Komandandi tee 2
Tel. +(372) 644 66 86
Kiek in de Kok is a large defensive tower, built in Tallinn in the 70-es and 80- es of the 15th century. In Lower Saxon language Kiek in de Kok means "look in the kitchen". Guards that were stationed in the tower could watch wives in their kitchens. Today Kiek in de Kok houses a branch of the Museum of the City of Tallinn. Most of exhibits are devoted to the medieval history. This includes weapons, cannons, armor and other artifacts. Additionally Kiek in de Kok tower is a site where you can begin an organized tours of the underground bastions of Tallinn.
The first tower was built sometime before 1475, it was much smaller
compared to the present one and its name is unknown. The new tower is
mentioned for the first time in 1475, when it was called "the new tower
behind Boleman's sauna". The tower was built until 1483 and was one of
the most powerful towers of the Tallinn city wall.
The tower
originally had six floors, the height of the tower was about 38 m. The
tower has a donut plan and its diameter was about 17.3 m at the base and
about 18.5 m at the projecting top. Kiek in de Kök is the tallest tower
of the Tallinn city wall.
The tower was badly damaged when the
troops of the Moscow tsar besieged Tallinn in 1577, in commemoration of
the Livonian War, large cannonballs were built into the tower site.
The tower was probably rebuilt in 1601-1602. In connection with the
construction of new defensive bastions, the tower was thoroughly rebuilt
between 1693 and 1697. The foot of the tower remained inside the body of
the new Inger bastion, and a new entrance was made on the 3rd floor (it
still remains today). The top of the tower was built thicker, a domed
roof was added to the tower inside and a cone-shaped roof up to 3.5
meters thick on the outside, which was covered with roofing stones. The
hatch in the middle of the first floor floor, covered with a wrought
iron grate, led to the salt storage in the basement.
The tower
was used as a gunpowder depot. When the Tallinn fortress was excluded
from the list of Russian land fortresses, in 1864 the Russian emperor
Alexander II gave the Kiek in de Kök tower and the adjacent Komandant's
house (Kaarli street 1) with a large orchard and town tower to the
parish of Toompea Kaarli. The former war giant then took on a more
peaceful function, where craftsmen's workshops, apartments and a
weightlifting hall were located.
In the autumn of 1938, the
President of the Republic, Konstantin Päts, proposed to the Government
of the Republic to establish a national history museum in the Kiek in de
Kök tower, where all the documents and objects that would provide an
overview of the birth of Estonian independence and its subsequent
development would be gathered. The museum had to be organized by 1943.
When the congregation of Toompea Kaarli in Tallinn started building
a new congregation building at Toompuiestee 4 in 1939, the tower and
commandant's house were sold to the state to finance this building.
The dilapidated tower was repaired in 1958. In the years 1966-1968,
the tower was extensively reconstructed, the first floor entrance, a
wide staircase leading from the first floor to the second, and a heating
system were added. The Tallinn City Museum was opened in 1968 in the
partially restored and partially rebuilt and supplemented tower.
Tower today
In the years 2008-2010, the Kiek in de Kök exposition was
renovated with the support of the Enterprise Development Foundation, and
the bastion passages were renovated with the support of the European
Regional Development Fund. After the renovation, the Kiek in de Kök
tower is connected to the casemate corridors of the Inger and Swedish
Bastion.