Black Heads House

The House of the Black Heads with its curious sculptured late 16th century front stand out among the other facades. This was the house of a corporation of merchants, founded in the 14th century. It was the oldest of kindred organisations in the Baltic States. The membership of the Brotherhood of Blackheads in Tallinn included mostly merchants who were not yet eligible for the membership in the Great Guild: merchants who were legally not independent or who had no established business in Tallinn, local unmarried merchants, and foreign merchants. Members also included goldsmiths, chemists, scholars, and school teachers. During the Middle ages, the Brotherhood of Blackheads committed itself to defending the city from any enemy invasion. Among other duties, the Brotherhood provided the city with a cavalry detachment. The Blackhead cavalrymen patrolled the city wall and six of them made rounds inside the wall every evening after the city gates were locked at sunset. In the later centuries, the local brotherhoods of Blackheads were important as social organizations that sponsored social events, such as parties and concerts, and collected fine art. The name is derived from St. Mauritius, their patron saint, believed to be a Moor, whose head is part of the arms of the association and can be seen on both sides of and above the entrance. The building is a rare example of reneissance architecture in Tallinn.