Catching the catamaran from Linnahall On the edge of Tallinn Old Town, just west of the new harbour development where huge, glossy cruise liners dock from St. Petersburgh, Helsinki, and Stockholm, the controversial Soviet monument the Linnahall gently crumbles into the sea. Designed by esteemed Estonian architect Raine Karp and rapidly constructed for the Moscow-hosted 22nd Summer Olympic Games in 1980, the Linnahall was originally part of a complex of buildings that included the Pirita Yachting Centre (now Pirita Marina) at the mouth of the Pirita River further east. In the run-up to the 1980 games, landlocked Moscow designated Tallinn, the capital of its (not officially recognised) satellite socialist republic of Estonia, as the host for sailing events. Originally named the V. I. Lenin Palace of Culture and Sport, the Linnahall housed a 5,000 seat theatre and a 2,000 seat ice rink as well as numerous cafeterias and other amenities. Massive investment in Tallinn’s airport and broadcast facilities were also part of the Soviet preparation for the games. Sixty-five countries, lead by the USA, boycotted the games that year in protest of the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan. (The Carter administration was, of course, simultaneously funding the Mujahideen to fight against Brezhnev’s Red Army.) As a result of the boycott, the Linnahall was underused and quickly fell into disrepair after the games. Estonian liberation from Soviet rule in 1991 accelerated the building’s justifiable and symbolic neglect. Recently, the Linnahall has become a listed building; an example of 1980s Soviet architecture. The poor construction methods and cheap materials employed have fuelled a complex debate throughout Estonia regarding the building’s meaning and future. It is still possible to catch a catamaran or helicopter to Helsinki from the seaboard side of the Linnahall, if you can find your way through its labyrinthine and ziggurat construction.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 17:27:07 +0000
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