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 1514 of the 1884 articles (A to R included) entered so far, so about a just under a quarter 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!

Home

Raekoja plats

Raekoja plats (Raekoda)

Town hall square. Lit. council house, the rae comes from German raten, to advise, as in Rathaus, town- or city-hall. First recorded as forum (1313) then the name oddly disappeared from the records until re-emerging (1732) as suur turro (and variants, Suur turg, etc.: big market) until 1923 when it acquired its present name, with other interludes as Deutscher Markt (German market) and Schwedischer Markt or Шведскій рынокъ (Swedish market, see note on Russian spelling in Intro) to differentiate it from Vene turg (Russian market), present-day Viru väljak, as well as Neuer Markt (new market) to differentiate it from Vana Turg (old market). Until 1816, Raekoja plats was also equipped with miscellaneous devices designed to discourage recalcitrant behavior: pillory, manacles, leg‑ and neck‑irons. Mass entertainment may seem to have come a long way since then, but probably hasn’t... See Vana-Veerenni.

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.