Estonia’s freedom was short-lived, as it was annexed by the Soviet Republic (former Russia) after World War II broke out, achieved by a coup with the help of the communist Red Army troops in 1940. In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded Estonia but retreated in 1944, only to have their role of occupiers filled by the USSR. After the capture, Tallinn became the capital of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, a satellite state. Estonia remained under Soviet authority until 1991. During World War II, Tallinn’s medieval quarter was heavily bombed by Soviet air forces, but still retains its charm today.
 
Pirita, northeast of Tallinn, hosted a regatta during the Summer Olympics in 1980, when many buildings were erected in Tallinn, such as the new Main Post Office, Olympia Hotel and the Regatta Center. In August 1991, the independent democratic state of Estonia was proclaimed, and thereafter Tallinn quickly transformed into a modern capital.

Tallinn has three parts in its historic scheme: Toompea, Old Town and ‘Estonian town’, south of Old Town. Toompea, or Cathedral Hill, is the traditional seat of Tallinn’s central authority, with its bishops first, then the Teutonic knights, and later the German nobles. Today, it is the seat of the Estonian government, with many embassies and official residences. The Old Town, of the Hanseatic League or ‘city of citizens’, was united with Toompea in the late 1800s. It grew and prospered during the Middle Ages due to successful trade. Estonian town was where Estonians settled. Ethnic Estonians replaced Baltic Germans as the dominant group in Tallinn in the mid-19th Century.

Tallinn’s Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.