Liivalaia (Liivalai)

Sandflats, lit sandy expanse, avenue, channel... Named after local sand flats, see Liiva. Nice muddle this one: Renamed (1944-1992?) as Kingissepa V. during the Soviet occupation (at one stage of its evolutionary mutation from Kingissepa V. to Liivalaia and/or back again it apparently become misprinted as V. Liivalaia), along with, interestingly, two other streets which shared the name but not the longevity (1974-1990): Jõe and Pronksi, with Liivalaia itself replacing (1974-1990) the German-sounding Juhkentali. This is perhaps the street with the most ‘picturesque’ history, with spellings ranging through its current to Liiva laia, Laia-Liiva and Lai-Liiva (1885); names including Kaasani (Große or Breite or Neue Kasansche Straße in the early 19^th C), and a variety of variants around ‘width’ and ‘sand’ in all three standard-for-19^th‑C languages. Curiously, its name in 1813 was Suur-Kaasani or Große Kasansche Straße which, from a spoken point of view, is not that far from Sand Straße... It seems that (one of?) Tallinn’s main execution site(s), the Kivivõllaste paik (lit. place of the stone-built gallows) was located at No.8 (see Vana-Lõuna, Hariduse and Roosikrantsi), or nearby. See Vana-Veerenni.