Page 71 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Estonia Latvia & Lithuania

T ALLINN 69

Stone Carving
A stone skull and VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
crossbones can be seen
at the entrance to the Practical Information
cha pel, near the church’s Niguliste 3. Map 1 C3.
main door. Stone Tel 631 4330. Open May–Sep:
carving, a vital ele ment 10am–5pm Tue–Sun; Oct–Apr:
in Estonian architecture, 10am–5pm Wed–Sun. & tickets
was largely done in available until 4:30pm (call 644
dolomite and sandstone. 9903). 8 book in advance; extra
charges for guided tour (up to 35
people) in a foreign language.
Silver Chamber: Open 10am–5pm
Wed–Sun. 8 extra charges (up
to 10 people). Organ Music: Sat &
Sun at 4pm for 30 mins.

. Bernt Notke’s Danse Macabre
The 15th-century frieze by Bernt Notke
(1440–1509) is widely considered the pièce
de résistance of the church. Only a fragment
of the 30-m (98-ft) original remains.

Display, the Silver Chamber
This small side chamber contains a
fascinating display of ornate silver ware
that belonged to various guilds and
organizations, such as the influential and
wealthy Brotherhood of Blackheads.

Dancing with Death
Part of a 15th-century frieze
by Bernt Notke, Danse
Macabre is considered one of
Estonia’s most prized works
of art, as it is the only known
surviving example of its
genre on canvas. Skeletal
figures of death are shown as
enticing a king and his nobles
to dance along with them. No
one knows exactly how the
painting came to Tallinn, but it
is possible that Notke had
reproduced a similar frieze he
completed in 1461 in his native
Lübeck in Germany. Detail showing a king