompea got a new access from the direction of the main railway station of Tallinn. The much-rebuilt Toompea Castle – consisting of the czarist era governor's palace, walls and towers of the medieval fortress, the expressionist parliament building dating from 1922, plus a few other buildings – now houses the Estonian Parliament . The facade of the classicist governor's palace dominates Lossi plats ("Castle square"), where

2072-408: The largest single archaeological phenomenon on the planet. Japanese castles often have very elaborate moats, with up to three moats laid out in concentric circles around the castle and a host of different patterns engineered around the landscape. The outer moat of a Japanese castle typically protects other support buildings in addition to the castle. As many Japanese castles have historically been

2128-540: The narrow part of a spur or peninsula are called neck ditches . Moats separating different elements of a castle, such as the inner and outer wards, are cross ditches . The word was adapted in Middle English from the Old French motte ( lit.   ' mound, hillock ' ) and was first applied to the central mound on which a castle was erected (see Motte and bailey ) and then came to be applied to

2184-595: The nominal chief executive, though bound by convention to act on the advice of the cabinet. In Estonia, however, the Constitution explicitly vests executive authority in the Government, not the President . The current cabinet was approved by the Riigikogu on 17 April 2023. The coalition agreed on 12 ministers in addition to the prime minister with six portfolios going to Reform and three for both Estonia 200 and

2240-676: The outer ward of the castles was built, after its southern and southeastern sides were surrounded with a wall. The castle as a whole had two exits at the time: the more important one was outer ward's southern gate, through which the road led to Tõnismägi , the second was the gate at its eastern, which connected Toompea with Lower Town via the Long and Short Legs. In the aftermath of the St. George's Night Uprising , in 1346 Denmark sold its possessions in Northern Estonia and followed 215 years under

2296-486: The period of Russification the previous laws governing the two towns were replaced with Russian administrative law. The two parts of the town were also united for a brief period in 1785-1796. Toompea and the Lower Town had been united into a single police district in 1805. Particular private law was in force for Toompea until 1944. In 1684, Toompea suffered the most devastating fire of its history. Toompea had been affected by earlier fires in 1288, 1433, 1553 and 1581, but

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2352-404: The political leadership of the country and makes decisions in the name of the whole executive power. The following duties are attributed to the cabinet by the Constitution of Estonia : Unlike other cabinets in most other parliamentary regimes, the Government is both the de jure and de facto executive authority in Estonia. In most other parliamentary regimes, the head of state is usually

2408-426: The region. Evidence of early moats around settlements has been discovered in many archaeological sites throughout Southeast Asia, including Noen U-Loke, Ban Non Khrua Chut, Ban Makham Thae and Ban Non Wat. The use of the moats could have been either for defensive or agriculture purposes. Moats were excavated around castles and other fortifications as part of the defensive system as an obstacle immediately outside

2464-536: The rest of Northern Estonia – see Danish Estonia ) for the next 138 years. In 1240 building of the cathedral was completed in the place it stands today. In the second half of the 13th century Toompea (the Great Castle) was surrounded with a wall by the hill's perimeter, built mainly by vassals who owned the plots there. Beginning from the same period Toompea started to develop into the centre of provincial authority, clergy and nobility in Northern Estonia. Most of

2520-532: The rule of the Livonian Order . Tallinn (the Lower Town), which was still subjected to Lübeck city rights and only nominally depended on the feudal system, developed into a flourishing Hanseatic city, while Toompea remained politically and socially antithetical to the Lower Town. The boundaries of the territory of Toompea and Tallinn were fixed with an agreement in 1348, when 220 hectares (540 acres) from

2576-489: The spiders to jump across. Some specimens were rewarded for jumping then swimming and others for swimming only. Portia fimbriata from Queensland generally succeeded, for whichever method they were rewarded. When specimens from two different populations of Portia labiata were set the same task, members of one population determined which method earned them a reward, whilst members of the other continued to use whichever method they tried first and did not try to adapt. As

