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.

Kassisaba (Kassisaba)

The name of the district is often accused of coming from the German military term Katze for an elevated bastion (none found), and the road leading from it as its tail (Ger. Schwanz, which also means ‘dick’). This is almost certainly wrong. A) Ger. Katze has a multitude of meanings and no self-respecting army would name or nickname one of its defensive structures after a vagina, trollop, flighty woman or prostitute, no matter how cute and cuddly its primary definition; and B) Estonia has had at least half a dozen farms or bits of village called Kassisaba anyway, hardly fighting stuff, especially the flower of that name: spiked speedwell, Veronica spicata. It is almost certainly a legacy misrecollection of Ger. Schanze, ‘sconce’ in English, which is indeed an elevated fortification (such as a redoubt), often protected by a couvreface, but a term so rarely used that even Tristam Shandy’ Uncle Toby failed to mention it once… As to the ‘tail’, the point of a bastion is to avoid having a road either to it or from it, so my suggestion is a bilingual mistranslation, with Schanze sounding like Schwanz (tail), and Katze, a possibly humorous or intentional misreading of Est. Kaitse (defense)’, so just a plain old defensive bastion. Part of Paldiski maantee was once known as kassi sabba.

Kelmiküla (Kelmiküla):

Rogue’s village, scampstown (a slum in the late 19^th C). Also name of story by Kitzbergi A. about life in Viljandi. Why it got that name is uncertain. It can’t be because it’s on the wrong side of the tracks, because it’s on both... There are, of course, legends, which are, precisely, legends... The story goes something like this: Kelmiküla is next to Pelgulinn of Sherwood Forest status, so this is where the bad guys went. My suspicion leads me elsewhere: a name is often given for reasons of singularity, and running from the law has never been that special, unless you happen to be the runner yourself. What would strike one, however, would be the numerous chimney-stacks associated with the brick and tile industry of the (spreading?) Kopli area, and MHG kamīn, kemīn, deriving from Greek κάμινος (kámínos) for chimney, fireplace, hearth, furnace, oven, or brick kiln, could easily shift from kemīn to kēlmi. But, as always, could be wrong :o) All the more so since Kelmiküla is quite a common place name in Estonia. Suggestions?...