The Parish House - Tallinn, Estonia
Posted by: 
Metro2
N 59° 26.141 E 024° 44.528
35V E 371938 N 6590739
Quick Description: This sign appears on a church wall located at 3-7 Ruutli Street in Tallinn's Old Town
Location: Estonia
Date Posted: 10/7/2012 12:00:43 PM
Waymark Code: WMFEM9
Views: 7
Long Description:Located adjacent to St. Nicholas' Church and across the street from another Waymark (
visit link) , a wall has a sign in Estonian and English. The English portion informs us:
"The Parish House (the Swedish Elementary School), Knights Street 3-7, Reval/Tallinn
Between the churches of St. Nicholas and St. Michael a peculiar medieval house , the so-called Parish building was situated. The eastern section was used by, the German St. Nicholas parish until the departure of the Baltic Germans during the second World War. The western part of the building belonged to St. Mikael's parish and had housed apartments for the officials of the parish for centuries. A radical redistribution of the localities of the Swedish parish began in 1917. The Estonian Swedish Education Association, Svenska Odlingens Vanner, (established in 1909) had finally received permission to open a private Swedish speaking school in Tallinn. The question of premises was solved when St. Michael's church council agreed to rent out localities at Knight's Street 3 to its' principal, Svenska Odlingens Vanner under the provision that the association would undertake necessary repairs. The costly and extensive renovation of the localities was not completed until 1927. The first Estonian-Swedish elementary school had found a home and Svenska Odlingens Vanner found space for their office and a small lending library. Knight's Street 3 was thereafter also the address for the publication Kustbon and for the political organization of the Estonian Swedes, Svenska Folkforbundet i Estland. People in the Swedish regions soon became aware that ideas and directives regarding culture and minority policy for Estonian Swedes came from Knight's Street 3. It was of utmost importance for the Swedish colony that the premises at Knight's Street 3 could also be used for activities other than those related to the school and its principal, Svenska Odlingens Vanner. The ten evenings given by the parish were especially appreciated with ambitious programming , lectures by Swedish and Finnish cultural personalities, as well as the activities of the youth organizations, Enighet and Framat, the celebrations of Sweish Day on November 6th and St. Lucia celebrations on December 13th. As a result of Sweish terror bombings on March 9th, 1944, when large sections of the Estonian capital were destroyed, the house at Knight's Street 3-5 was also leveled. All that remained of the architectural jewel was a pile of rubble. A foundation has now been established for its reconstruction. Hopefully in the not so distant future, it should be possible to again visit the parish building."