Typomorphology of Tallinn Old Town bastion belt

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TYPOMORPHOLOGY OF TALLINN OLD TOWN BASTION BELT

EESTI KUNSTIAKADEEMIA

URBAN STUDIES 2012 TYPOMORPHOLOGY COURSE


2 3 INTRODUCTION 4 PROJECT AREAS 5 AREA 1: UUS & AIA STREET AREA 6 Social Effect of Tallinn Horse Tram 9 Diverse Universe 17 The Story of Uus10 / Aia7 25 AREA 2: COAST GATES 26 Landscaping of Bastion Belt 32 The Development of Tramlines 38 AREA 3: SKOONE BASTION 39 Railways and the Plot of Estonian Railways 44 Construction of Rannamäe Road 50 GIS ANALYSIS 53 City Development through Visual Maps Analysis 56 Map Layers 59 Interpretation of the Bastion Belt Area 60 TIMELINE OF AREA 1 61 TIMELINE OF AREA 2 62 TIMELINE OF AREA 3

LECTURERS Maroš Krivy Toomas Adrikorn STUDENTS Maria Derlõš Iie-Mall Püüa Raina Lillepõld Johanna Rannula Pille Koppel Jaak Sova Kaur Sarv Márton Szarvas Valentino Pagani Dzmitry Herylovich ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Riin Alatalu Eva Hirvesoo Ragnar Nurk FURTHER INFORMATION Chair of Urban Studies Faculty of Architecture Estonian Academy of Arts +372 642 0070 urban@artun.ee www.artun.ee www.urbanistika.ee Copyright Estonian Academy of Arts 2012


INTRODUCTION The Typomorphology class of autumn semester 2012/2013 studied the area of Tallinn’s former bastion belt between Viru väljak and Suurtüki street. The research area was divided into three segments, bordered by the medieval city wall on one side and hypothetical ringroad (Mere pst - Rannavärava tee - Toompuiestee Kaarli pst - Pärnu mnt) on the other side. The class was divided into three groups according to the three segments. The segments were only loosely defined and students’ first task was to negotiate precise borders of their research area. Their work continued with archival study, comparing historic and contemporary photographies, studying historical maps and documents and creating timeline of key points in the development of urban form. In mid-term each student choose an individual research topic and a special group for GIS analysis of historical maps was formed and supervised by historian and archaeologist Ragnar Nurk (TLU). The selection of individual topics reflect the understanding of urban form as a

dialectical relationship between the three typomorphological elements – built form, infrastructure and open space. Within the framework of the chosen topics, students were led to analyse and document the ways in which typomorphological production and dynamics of urban form is socially conditioned. They researched the historical effect of political and economic processes on the urban form and studied the role of institutional actors, patterns of ownership, and contrasting planning concepts and visions. The GIS tools were used for georeferencing historical maps, providing accurate spatial data and building a spatial database for further analysis. The 2012/2013 class is a sequel to last year’s typomorphological study of Narva mnt. The main change from the previous year was the decision to split the research and scenario planning into two semesters. The presented research will be completed by work on the area’s scenarios in the spring semester.

Maros Krivy, Toomas Adrikorn

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PROJECT AREAS

PROJECT AREA IN RELATION TO THE PREVIOUS ONE

DIVISION OF THE PROJECT AREA

3 2

1

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AREA 1: UUS & AIA ST AREA MÁRTON SZARVAS, MARIA DERLÕŠ, JOHANNA RANNULA

The evolution of Area 1 is characterized by, first, the construction of fortifications, then their demolitions, and the gradual arrival of an urban environment. One of the initial steps towards the development of this area was the establishment of Uus st in mid 17th century. But the most significant event from the perspective of the current situation in Area 1 must have been when Tallinn stopped being a sea fortress in the mid-1850s. The fortification belt lost its military function - the land was given for civil use and divided into plots. That is how the urban stucture around Aia street came to be. The area has currently a multitude of functions and serves as a gate for the old town.

Uus street. year 2012

Kanuti Gild building. year 2012

Kanuti Gild park. year 2012

Russian Culture Center. year 2012

Water Tower & Mere pst. year 2012

Viru street. year 2012

Aia 3/Vana-Viru 10. year 2012

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year 1888. time passed: 124 years

