Long Leg

The Pikk jalg or the Long Leg is the steepest street of Tallinn and the original way for the horsemen and carts to get from the lower town up to Toompea Hill. This was the way to go up to the stronghold on the hilltop even before the city itself was built. During the Middle Ages there were only two streets that connected the two towns, the Long Leg and the Short Leg so it is said that Tallinn has a limp. Since the mid-15th century the Long Leg is lined by a part of the Lower town City Walls on one side. Initially intended for road safety purposes, the wall dividing the two communities embodied the alleged hostility between upper and lower town so soon it was symbolically named the Wall of Distrust. The retaining wall on the other side was built in 1781 and was originally lined with buildings. During the bombing of Tallinn in 1944 the builings were severely damaged and eventually demolished.