Fat Margaret Tower

Massive 16th-century gun tower at the Great Coast Gate, now housing the Maritime Museum

Fat Margaret is a massive Renaissance-era gun tower that anchors the Great Coast Gate — the main entrance to Tallinn from the sea. The tower, completed in 1529, has walls up to 4.7 metres thick and was designed to house heavy artillery facing the harbour. Today it houses a branch of the Estonian Maritime Museum with exhibits on seafaring and ship navigation.

The tower stands at the point where the Old Town meets the port area — the Great Coast Gate it flanks is the original land gate, now largely obscured but still traceable. The exterior with its enormous round form is one of the most distinctive pieces of architecture in the city. The views from the top take in the port and the gulf.

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A story
Fat Margaret earned its name from its squat, round form — it is almost as wide as it is tall. Built between 1510 and 1529 to defend the harbour entrance, its walls are up to 4.7 metres thick. The cannon of the period couldn't penetrate it. In 1917, after Estonian sailors mutinied against the Imperial Russian Navy, the tower was briefly seized by revolutionaries; during the Estonian War of Independence it was defended against Russian Bolshevik forces.

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