Names
Vesipapi (Vesipapp)
Water ouzel, dipper, lit. ‘water priest’ after its dark coat and white breast. Probably the white-throated or European dipper, Cinclus cinclus, a water-bird tending to be found more in SE Estonia than Tallinn, but maybe rural exodus applies to us all. Fairly widespread in Eurasia. National bird of Norway, where they call it fossekall, elvekonge or vannstær and buggered if I know what any of them mean, although fossekall looks like ‘waterfall chap/guy/lad/man’ (fosse+kall), while elvekonge could be ‘river king’ (elv/elver+kong/e), and vannstær (vann = water) dips into the ornithologically schizophrenic where stær seems related to English starling (star, plus the diminutive ling), from Latin sturnus, starling (which Galen recommended as a light, nourishing food), but also Old Prussian starnite, meaning gull, and Lithuanian vandeninis strazdas (lit. water thrush, and thrush in Latin is turdus, not too far removed from sturnus). I shall stop here while I still have wine left in the bottle. Part of the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. See Vihitaja.
Vesiravila (Vesiravila)
Hydropathic, hydropathy establishment. Lit. place of water medicine. See Ravila.
Vesivärava (Vesivärav)
Watergate, named after the lock and sluice system controlling water to the harbor. Odd, at first glance, but not, apparently, à la coals to Newcastle: even harbor-masters wash their hands. The main historical source of water in Tallinn was the Härjapea river, starting at the N tip of lake Ülemiste reaching the sea somewhere N of Petrooleumi. Over time, pollution required cleaner sources, with water piped in from Pirita river. To supply Kadriorg, Peter I had the Kadriorg aka Peetri canal built, supplying the palace, park and fountains. By 1876, however, to ensure fresh water for shipping, a channel was built from the W end of running NW along what became first known as Schleusenstr (sluice, 1876) followed by its Rus. transliteration, Шлюзная (Shlyuznaya), Canal / Kanalstr (1882), through Wasserleitungsgasse (also 1882), Wasserleitungsstr (1893), and Neue Wasserleitungsstraße (1907) and earning its first Estonian name Uus-Veerenni from 1908-10 and its current one in 1923. Over time, the entire watercourse became covered over. All that remains is a solitary drinking-water fountain near Mäekalda.
