Monument to the chimney sweep in Tallinn
Not far from Tallinn’s Old Town, on the square near the Sõprus cinema, you can always meet the bronze man and the tourists crowding around him.
This is a monument to a chimney sweep – with one of the most respected professions.
The monument was created on the initiative and at the expense of the owners of the nearby Savoy Boutique Hotel with the support of the Tallinn City Hall. The local sculptor Tauno Kangro was commissioned to make the “chimney sweep”. The monument was inaugurated on May 15, 2010, on the day of the beginning of the traditional Days of the Old Town.
On the one hand, the sculpture turned out to be cheerful, and on the other – classic: the “chimney sweep” is dressed “in shape” – in a traditional top hat, with a wide belt with a copper buckle. On his shoulder he has a rope and an indispensable brush-brush.
There has long been a tradition (this applies not only to Tallinn, but to all similar monuments), according to which any desire of everyone who rubbed a button on a sculpture will be fulfilled. But the Tallinn “chimney sweep” is special – they say that each of the buttons of his uniform has its own meaning and is responsible for a certain desire. So stay there – rub all the buttons in a row.
The Tallinn “chimney sweep” is not the only monument of this kind in the Baltic countries – there are three of them in Riga, and one more in Kaunas.