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, a couple of entries still pending, no photos with the streets yet, layout not finalized...

This started with a book (last few pages under review) and so far 1889 of the 1891 articles entered, 1 or 2 links may 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

Viirpuu (Viirpuu)

The Hawthorn, none of the Estonian species seem to have an English name, so I’ll create some and see what that does to the botanical nomenclature:

  • Daugava viirpuu, Divine hawthorn, C. dunensis
  • Eesti viirpuu, Lumpy hawthorn, C. estonica
  • Harilik viirpuu, Basic hawthorn, C. rhipidophylla
  • Kupfferi viirpuu, Trouty hawthorn, C. kupfferi
  • Kuramaa viirpuu, de Troyes’ hawthorn, Crataegus curonica
  • Lääne-viirpuu, facepalm hawthorn, C. palmstruchii
  • Lindmani viirpuu, Harpy hawthorn, C. lindmanii
  • Rand-viirpuu, Holiday hawthorn, C. maritima
  • Saaremaa viirpuu, WeirdO hawthorn, C. osiliensis
  • Viidumäe viirpuu, Tarry-up-the-Hill Hawthorn, C. viidumaegica.

Viisi (Viis)

Looks like a loan word from French vis, but derived from MLG wise, meaning (as well as mode, fashion, way, manner…, think ‘likewise’) melody, tune or air, which, next to Lauliku, it is. Note too that viis:viie means 5.

Vikerkaare (Vikerkaar)

Rainbow.

Vikerlase (Vikerlane)

Estonian viking. Vikerlased (Vikings), was the first Estonian opera to be written, premièred in Tartu’s Vanamuise theatre on 8th Sept. 1928. Renamed (1979-1995) as Kuramaa during the Soviet occupation. And the point of that was?... Odd intruder to the magico-mythological group perhaps influenced by its alphabetical predecessor Varraku. Part of a magico-mythological group. See Vilisuu.

Viki (Vikk)

1) Common vetch; 2) limestone paste; 3) bung, spigot; 4) All that for nothing, ‘street’ no longer exists... Anagram of Kivi. Nevertheless, the English term ‘vetch’ cannot but instantly remind one of the genial Peter Simon Pallas (1741-1811), scientist, geographer, and explorer, one of the precursor thinkers of Darwin’s theory of evolution and discoverer of numerous plant and animal (the cat, obviously) species, not to mention Ammodytes hexapterus, the sand eel, väike tobias (‘little Toby’, but see Nigli), which he mistook for a mollusk (we may forgive him) and, I’m getting there, the vetch Astragalus alopecurus. Odd, this is not a street. For some, perhaps an abbreviation for the so-called Vikimõisa ‘Ward’, for others, an underhand addition to a paper map designed to trap plagiarists.

NB: If anyone can help me get my greasy hands on Pallas’ multilingual dictionary I would be exceedingly grateful to the extent of rewarding said person with cash and/or a pint, whichever you can afford to buy me ;o)

Vikimõisa (Vikimõis) Symbol designating a Tallinn "Allasum", or Ward.

Uncertain 2023 addition to Tallinn’s streets, if street inded it is. Information elusive. Related to a former manor house near the Harku lake, named after whichever whim went through its benighted owners’ minds:

  • 1798: Cramers Höfchen (‘Cramer’s court’, translated as suvemõis (summer manor), belonging to a customs inspector called Johann Cramer of various misspellings (Cramer, Kraamle, Krameri…)
  • Early 1800s: Birkenhof
  • 1871: Fick aka Viki which could be one of the various poolmõis (see Mõisa), after, apparently, a pharmacist Eduard Wilhelm Fick

As to its possible allasum (Ward) status or identity, nothing is clear: once pin-pointed in XGis, now it’s putting out ‘loves you’ / ‘loves you not’ signals and I’m not ready to stalk. Pending official update.

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