year 1940. time passed: 72 years

year 1954. time passed: 58 years

cinema “Gran Marina“. year 1930. time passed: 92 years

year 1953. time passed: 59 years

year 1920. time passed: 92 years

year 1963. time passed: 49 years


6 SOCIAL EFFECTS OF TALLINN HORSE TRAM MÁRTON SZARVAS In my research I used the theory of Richard Sennett, in his book called Flesh and Stone1, he writes down the effects of the construction of the underground. Tallinn and London had different social, political and economical circumstances, although the development of the industrial society happened in this time in both of the cities. Between 1871 and 1917 the population of Tallinn growth from 44.000 to 166.0002 and the amount of workers grew with 25.000 people, that means in 1917 there were 30.000 industrial workers in Tallinn.3 This is a massive amount of growth, especially for Tallinn, which had a traditional manufacturer industry. Although the mass production started, the manufactures were still working in the city center, the proletariat was working for export. The Russian municipality supported the industries and the industrialization, in 1870 the rail opened which connected Tallinn to the other parts of Tsarist Russia. In Tallinn mostly the light industries were situated, alcohol, clothes and transportation were the main products. The tram line between Kadriorg and Vana Turg was opened in 1888 and in the same year another line was constructed from Vene Turg to Turu street. In 1901 another tram line started to work between Vene Turg and Suur-Pärnu. As we see, just the one from Kadriorg go in to the city center, it could have been more reason, for me

the most probable is that around Kadriorg were living the more wealthy workers, whom had more earnings to spend. But it seems also reasonable, that it served not to get in to the city by lower classes, but it transported the less wealthy burgess to make trips in Kadriorg, and the lower classes just used it to get in till Vene Turg. I wanted to reveal the actors and the social structures of Tallinn in that time, I did not have enough informations, because there was no socio-graphic research, which could be useful for me, thus I used some maps, where the consumption places of the city were marked. According to the theory of Sennett the target of this process is not just the purification of the housing area of the wealthy classes, but also the purification of their consumption places. It does not mean, that they wanted to close the lower classes from the city center and do not let them in or out from their housing district. It is not possible, because the interest of the capital is also to persuade the lower classes to spend their salaries in the places, which were founded by the bourgeoisie. This is how the payments turn back to the system and uphold it. In a map from 1898 I found the firms schools and other institutions, it said that mostly the consumption places, which could be bounded to the wealthy classes can be found in the city center. Mostly gymnasiums and religious primary schools can be found in the old town,

mostly the religious ones are Lutheran, which was the faith of the German upper classes. There are all of the bank buildings of Tallinn, the Gilds, Clubs and Hostels. Manufactures, which sell luxury goods and bookstores. In my opinion the intervention of the city center by the wealthy classes happened not just by the transport, but also the places of consumption had an effect on it. In the case of London the underground helped the workers to live in a suburb and work in the city center, that is how the mixture of classes become just a short period state. I can not claim, that the homes of lower classes situated in the suburb, because I have not enough data to make this conclusion without bad conscious, but I suppose it, from the situation of public baths and markets. My theory was, that in Tallinn the structure of the horse-trams just served the same functions, and helped the purification from the lower classes the old town area. This is the time also when the bastion belt area was being parked and became forbidden to produce food in this green zone. Mostly the lower classes did it, to get some food, apart from the market, they did not have the chance to do it, so they had to move out from the city center somehow. The main actors of the construction were three developer, who had factories and

firms in the industrial area of Tallinn. Nikolai von Fersen was a landowner, Arved von Rosen was the owner of the Roseni vodka company. John Girard de Soucanton had a transit company. Most of them was the part of the German civic class, and lived and consumed in the city center. Their interest was to protect this part of the city for themselves and exclude the lover classes from that area. On the contrary, they knew, that the workers had to reach the factories easily, and that was the main reason of the construction. With the horse-tram the time geography of the urban city center taken form: density and diversity by day and sparsity and homogeneity by night. The mixture of the day implicated no human contact between the classes. People worked and shopped and than left for home. The horse-trams spent thirty years in operation in 1902 the line was 7,2 km long and till 1917 thirty-seven vehicles worked on these line.

Horse–tram with niguliste church in the background


SOCIAL EFFECTS OF TALLINN HORSE TRAM MÁRTON SZARVAS

The three horse–tram lines, which were constructed between 1888 and 1901 and their relation to the city (Plan der Gouverments–Stadt Reval 1898 source: Linnarchiv)

Industrial area of Tallinn and the relation to the other part of the city (Plan der Gouverments–Stadt Reval 1898 source: Linnarchiv)

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SOCIAL EFFECTS OF TALLINN HORSE TRAM MÁRTON SZARVAS

Map of the planned and realised tram lines between 1888 and 1901. As we see the planned lines would have transported the workers directly to Balti Jaam and other industrial areas. They had not been realised because the lines become the property of the municipality before the enterpreneurs could construct them.

