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!

Home

Teatri (Teater)

Theatre. Square opposite the Estonian National Opera (Rahvusooper Estonia) and Estonia Concert Hall (Estonia Kontserdisaal), and why they can’t keep their word order in order is beyond me. Both recommended, Estonia enjoys an excellent reputation for music, whether classical, traditional or song.

Rävala (Rävala)

Or Revalia, historical (±12/13th C) county of Estonia, later used as name for Tallinn: Reval. Renamed (1950-1991, along with Kaubamaja (?-1991), as Lenini during the Soviet occupation.

Viru väljak (Viru)

Known as ‘Flea market’ in the 19th C (but see Täi), although the 3 variants – Est., Ger., Rus. – all call it louse market: Täiturg, Läusemarkt, Вшивый рынок (Vshivyy rynok), and/or ‘Russian market’ in various guises from 1791 to 1939: Russischer Markt (1791-1907), Vene Turu (1885), Русскій рынокъ (1907-1916) (see note on Russian spelling in intro) and Vene turg (1908-1939) and, oddly, acquiring its present name during the 1st Soviet Invasion (1939-1940) but under which authority I do not know, then moving on to greater heights with Stalini väljak (1940-1960), punctuated by the Nazis as Wierländischer Platz (1942), which could have been worse: although Estonia was now to be known as Reichskommissariat Ostland, Generalbezirk Estland, they could pretend they chose this name themselves. A compromise was reached in 1960 with the one-name-fits-all Keskväljak (central square), then back at last to Viru väljak in 1970. Current municipal raison d’être: tramway switch-point. This was the original starting-point of the E67, first from Tallinn to Warsaw, now Helsinki to Prague.

Roseni (Rosen)

Surprisingly, not after the Swedish von Rosen family of whom Axel (1624-1675/80) – builder of the Von Rosen palace, now the Swedish Embassy in Pikk – was later governor of Estonia, but the former Rosen (now Liviko) spirits factory (see Võrgu V.), surely a question of priorities.

Page 441 of 473

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.

Sponsorship logo top bare

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.