Russalka Memorial — Attraction in Tallinn

Russalka Memorial Monument

The Russalka Memorial is a bronze monument sculpted by Amandus Adamson, erected on 7 September 1902 in Kadriorg, Tallinn, to mark the ninth anniversary of the sinking of the Russian warship Rusalka, or "Mermaid", which sank en route from Tallinn to Finland in an autumn storm in 1893. The monument depicts an angel holding an Orthodox cross towards the assumed direction of the shipwreck. During the Soviet rule the cross was removed and the angel pointed to the sea with her bare hand. The model for the angel was the sculptor's housekeeper Juliana Rootsi, whose grandson is the politician Tiit Made.

This monument is a favourite place of Russian-speaking people to leave there a lock with written names to make an oath of everlasting love, especially during wedding. You’ll find there quite a big collection of such locks. Worth to visit on your way to...

First of all - the monument itself is very beautiful and located in wonderful place. We passed by it several times by car and next day decided to look closer. Before that, we guessed it is dedicated to Estonian longing for freedom (because it is faced to Helsinki, Finland, who were able to remain freedom from russian barbars and avoid 50 years in darkness) or similar, what is important for Estonian people. But when we went there we saw the russian church cross and cyrillic everywhere and felt a little bit down and just moved away quickly. When I went home, I started to investigate it. Ok, it is for victims of russian military ship who went to Helsinki. But considering Baltics history and Ukraine present it just feels really strange. Or there is just something I don't understand...

Beautiful monument by the sea on the Tallinn promenade that commemorates the victims of the "Russalka", a warship that sunk in the Gulf of Finland. The bronze statue on a rock like pedestal represents an angel holding a Orthodox cross pointing in the supposed direction of the shipwreck. The inscriptions at the base of the pedestal are on one side in Russian and on the other one in Estonian. A friend told me that a Rusalka is a female creature of the Slavic folklore frequently associated with water and sea (like a siren). You can reach it by walk from the...