page_title: Tallinn Town Hall
section_title: History of Town Hall Construction
hierarchical_section_title: Tallinn Town Hall / Architecture / History of Town Hall Construction
caption_attribution_description: Eesti: Tallinna raekoja kell.
context_page_description: The Tallinn Town Hall is a building in the Tallinn Old Town, Estonia, next to the Town Hall Square. It is the oldest town hall in the whole of the Baltic region and Scandinavia.
  The building is located in the south side of the ancient market square and is 36.8 metres long. The west wall is 14.5 metres in length, and the east is 15.2 meters. It is a two-storey building with a spacious basement.
  The vane Old Thomas on the top of the Town Hall's tower, that has been there since 1530, has become one of the symbols of Tallinn. The height of the tower is 64 metres. Tallinn Town Hall is located on the Town Hall Square, where the streets Kullassepa street, Dunkri street and Vanaturu kael lead. One of the shortest streets of Tallinn is Raekoja tänav, which is located behind the Town Hall.
  The town hall was built by what was then the market square. The town hall square got its current length in the 1370s. Covered with a board roof in 1374, the town hall was probably a single-decked stone building with a basement. The attic was used as a storeroom.
context_section_description: Studies of the construction have proved that the Town Hall was located at the same place already in the 13th century. The 600-year-old building was built upon the old town hall's brickwork. A stone building was there already in 1250. A building with a meetingroom (consistorium) and a basement (cellarium civitatits) is mentioned in 1322. As the town grew richer and more powerful, it was rebuilt. At the end of the 14th century, the building was as tall as it is now, but it was narrow and without the tower. Only the arcade-gear, which differed from the current one, referred to the fact that it was not an ordinary dwelling house.
  By the 14th century, Tallinn (Old name: Reval) developed into one of the most important intermediate ports of the Hanseatic trade road between Europe and Russia. The 15th century was the heyday of the Hanseatic city Tallinn, when the city was largely rebuilt thanks to the profits from trade. The central article that made its way from Europe through Tallinn to Russia, was salt. Salt was followed by fabrics and herring. Metals, wine and spices were also important. Although some of the things mentioned stayed at the local market, most of it went on to Russia. Crops were the most important from the goods taken from Tallinn to the west. Rye, wood, flax and limestone were from Livonia. Most building monuments that have remained to this day, come from the 15th century: Middle Age merchant houses, churches, guild halls and including the town hall.
  The major work began at the beginning of the 15th century. The town council celebrated the Easter of 1402 in the old building. The construction started right after the holidays. The leading master of the building was probably stonemason Ghercke. It is possible, that the leading masters, including Ghercke, came from downtown Toompea, where extensive works had ended in the last quarter of the 14th century in the fortress, the circular wall of Great Toompea and in the Cathedral (toomkirik). 600 logs, 581 balks, 46 pairs of girders and 107 burdens of stone were brought to the construction site. The stones were brought from Lasnamäe, where a stonemasons village was located. The names of the carriers have been documented. Crude stones were brought for the bricklaying, but some of the details had to be made out of cut stones. The main constructions – foundations, walls and vaults – were built out of limestone, that was brought from the limestone plateau, limestone brought from stone-pits near the city and all put together using lime mortar. In 1403, the stones were cut and an arcade, pillars supporting the vaults, window jams etc. were built. The pillars of the arcade and the main portal in the western section, that had an important role in the development of the building style of Tallinn, were built by Ghercke himself and his helpers. Eeskujuks oli portaalimeistrile toomkiriku väiksem lõunaportaal. The smaller southern portal of the cathedral (Tallinna Toomkirik) was used as an example. It is known that the stonemason Yckmele built the pillors for the winecellar and 200 blocks for the outer corners of the building. The windows were built by master Keyzner, one of the large family of stonemasons. Master Ghercke and his two helpers were paid 5 Rigan marks (1 Rigan mark weighed 207,8 g of silver).
  The construction works were finished at the end of 1404. The masters, who had placed the tiles, glazed the windows and cleaned up the debris, got their salaries. The town council celebrated Christmas in a new building. The constructions had lasted for two and a half years. The builders worked only in summer. A white lime coating covered the walls and left clean stone-constructions, that were made glossy, for many centuries.
  The construction works continued later: the roof and a tower were repaired, the window glasses and staircases were changed and the ovens were set. Ajaloolise Tallinna kuldaeg jääb 15. sajandi keskpaiga ja 16. sajandi alguse vahelisse perioodi. The Golden Age of the historical Tallinn was a period from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 16th
caption: Tallinn Town Hall's bell
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