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 yet, layout not finalized...

This started with a book (last few pages under review) and so far 1814 of the 1884 articles (A to Z, with 50-odd Ts remaining) entered so far, so some 5% of the links go nowhere.

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. 

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!

Names

Vete (Veed)

Waters, singular: vesi:vee. What the waters are is not clear. Possibly local marshy land, or related to the ponds created by Glehni N.v., or to the swimming-pools built in the 1920s (now the Nõmme Spordikeskus (sports center)? Vesi ahjus olema, lit. to have water in the oven, to be on your uppers, to be hard up. Parallel to Padu.

Via Baltica (Via Baltica)

Lit. the Baltic Way, or E67, a 1505-km highway originally running from Tallinn to Warsaw, now from Prague to Helsinki, not to be confused with the Baltic Way / Chain (‘way’ in Lithuanian [kelias] and Latvian [ceļš], ‘chain’ in Estonian [kett]), the demonstration of 1989-08-23 when some 2 million people from the above 3 countries formed a 690-km human chain from Tallinn to Vilnius on the 50th anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, leading to their independence. August 23rd is now Black Ribbon Day, or European Day of Remembrance for Victims of Stalinism and Nazism.

Viadukti (Viadukt)

Viaduct. Carrying the Tallinn-Väike narrow-gauge railway line.

Vibu (Vibu)

Bow. A new and appropriately bow-shaped street leading onto Küti. One of a mini target-practice group.

Videviku (Videvik)

1) Twilight, gloaming, dusk, owllight; 2) According to Kreutzwald, the Moon’s spouse; 3) One of the world’s creator’s three servants, a cowmaid, with whom the moon fell in love and lay, “mouth to mouth and lip to lip”, as a result of which, one of her oxen was eaten by a wolf, as these things happen. Celestial street-name group. See also Virmalise.

Vigla (Vigel)

1) Pitchfork; 2) Primitive gimlet. Part of a harvest street-name group. See Vihu.

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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.