Execution sites
· Toompea
Toompea Pillory
The story of a pillory on Toompea recalls how public punishment was performed before a separate authority and its audience.
Toompea and the merchants’ Lower Town long belonged to different jurisdictions. Public shaming allowed an authority to display its right to punish and made the condemned person visible to others. Yet the general history of the pillory does not pinpoint one location on Castle Square across the centuries. Historic plans and court records are needed for that. Standing on the square today, consider how being watched by a crowd became part of the penalty itself.
Practical information
Address: Lossi plats
View Lossi plats as a historic seat of power. Do not expect an original pillory at an unverified precise spot.