Vabaduse väljak 7
15198 Tallinn
+372 640 4375
tlpa@tallinnlv.ee
Rg-kood
75023823
tallinn.ee
Lazare Eloundou Assomo
World Heritage Centre
UNESCO Culture Sector
7, place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP
France 11 April 2025 No 8.-1/971
Dear Lazare Eloundou Assomo,
With this letter we send to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre a draft of the Comprehensive
Management Plan for the Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn for review.
Due to the existing regulations at national level, Comprehensive Management Plan for the Historic
Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn has been compiled as a local government development document
for a specific part of the city territory. It will obtain its legal force through being adopted by Tallinn
City Council. Management Plan is well integrated into broader strategic and planning instruments,
such as Development Strategy “Tallinn 2035” and specific development plans of the City of
Tallinn, and clearly articulated with other relevant plans used to manage World Heritage
properties (i. e thematic plan “Location of high-rise buildings in Tallinn) The Plan follows the
structure of the Strategy “Tallinn 2035” to facilitate its implementation and specifies the role and
activities concerning Tallinn Old Town.
The document is in accord with the Local Government Organization Act, the Statutes of Tallinn,
and the Procedures of Processing Development Documents of Tallinn. The Plan fully reflects the
principles of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, its Operational Guidelines and the
handbook “Management Plans for World Heritage Sites. A Practical Guide” issued by the German
National Commission for UNESCO. The challenges, aims and activities in this document, needed
to ensure the conditions necessary to maintain the OUV of the site, were defined in cooperation
with representatives of state and non-governmental organizations as well as inhabitants of the
Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn. We have also taken into consideration the suggestion made
by ICOMOS in 2013 regarding the previous Comprehensive Management Plan, which was
considered very heavy document by ICOMOS, to compile a more compact and user-friendly
document. We believe this allows its broader dissemination among the stakeholders and civil
society. Dissemination is vital for facilitating general ownership and broader understanding of the
OUV of the Site and how this relates to the proposed development principles and the aims of the
plan.
The preservation of the OUV of Historic Centre (Old Town) of Tallinn is the guiding principle of
the document. Tallinn Old Town has always been and continues to be an important living
environment. Therefore, the living conditions and wellbeing of the local population are an
important focus of the plan, alongside the conservation of the physical attributes of the Site. The
need to find sustainable solutions to societal challenges that are compatible with the conservation
needs of the World Heritage property has been considered in the Comprehensive Management
Plan as of utmost importance to maintain the OUV of the Site. We recognize the fundamental role
of civil society in heritage practice and believe that the active participation of the local communities
is key for protecting heritage sites.
The Comprehensive Management Plan has passed public review process (27 January – 28
February 2025) and public hearing (8 April 2025) with gaining beneficial feedback from the local
communities.
With the draft of Comprehensive Management Plan, we send to you for information Tallinn
Heritage Conservation Area Protection Policy Bill, which is awaiting adoption by Estonian
Government. Estonian National Heritage Board was the leading party in compiling the draft of the