In 1865, Carl August Mayer, a wealthy businessman and mayor of Tallinn had a stone staircase built which started at the beginning of Harju Street and led to Komandant Street. To decorate the staircase, Mayer had eight decorative ceramic vases placed along it. Unfortunately, he did not take into account the temperament of the local youth who vandalised some of the vases. They were later replaced with heavier cast iron vases which were indestructible for the local youths. The vases that can be seen along the staircase today were made in 1885 by Tallinn's Drümpelmann factory. They have become a prominent and lasting peice of Tallinn's landscape.
Mayer's Staircase, also known as the Harju Staircase
ca. 1900
