Prisons and cells
· Vanalinn
Prison Fire at Fat Margaret
Revolutionary unrest in 1917 brought an attack and fire to the prison housed in Fat Margaret tower.
Fat Margaret was built to defend the seaward approach to Tallinn, but at different times it also served as a prison. The revolutionary violence of 1917 reached it in that role: the prison was attacked and a fire broke out. Demands for freedom and damage to the building became entangled in one event. Today visitors see a restored structure; understanding the fire means tracing its changing uses as fortification, prison and museum.
Practical information
Address: Pikk 70
See Fat Margaret at Pikk 70 and consult the museum interpretation. The present building does not display all traces of the 1917 fire directly.