Fat Margaret Tower

This broad cannon tower guards the northern entrance to Tallinn's old town beside the Great Coastal Gate. Completed in the early sixteenth century, its unusually wide girth, which earned the affectionate nickname, was meant to impress arriving seafarers and shelter heavy guns. The rounded structure now holds the Estonian Maritime Museum's main displays on shipping, fishing and coastal life. From its upper terrace visitors survey the harbour and the old town wall stretching south toward the church spires and merchant houses.