Follow the journey of Tales of Reval through storytelling experiences, tours and medieval themed events.
The very first Tales of Reval walking tour. To immortalize this moment, the following poem can be found on our Facebook page: Hear all ye travelers standing by Willhelm Weltwanderer am I! To the daily Merchants Walk, we’ll go! where the ancient tales of Reval I shall show. Grand stories and legends of old about our riches shall be told. So come and spare an hour accompanying me grand history, legends, and stories you shall see!
Our first video project is ready - "How Reval, medieval Tallinn, gets its name". Directed by: David and Nathan Popa
We were visited by a television company from Northern Ireland called RTÉ. They were doing a travel series called “All Hands on Deck” with Ireland’s favorite hotelier Francis Brennan. Master Gregorius answered the call to welcome RTÉ’s crew in Tallinn and immerse them into the medieval times.
1st place on TripAdvisor. Just a bit under a year full of countless lessons, improvement, and most of all fun, out of 121 excursions hosted on the platform we were honored with the #1 position by all the lovely guests of Tallinn.
We got our very first mention in a travel blog post written by Buddy Baum here (photos are courtesy of Trailing Away). If the 15th century is considered the peak of medieval Tallinn, then 2019 could easily be considered the peak of Tales of Reval. At that time, we were doing 4 shows a day, every single day, all year round, with 7 guides on our team. One of them, Master Sebastian, caught the attention of the lovely couple, who at the end of the tour decided to dedicate to him a generous portion of their beautifully written blog post.
Opened with a huge surprise and very wide smiles on all of our faces, as our lovely guests on TripAdvisor had voted Tales of Reval to be the #2 thing to do in Tallinn. Considering that the first place was dedicated to the entirety of the Old Town, this was an exceptional honor. The high praise also came with our very first awards: The Traveller’s choice of 2020 title on TripAdvisor, and the Travel and Hospitality Award 2020 of 2020 in the category of Best tour in Estonia. New authentic costumes on our backs, rewards rolling in, and Tallinn preparing for the biggest tourism season the town had ever seen - needless to say we were hyped and ready. Had we only known…
February was a glorious month. First, we learned that there is a tabletop battle game involving a lot of Estonian mythology, which takes place in the frozen city of Felstad - which is a town inspired by Reval. The game is created by Joseph A. McCullough , and is called Frostgrave. Secondly, we heard that a group of ardent fans of this game are coming to Tallinn, and they want to organize an entire week full of medieval fun and, of course, their favorite game. Arranged by Geek Nation Tours we were called upon to host this mighty company and take them around Tallinn and Estonia, immersing them into the medieval times.
The 17th day of the third month was when the carpet went under and, with a strike of a pen, tourism was wiped out overnight. Completely. And thus we were left sitting around a big table at our office, which we were to free up by the end of the month. As a gentleman’s agreement we decided to empty our pockets onto the table before us to evaluate our options. We stood at 600 euros. So with all that money, a burning love in our hearts towards our capitol, and a grandiose dream we set out to produce the World’s first Live-Narrated Online Film. Our vision brought together over a 100 volunteering actors, a lot of very kind and enterprising souls, and again we turned towards the master of Medieval Visuals: Nathan Popa . Our next project: Kingdom of Thieves - Tales of Medieval Tallinn .
While we were busy preparing the launch of “Kingdom of Thieves”, we had a letter from Visit Tallinn, who were doing their best to compensate for the lack of tourists, and trying to get the natives to come and visit the capitol. They decided to choose us for the tour for one of the biggest blogs in Estonia - A mida Henry teeb? Led by master Gregorius, Henry and his family were blown away by our performance and declared it the best thing about Tallinn - both for the adults and for the children. Needless to say the smile on Gregorius’ face was wide and bright indeed. (photos are the courtesy of A mida Henry teeb?)
brought us in contact with Fränz Wendler who was studying to be a director in Baltic Film and Media school (BFM) in Tallinn. He was working on a documentary project and needed someone to make a portrait-documentary out of. Kaupo agreed and thus was born a short film named “Costumised”. 25.01.2021 “Costumised”.
It was time of bringing all our efforts together. As Nathan Popa was hard at work editing the Kingdom of Thieves, we undertook the ambitious task of transforming a humble 1.5 cubic meter room in a Soviet era bomb shelter (the home to the best VR salon in town) into a cozy medieval lounge with a fireplace.
