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Liivalaia (Liivalai)
Sandflats, lit sandy expanse, avenue, channel... Named after local sand flats, see Liiva. Nice muddle this one: Renamed (1944-1992?) as Kingissepa V. during the Soviet occupation (at one stage of its evolutionary mutation from Kingissepa V. to Liivalaia and/or back again it apparently become misprinted as V. Liivalaia), along with, interestingly, two other streets which shared the name but not the longevity (1974-1990): Jõe and Pronksi, with Liivalaia itself replacing (1974-1990) the German-sounding Juhkentali. This is perhaps the street with the most ‘picturesque’ history, with spellings ranging through its current to Liiva laia, Laia-Liiva and Lai-Liiva (1885); names including Kaasani (Große or Breite or Neue Kasansche Straße in the early 19th C), and a variety of variants around ‘width’ and ‘sand’ in all three standard-for-19th‑C languages. Curiously, its name in 1813 was Suur-Kaasani or Große Kasansche Straße which, from a spoken point of view, is not that far from Sand Straße... It seems that (one of?) Tallinn’s main execution site(s), the Kivivõllaste paik (lit. place of the stone-built gallows) was located at No.8 (see Vana-Lõuna, Hariduse and Roosikrantsi), or nearby. See Vana-Veerenni.
Kaasani (Kaasan)
After Kaasani kirik, Our Lady of Kazan church, reputedly built for the army (completed 1721). The double ‘a’ at the beginning of the word is typical of Estonian word imports: where the emphasis is on the 2nd of a 2-syllable word, Estonian may start by pronouncing it as it should be but soon domesticates it by bringing it forward. For example, the buttermilk kefír became keefir and divan became diivan. Street dismembered and interred beneath Liivalaia. Known as Kleine Sandstraße / Väike-Liiva in 1850, then Andersoni after a family of local residents and butchers (1865).
Kaarna (Kaaren)
Aka ronga, the common raven, Corvus corax. Breeds in Estonia. Kaaren ei noki kaarna silma, lit. a raven doesn’t peck a raven’s eyes, i.e. there’s honor amongst thieves and if anyone could provide me with actual proof of this I’d be pleased to hear it. Part of the Lilleküla bird-name group of streets. See also Kajaka.
