Names
Marsi (Marss)
1) Mars (the planet; the god would be Mars in the nominative); 2) March (as in military, the month is märts; 3) Maintop (the platform about 1/3 the way up a mast). Next to Sõjakooli, so 2 it is, but obviously related to Mars too who, as god of war, gives us ‘martial’. Part of the Tondi military school group, see Rivi. Marsi was also an earlier name of Lehola, another martial street.
Marta (Marta)
Martha, woman’s name. Given its crossing Magdaleena tänav and one-time name of Magdaleena põik (-1933?), presumably St Martha, sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, the lady to whom JC is reputed to have said “I am the resurrection and the life” although reliable ear-witnesses are lacking. And since the ungodly b***s in Tallinn City Hall suggest the name was chosen “cos it sorta sounds like Magdalena...”), the present hypothesis perhaps needs emphasising. Patron saint of housewives and lay sisters. One of the few Christianity-based street-names the Soviets failed to change – these were, after all, the names most particularly vetted: out of a total of 18, 10 were replaced – probably missed it. Name also possibly related to the 1560-09-11 Battle of Mount Jerusalem (Jeruusalemma mäe lahing) as this public-execution area was known in the 14-17th C. The battle between Russians and citizens of Tallinn during the Livonian War (1558-1583) was commemorated by a painting now in the Kiek in de Kök museum, the Mustpeade epitaaf or Blackheads’ Epitaph and a stone cross known as the Blasius Hochgrewe (one of the 10 Blackheads [see Jüriöö] involved and listed in the painting) monument on the corner with Tondi. Now part of a woman’s name group, see Meeta.
Martsa (Martsa)
A Middle-Ordovician limestone, probably after the eponymous village (pop. 30) in Ida-Virumaa close to the Russian border where ‘Martsa pank’ (see Panga) aka(?) ‘Martsa paljand’ (see Paljandi) were first identified. Rocky matrix also host to fossilized Martsaphyton moxi, once believed to be the oldest land plant (1926) but now recognized to be a sessile cnidarian. We leave the Rectanguloceras cephalopod trocholites to another day. One of a loose geological collective, see Paasiku.
