When you arrive in Tallinn by boat from Helsinki, Linnahall may be tricky to spot. But once you start walking from the A terminal towards the Tallinn Old Town, you can’t miss it: the colossal mass of gray heavily graffitied bricks. “What the hell is that?!” is the general reaction to it.
Is it a building? Is it a platform of some sort? Or is it just a collection of stairs? Well, it’s actually all of that but also so much more! Linnahall in Tallinn has been standing side by side with the Tallinn cruise ship harbour for over 40 years. But its story may soon be over.
I finally had the opportunity to visit this monstrosity and explore the secrets it’s been hiding for decades. To be honest, it would still be hiding its secrets if it wasn’t for Christopher Nolan. You’ll know what I mean when I say the words Linnahall and Tenet. Oh yes, a lot of the movie was filmed in Tallinn, some of it in this colossal ruin.
It was such an interesting place to explore and the still atmosphere inside gave me the HBO’s Chernobyl vibes. In this article I will give you a sneak peek inside this ruin / architectural gem and explain why it is such a complicated building for the locals.
What is Linnahall in Tallinn
Linnahall is a humongous platform of a building on Tallinn’s coast. For a long time the area used to host some form of a production plant. But in the 1960’s it was decided that the coastline needed something more substantial. Plans were made but funding was difficult to get as back then Estonia was part of the Soviet Union.
Then came the 1980’s Moscow Olympics, which provided Tallinn with the perfect opportunity to apply for significant funding. The official reason for the colossal building was to host the sailing competitions for the Olympics. But the realistic reasoning for it was that Tallinn’s officials had wanted to build it for decades and this was their chance!
So, Linnahall in Tallinn had very little to do with the Olympics in the end. Instead it became the most significant cultural venue in the city. As had been planned.
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Facilities and spaces
Tallinn’s seafront comes with certain restrictions for buildings: no building is allowed to obstructs the view of the Old Town from the sea. And Linnahall certainly isn’t obstructing the view! It’s a flat and long building with a promenade on the first roof and a viewing platform on the second roof.
Underneath the first roof hides an ice hall with an ice hockey rink and seating for 3 000 people. That area is now in such disrepair that even staff isn’t allowed there.
Proceeding onwards towards the sea you would have found a restaurant but it is also out of bounds now. The massive concert hall is open for inspection, though. The audience entrance to the theater seats was through a wide and light gallery with an imposingly low roof. Once upon a time the building also included a bowling alley, but it has long since been dismantled.
About a decade after Estonia gained its independence, a heliport was added at the end of the complex. It was mainly used by a Finnish helicopter company that only a few years later met a tragic end.
In terms of architecture, Tallinn Linnahall was one of the most inventive and unique constructions in the Soviet Union. It was famous across the world due to its impressive facade and its interior design.
Linnahall as a cultural centre
During its golden age in the 1980’s Linnahall was the most significant cultural venue in Tallinn. In addition to ice hockey, the ice rink was used for other sports and fashion shows.
The concert hall in the next section of the building hosted plays, concerts, political meetings, even movie screenings. Some famous names that have performed in the Linnahall concert hall include:
- Savage Garden
- Duran Duran
- Celine Dion
- Bonnie Tyler
- Scorpions
- Apocalyptica
Whatever happened in Linnahall was always considered a major event by the locals. It was the central hub, the place to show up in. It’s intriguing how such a significant focal point in a small city was completely abandoned just 20 years later…
The road to ruin
It received funding related to the 1980’s Moscow Olympics, which meant that Linnahall had a strict building schedule. Due to this, cheap and quickly accessible building materials were preferred, as well as unprofessional builders, like Soviet soldiers. Not surprisingly, after just a couple of decades the building started to deteriorate. It was clear how badly it had been constructed.
The biggest problem was that the complex is completely flat. A heavy and flat roof in a climate like Estonia’s should’ve been an absolute no-no. Heavy rain and melting snow seeps into the seams and cracks, and slowly eats away at the walls and roof on the inside.
