Tõnismäe State Gymnasium

The most striking building in Tõnismägi — quite literally — is the water tower dating from the late 19th century, which was built to ensure water supply in the Toompea and Kaarli Boulevard area. Between 1935 and 1937, next to it rose the Tallinn Women’s Vocational School building, designed by Herbert Johanson. In this grand limestone functionalist building, in addition to classrooms, there were numerous specialized rooms tailored to the subjects taught: teaching kitchens, dining halls, a baking room, laundry room, ironing room, as well as knitting and spinning classrooms. During the Soviet era, various technical schools operated in the building. From 1997, it was used by Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech), and since 2023, the building has been home to Tõnismäe State Gymnasium, with around 500 students. It will remain so until the new TORG building is completed at the corner of Endla and Lõkke streets (the international architecture competition was won by Arhitekt11 and Lunden Architecture with the concept design “Stack”).