The largest park in the bastion zone
The largest park in the bastion zone has been laid out in the former area of earthen fortifications around the Snelli pond, which is the only part that has survived of the ditch that once surrounded the city (this part was dug in the 1760s); the pond was named after Johan Snell, a Swedish city gardener, whose household stood by the pond in the 19th century. Already in the 1920s, the first plants of Toompark were set out on the former hay fields; it is designed as a landscape garden.
Patkuli staircase that connects Toompea with the city below was completed in 1903. The park has a diverse selection of trees due to the ground relief and planting the park in several stages and at different times.
