Tallinn's largest and grandest cupola cathedral dominates the skyline with its 'onion dome'. Almost demolished in 1924 because of its Tsarist history, the ornate Orthodox Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Toompea houses 11 bells and was built in 1900.
One of the bells is the largest in Tallinn, weighing 15 tonnes, and they all play before church services. The architect was Mikhail Preobrazhenski from St Petersburg and the church is dedicated to the Prince of Novgorod, Alexander Yaroslavitz Nevsky, who led the famous Ice Battle on the banks of Lake Peipsi on 5 April, 1242 and halted the Germans' eastward advance.