Dome Church (St Mary's Cathedral, Toomkirik)

The Dome Church, formally the Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin (Toomkirik), at Toom-Kooli 6 on Toompea is regarded as the oldest church in Tallinn and in mainland Estonia. A first church was founded here by the Danes in the early 13th century, soon after their conquest of 1219, and it became the cathedral of the bishopric of Reval. The present structure grew from that early nave through medieval rebuilding, and after a fire in 1684 a Baroque tower and the present exterior profile were added in the early 18th century under Swedish and then Russian rule. The church became Lutheran during the Reformation and remains the cathedral of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. The interior is notable chiefly for its funerary heritage. More than 100 carved and painted coats of arms of Baltic-German noble families cover the walls, and the floor and side chapels hold monumental tombs. Among them is the Baroque tomb of Pontus De la Gardie, the Swedish military commander who died in 1585, and the burial place of Samuel Greig, a Scottish admiral in Russian service, whose tomb was designed by the Italian architect Giacomo Quarenghi. The church also contains a large organ built in the 19th century by Friedrich Ladegast, which is used for concerts. A tower with a viewing platform offers a panoramic view over Toompea and the Lower Town for an extra ticket. The curation is that of a living church rather than a museum, with texts in English and a self-guided route, and the church interior is cool and dim with Baroque pulpit and carved choir stalls. Preservation work has been ongoing, repairing masonry and roof timbers after centuries of fire and weather. Located beside the Toompea parliament, the Dome Church is a quiet counterpart to the nearby Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and shows the Baltic-German elite that long governed Estonia.