The second issue with the time restrictions concerned the concert hall. The original plans for the stage included a mechanism that allowed the stage to spin. Due to tight schedules those mechanisms were never installed.
As a massive and badly built structure it quickly became too expensive to maintain. Especially in the chaos of the 1990s after the Soviet Union fell. The local authorities did their best to keep the place active by allowing all sorts of creative uses for the vast space. Such uses as martial arts classes, office spaces, etc.
By 2009 the ice rink had deteriorated so badly that it was closed to the public. The concert hall followed in 2010. This didn’t mean that the complex was completely abandoned, though. Tallinn actively sought investors to restore the place or design something new in its place, but nothing came into fruition.
In 2017 Linnahall was declared so dangerous that entering it was banned.
Light at the end of the tunnel
Only two years later, in 2019, Linnahall received some positive news! Christopher Nolan had chosen it as a filming location for his science fiction action thriller, Tenet. The concert hall was a stand in for the Kyiv Opera House in the movie.
At that point the place was covered in mold and there was a risk of parts of it collapsing. A lot needed to be done! Half of the upper gallery was ‘beautified’:
- a lot of mold was removed
- the parts of the roof where big chunks of plaster had fallen off were painted over
- the carpet covering the floor was removed and a new floor was installed
- and the cloakroom was renovated to its former glory.
All the effort (and funding) that was put into getting the place into a good enough condition for filming brought big positive effects to the whole complex. After the film crew had gone, Linnahall opened its doors to the public again!
While it still stands, definitely participate in an architecture tour through the areas inside that are available for entry. These, unfortunately, don’t include the ice rink or the restaurant.
Public’s opinions of Linnahall today
Tallinna Linnahall receives mixed reviews from the locals. At the moment nobody can deny that the heavily graffitied brick complex is an eyesore. But as such it is also an intriguing building.
Its strong connection to the Soviet times and brutalist architecture of that era makes it an ill reminder of times that many try to forget. But at the same time it is a famous piece of architecture that can’t be found anywhere else. Unfortunately its bad condition dims this angle a bit.
When Linnahall opened its doors to locals after the Tenet shoot, the lines were humongous. Clearly the building still interests locals, even those who were born after the Soviet Union collapsed. Some surely visited to reminisce about visiting the place in its glory days.
But overall the vibe that I’m getting is that it is predominantly architecture enthusiasts who would be sorry to see it demolished. Nowadays it’s mainly a bizarre thing for tourists to gawp at. Whereas locals prefer it as a viewing platform to watch New Year’s fireworks from.
As half local, half tourist I would reeeally like to see Linnahall salvaged as it is. But I’m a realist, and having seen the condition that it is in nowadays myself, my hopes are not high.
What is going to happen to Linnahall?
Nobody knows… But the decision has to be made within the next 5 – 10 years and truth be told, the building is in such bad condition now that there seems to be little chance of restoring it. But nothing is impossible! All it requires is an inordinate amount of money.
The plant has received multiple design suggestions for completely new constructions like apartment buildings and different kinds of public areas. Most of these designs have included demolishing the current structure. And since it is a raw reminder of the Soviet era in Estonia, there are plenty of people who would be happy to see it go.
Then, on the other hand, it is also a listed heritage structure. As such, it is seen as a culturally and historically important piece of globally unique architecture. The bizarre thing is that the most supposedly promising new designs for it have been talked about but never shared publicly…
So, there have been designs for replacing Linnahall but nobody’s actually seen any of them. Why the secrecy? It’s giving Soviet vibes…
Personally, I would love to see this monstrosity revived! But for that to be possible, the money for it needs to be found this year and construction works have to start next year. Not likely.
The City of Tallinn has left it to ruin for too long, so now it is at the very end of its life. But I also understand the view that throwing vast amounts of money on a reminder of a horrid period in the country’s history is senseless. I shall follow how this situation evolves with interest ♥