Saw the birth of an entirely new entertainment genre: the World’s First Live-Narrated Online Film, which fused together elements of classic cinematography and storytelling. That’s right, we narrated the film live on Zoom, and in between the 6 chapters of the movie, we filled in the historical blanks, gave context to what was going on on the screen, asked and answered questions, and created a cozy atmosphere for all our viewers. 'Kingdom of Thieves: Tales of Medieval Tallinn' was welcomed with stellar reviews and was even praised by veterans of hundreds of online experiences. Although a great product, it wasn’t quite as successful on Airbnb as we had hoped, and thus, a year later, we made the film available for everyone on Youtube.
was the month in which a grand event took place. AcademyS held a big conference on Perfect Permanent Make-up, hosted by maestro Sviatoslav Otchenash. The culmination of that conference was a huge medieval party in the Viking Village which our friends from Celebrate Group asked us to host. Masters Gregorius and Cedric took up the call and put together an evening full of medieval entertainment - starting from a vicious battle that transformed into a haka-style dance routine, to teaching all the party guests medieval etiquette of drinking and dining, and ending the evening by inviting to the stage the premier folk-metal band Metsatöll .
In the month of April exactly 600 years ago the doors of the Town Hall Pharmacy opened to the public, and until this day those doors remain open and exactly in the same place. Masters Wilhelm and Gregorius had the honor of doing their small part in the hosting of the jubilee celebrations of the oldest pharmacy in the world, which is still operating from the same rooms.
Our friends from Visit Tallinn contacted us once more and asked us to help them out with the creation of a shiny new promotional clip for the town we adore! Have a look:
August of 2022 continued in the spirit of celebrations. In the honor of the 600th jubilee of the Town Hall Pharmacy we were commissioned to capture this tremendous occasion by making a promotional video. There was only one person with the expertise and know-how to bring this project to life, so once again we called upon the master of medieval visuals - Nathan Popa Together we made this dramatization commemorating the bravery and efforts of the pharmacists of old.
saw yet another release of a visual masterpiece - the trailer for our tour was done. This time directed and filmed by the talented young director Franz Wendler, it was master Cedric’s turn to shine in front of the camera. Director, DoP, Editor: Franz Wendler Instagram: @leprechaux franzwendler.com Commissions: franz.u.wendler@gmail.com 2nd camera and drone: Kris Paas Art of Gaming Original music composed and recorded by: Douglas Pashley douglaspashley.com Producer: Kaupo Rebane Instagram: @the_Stimmlich Performed by: Tales of Reval Facebook.com/talesofreval www.talesofreval.ee
brought us an excellent chance to come out of our comfort zone, and take on a role much different from medieval entertainers. The legendary Estonian start-up Wise was holding their summer days in Tallinn. Our friends from Celebrate Group contacted us and asked us to take on the role of game hosts, and so all of us went out and had an absolute blast with all of the wisers on this most perfect summer day.
of 2023 will always hold a special place in our hearts. We had thus far been hired as ceremony and game masters for various weddings, but towards the beginning of the year we were sought out by Henry and Tiina. This time we were to help them to plan and organize a medieval style fantasy wedding complete with a tourney (including hand to hand combat), immersive costumes, a heartwarming ceremony, multiple workshops, and unforgettable moments. Masters Gregorius and Wilhelm rose to the occasion, and together conducted the union of an elf queen and a viking warlord, and the fields of Raudsilla echoed in a worthy celebration.
was a time for another major upgrade. 2 years in the making, with countless reiterations and returns to the drawing board, we are proud to present this shiny new homepage, complete with an expanded array of products and the very timeline you are currently reading. This feat would not have been possible without the help of many different masters of their craft, and thus we bow our heads to everyone that made our dream webpage come to life. Designer: Johan Laiv Initial coding: Aleksis Vilnitis 2026 overhaul and restructuring: Marek Copies and pictures: Tales of Reval
held another beautiful wedding. In a splendid viking ceremony were united Marilin and Jarko. This time master Cedric had the opportunity to step up as the creremony master.
And thus we are caught up to the present day. Thank you for taking the time to come with us on this trip down memory lane! We hope that when we follow up and complete this timeline at the end of the year, your event will be decorating this timeline as well. We hope to meet you soon! :)
Interactive medieval team events in Tallinn that bring guests together through humor, adventure, and live performance.
Private guided experiences and immersive performances tailored for families, partners, delegations and special guests.
A short-format Tallinn experience for visitors with limited time who still want a memorable medieval story.
Destination management for Tallinn and Estonia, hosted experiences and group itineraries.
Fantasy wedding concepts and themed celebrations with hosts, performers and an immersive atmosphere.