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Ugala (Ugala)
One-time province of south-eastern Estonia, otherwise known as Ugandi, Ugania, Ungannia or, most accurately, Ugaunia, encompassing the present-day counties of Põlva, Tartu, Valga and Võru. The Latvian for Estonia is Igaunija. Soviet occupation renaming (1960-1990): Leberechti H. Also western half of the arc that was once the semi-circular Kaare.
Ülemiste (Ülemiste)
Lake, now reservoir, in Tallinn, and mythological character: the little old man of Ülemiste, Ülemiste Vanake. Legend has it that he checks the city out every year and, if told it’s now complete, will flood it. Why? If you know of any god that ever made a rational decision, you tell me. For reasons of ecology, airplanes are reportedly not allowed to fly over the lake. For other reasons, they do.
Vääna (Vääna):
Various explanations for this… It may be named after a ‘nearby’ village or manor, the latter thought to have originally been a fortress, and later (1306/1325?) a poolmõis (see Mõisa) belonging to Padise monastery. Known historically as Faehna or Feyena, Veghenoya (all 14th-C) where the name (with an Oja tacked on) could, conceivably, have derived from MLG vēen, vēyen, etc., to hate or treat with hostility, evolving into Ger. feien, to render invulnerable (cognates Ger. Feind, enemy and Eng. fiend), a reasonable name for a fortress…), but this seems a bit over the top. More likely: simply from the nearby winding river Vääna (cf. väänama, to twist)! On the other hand, it looks suspiciously like the backstories in Väo and Lükati, but there’s no convincing evidence. What is odd is why (if they did) did they choose the name of a manor house some 16-odd km futher west? Anyone’s guess. Formerly Raadio (see Tähetorni) (until 1927), then Pioneeri (see Pioneeride) (1927-59), and Lao (see Moonalao) (1959-60).
