The Tallinn City Wall, built in the 13th century, was one of the most powerful and reliable defences in Northern Europe in the 16th century. Together with 46 towers, the wall was 16 metres high, 3 metres thick and 4 km long. A 2 km long part of the wall and 26 defence towers have survived to our time. The surviving towers include the Great Sea Gate and the Fat Margaret Tower, the Maiden Tower, and the Kik-in-de-Kök.
The Great Sea Gate and Fat Margarita Tower were built not only to protect the city from the sea, but also to surprise overseas visitors to Tallinn. The gate, built at the same time as the city wall, is located in the northern part of the city, next to the harbour. At the beginning of the 16th century, a tower with 155 loopholes was built next to it. This tower, 20 metres high and 25 metres in diameter, was called the Fat Margaret because of its enormous size. During its long history, the tower has been an armoury and a prison. Today, the tower houses the Estonian Maritime Museum, with an exposition on 4 floors. Here you can see rare exhibits: ancient diving and fishing equipment, things found at the bottom of the sea, the captain's bridge, a view from 1950 and many other things. At the top of the tower there is an observation deck with a mesmerising view of the harbour, the bay and the Old Town.
.The powerful Kik-in-de-Kök tower was built between 1475 and 1483. The tower is 38 metres high, 17 metres in diameter and the walls are 4 metres thick. From the top of the towers not only the rear of the enemies could be seen, but also the kitchens of Tallinn's hostesses, for which the structure got its interesting name, which in Lower Saxon means: "Look into the kitchen". Throughout its history, the tower has been rebuilt several times. Today, as a result of restoration work, the Kick-in-de-Kök Tower looks as it did when it was founded. Today, it houses a permanent exhibition about the history of Tallinn and important military events, which are reminded by the stone and cast-iron cannonballs embedded in the walls of the tower. The Maiden Tower (Neitsithorn), built in the second half of the 14th century, was repeatedly destroyed over the existing centuries and rebuilt each time it was rebuilt. In the Middle Ages, the tower was a prison for girls of easy behaviour.
