The Freedom Square ("Vabaduse väljak") is the main square of Tallinn and also the site of the War of Independence Victory Column. The square has had several names during history. The five-meter monument to Peter the Great was erected there by the Russian empire in 1910 and the square was named after him. After the Estonian independence in 1922 the statue was melted and recycled and the square named as the Freedom Square.
About 20 years later, in 1944, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and in a few years after the area was named as Victory Square. After the Estonia's new independence, the name was restored once again to Freedom Square.
The square is bounded on the east by St. John's Church (built 1862-67), on the south by Kaarli Boulevard and an underground shopping center (2008–09), and on the west by aVictory Column (2009) commemorating the Estonian War of Independence 1918–1920.
The Square has quickly become a meeting place due to its location right next to the Old Town and Toompea (the Cathedral Hill). The majority of the underground pedestrian zone is under the AHHAA Science Centre, Youth Information Point, an exhibition of the history of the Square and archaeological finds.
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Saint-Émilion is a picturesque medieval village renowned for its well-preserved architecture and vineyards. The town and surrounding vineyards was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, owing to its long, living history of wine-making, Romanesque churches and ruins stretching all along steep and narrow streets.
An oppidum was built on the hill overlooking the present-day city in Gaulish times, before the regions was annexed by Augustus in 27 BC. The Romans planted vineyards in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century. In the 4th century, the Latin poet Ausonius lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine.
Because the region was located on the route of the Camino de Santiago, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under Plantagenet rule, the town was granted full rights.