Streetsign reading "Tallinn Streets dot com" Header

Work in progress

A pile of ro ad signs half-trashed and piled up on a building-site, to indicate the site is in construction.

Website under construction, many entries missing, no photos with the streets, layout not finalized...

This started with a book (last few pages under review) and only 926 of the 1882 articles (A to L included) entered so far, so many links going nowhere.

Contact

Photograph of Simon Hamilton in Pikk street, Tallinn.

Apparently, a company that uses its owner's name is considered more trustworthy because they put themselves on the line.

This is me, in Tallinn this spring (2025), on a 3-month spree to check details, take photos (about 12K), explore (ave. 15K/day), and so on. I think I covered every street in Kesklinn (apart from Mõigu), most of Põhja-Tallinn and some Kristiine.

For information, please contact Simon at this address dot com, thanks!

Logo of the Tallinn Children's Hospital Foundation

The Book

All author earnings of A Rambling Dictionary of Tallinn Street Names to be donated to the foundation or donate here.

If anyone could help or advise as to the legal mechanism, it would be appreciated, thanks!

The Website

Not intended at the beginning, the present website is taking on a life of its own, with plans for relevant discussion forums, picture galleries and, over time, more non-streetname entries.

In theory, it will be funded by advertising relevant to people in Tallinn, to be determined.

A percentage of profits (also to be determined) to be donated to the foundation. 

Names

Kitseküla

Kitseküla (Kitseküla) Symbol designating a Tallinn "Asum", or Sub-district.

Lit. Goat’s village or goatsville. Said to be named after the area being a former pasture for goats. Now, I’m sorry and all that, and not trying to be a party-pooper here, but didn’t the celebrated old 750-mm kitsarööpmeline (narrow-gauge, see Kitsarööpa) line get laid here in 1901 (rebuilt later to ‘standard’ laiarööpmeline (wide-gauge) of 1520 mm in 1973), the contour of which pretty much matches the NNE stretch of the Sub-district to a tee? And, west of that, nothing to see but Landhäuser (which we may lightly translate as suvemõisad, summer estates, see Mõisa) on the 1914 map of Tallinn… while that of 1876 states simply Die Christinenthäler Wiesen (Kristiine heinamaa, Kristiine Meadows, see Kristiine). The first cartographic mention of Kitseküla itself seems to be that of the 1921 Tallinna Plaan (map of Tallinn) published by K-Ü. “Rahvaülikool” (TBC), followed in 1922 by Estonia’s Military Topography Dept. (also TBC), also printing the name next to a plot of narrow-gauge shunting lines. Not a single reference to goats anywhere. Comments welcome!

 

Advertise...

Your business, store or consultancy next to your street address and a percentage of your fee (to be determined) goes the the Children's Hospital fund.

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Post your favorite local photo and sponsor the foundation. Your entire sponsorship goes go the the Children's Hospital fund

Wanted!

Beautiful photos of your street or Tallinn! Send them in! No remuneration planned for now, but will be attributed according to your preferences.