Fat Margaret

Fat Margaret (Estonian: Paks Margareeta, German: Dicke Margarethe) is a tower in Tallinn, Estonia.

The tower was built in the early 16th century (from 1511 to 1530) during the reconstruction of the medieval city gate system.

Apart from being a fortification against would-be invaders to the port of the town, it was also built to impress outside visitors arriving by sea.

Together with the Suur Rannavärav (Great Coastal Gate), a sixteenth-century arch flanked by two towers, it served to defend the harbour of Tallinn.

Later, it was used as a storehouse for gunpowder and weapons, and then transformed into a prison, and was the scene of an outbreak of violence during the 1917 Revolution, when the prison guards were murdered by a mob of workers, soldiers and sailors.