2632-521: The strongest centre of its northerly realms, a symbol of their military and political power. New higher outside walls were built, moats were widened and deepened. The first part of the Pikk Hermann ("Tall Hermann") tower, which tops the Toompea castle, was completed by 1371. Pikk Hermann was the first tower in Tallinn adjusted for defence in the era of firearms. Later in the 16th century the tower

2688-455: The vassals chose Toompea for their residence – living in their estates in the conquered countryside was deemed too dangerous; by the end of the 13th century the Great Castle was densely populated. The distinction between Toompea and the Lower Town (Tallinn) also developed at the time as Tallinn gained its own administration – at least in 1248, when the King of Denmark Eric IV granted the town Lübeck city rights , but possibly even earlier. In 1265

2744-727: The world's largest man-made structure. Fred Pearce wrote in New Scientist: They extend for some 16,000 kilometres in all, in a mosaic of more than 500 interconnected settlement boundaries. They cover 6,500 square kilometres and were all dug by the Edo people. In all, they are four times longer than the Great Wall of China, and consumed a hundred times more material than the Great Pyramid of Cheops. They took an estimated 150 million hours of digging to construct, and are perhaps

2800-517: Was Fort Lytton in Brisbane . As Brisbane was much more vulnerable to attack than either Sydney or Melbourne a series of coastal defences was built throughout Moreton Bay , Fort Lytton being the largest. Built between 1880 and 1881 in response to fear of a Russian invasion, it is a pentagonal fortress concealed behind grassy embankments and surrounded by a water-filled moat. Moats were developed independently by North American indigenous people of

2856-610: Was also built in the same period - the intended court house was probably completed by 1792. Tallinn was removed from the list of fortified towns of the Russian Empire in 1857. This allowed three new roads to be built from the southern end of Toompea over the previous defence structures: the Falgi Road, built in 1856–1857, led to the west to Paldiski Highway, the Toompea Street (1860–1861) led south to Tõnismägi and

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2912-430: Was considered the largest man-made structure lengthwise, second only to the Great Wall of China and the largest earthwork in the world. Recent work by Patrick Darling has established it as the largest man-made structure in the world, larger than Sungbo's Eredo , also in Nigeria. It enclosed 6,500 km (2,500 sq mi) of community lands. Its length was over 16,000 km (9,900 mi) of earth boundaries. It

2968-502: Was estimated that earliest construction began in 800 and continued into the mid-15th century. The walls are built of a ditch and dike structure, the ditch dug to form an inner moat with the excavated earth used to form the exterior rampart. The Benin Walls were ravaged by the British in 1897. Scattered pieces of the walls remain in Edo, with material being used by the locals for building purposes. The walls continue to be torn down for real-estate developments. The Walls of Benin City were

3024-416: Was fought near the castle and resulted Danish victory over the Estonians, a cathedral was also built on the hill, though it was probably not located in the same place as today's cathedral . In the summer of 1227 the castle at Toompea was conquered by the order of the Brothers of the Sword , who immediately after conquest started to fortify the hill. The plateau was divided into three parts: the Small Castle,

3080-461: Was known as the trace italienne . The walls were further protected from infantry attack by wet or dry moats, sometimes in elaborate systems. When this style of fortification was superseded by lines of polygonal forts in the mid-19th century, moats continued to be used for close protection. The Walls of Benin were a combination of ramparts and moats, called Iya, used as a defence of the capital Benin City in present-day Edo State of Nigeria. It

3136-404: Was rebuilt taller, from the original height of 35 m. The wall of the Great Castle was also fortified with new towers: altogether 14 defence towers (including a gate tower named Clock Tower – the only exit) had been built along its wall by the end of the 14th century. The Kingdom of Sweden conquered northern Estonia in 1561, and held it until the Great Northern War , when Tallinn was conquered by

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