Diagram about the growth of population and the number of the workers in Tallinn between 1871 and 1917. Source: VAIKE, Haas, Review of Urban Planning in Tallinn, Estonia, University of Mishigan, 2006

Planned lines Opened in 1901 Opened in1888

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DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ HYPOTHESIS: AREA 1 is a very diverse, incoherent and controversial piece of urban fabric

AIM:

BRING OUT AND DEFINE “DIVERSITY“ OF THE AREA EXPLAIN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AREA FIND REASONS BEHIND THE CURRENT “DIVERSITY“ SITUATION GIVE POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO PERCEIVE THE AREA

METHOD:

TYPOMORPHOLOGICAL RESEACH, COMPARISON OF HISTORICAL MAPS, VISUAL PHOTO ANALYSIS

1. INTRODUCTION - HYPOTHESIS 2. DIVERSITY - IN WHAT WAY? 2.1. LAND USE 2.1.1. RESIDENTIAL VS COMMERCE 2.1.2. PRIVATE VS PUBLIC 2.2. BUILT STRUCTURE 2.2.1. HISTORICAL LAYERS 2.2.2. VISUAL PERCEPTION 3. HOW THE SITUATION CAME ABOUT? TYPOMORPHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

4. CONCLUSION


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

HYPOTHESIS: AREA 1 is a very diverse and controversial piece of fabric

View on AREA 1 in the front with the core of the Old Town in the background

Diversity is difference. It is a natural phenomenon, intimately related to uniqueness and identity. Diversity is a vast fact of life, deeply embedded not only in humanity but in natural systems and in the very fabric of the universe. Diversity is a fundamental property of the universe, along with matter, energy, space, time, relationship, unity, and many other phenomena that are present everywhere. Everything that you see (or don’t see) that is different from anything else -- and every difference between them -- is an aspect of diversity. So diversity exists. Everywhere. It is a fact of life... If we talk about diversity and variety in design and urbanity, it is always a debate. Diversity is problematic. Variety enriches uniformity, but at the same time can make it fall apart into unrelated units. Uniformity is important as it help to maintain the linking theme.

Scheme showing different stages between uniformity and variaty (“Opening spaces – Design as landscape architecture”, S.Bernard and H. Loidl, Birkhäuser Publishers, Basel 2003)

It is also believed that all too clear connections in a design are too uninspired. The lack of anticipation leaves no room for interpretation and thus the idea becomes dull. A more complex solution on the contrary evokes greater interest, an urge to understand the concept. The longer we stay curious and search for connections, the better we will remember the discovery itself i.e. the design. Of course it is important not

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1. INTRODUCTION HYPOTHESIS

to exaggerate: when it is too difficult to understand, we lose interest. When looking at the area of Uus and Aia st district, it becomes clear that there is no real coherence within the area. Numerous businesses of different specialization together with a complex mixture between residential and commerce use of the building, private and public use of the open spaces and built form, make up a very controversial and diverse piece of urban fabric. Uniformity and variety form the basis of every good design. The interplay between those two is what makes the design exciting. This small research tries to study this problematic relationship between variety and uniformity in urban situation taking AREA 1 as a case study. Firstly different aspect of diversity of this specific area will be introduced. Secondly, applying typomorphological reasearch and using historical records, this work will try to explain the process of the development of the area uncovering the reasons behind the current situation. Lastly, this work gives a conclusion giving a possible solution about how the area dispite its uncoherencecould be perceived and comprehended.


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

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2. DIVERSITY - IN WHAT WAY?

LAND USE MAP. BUILT STRUCTURE

2.1. LAND USE

SOURCE Ehitisregister (www.ehr.ee) Estonian Land Boad (www.maaamet.ee)

2.1.1. RESIDENTIAL VS COMMERCE residential 100% residential 95% commecial 5% residential 90% commercial10% residential 70% commercial 30% commercial 50% social land 50% social land 100% residential 50% commercial 50% residential 40%commercial 60% residential 30% commercial70% commercial 100%

Aia 5 buildings with commercial use on the firts floor

Entrance to the residential courtyard of Uus 3

Diversity in terms of urbanity could be understood in several different aspects. Firstly we will consider the diversity that comes from the land use, more specifically, the situation between the residential and commerce use of built form in AREA 1. In current situation, AREA 1 hosts very many different businesses of different specialisationand size. To bring example and to name few, there is banking, big chain grocery shop, several restaurants, school facility, beauty salons, car repair, hotels, also there is a school facility, an embassy and city council office. Without doubt, this fact shows, that there we are dealing with a very vibrant urban fabric. At the same time, there is big percent of residential use in the area that is mostly intertwined with the commerce, like in the case of Aia 5 and many others, where commercial functions are located on the ground floor with entrances facing the street and the residential functions are situated on the upper floors that can be accessed from the inner hidden courtyards. It is logical and also clearly evident on the land use map on the left, that commercial use in this area is mostly concentrated to the north and east, closer to the Tallinn city centre and the and the active street of Viru. Residential uses are located further on the more calm and distant south side, mainly at the end of Uus street.


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

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2. DIVERSITY - IN WHAT WAY?

LAND USE MAP. OPEN SPACES.

2.1. LAND USE

2.1.2. PRIVATE VS PUBLIC

SOURCE Ehitisregister (www.ehr.ee) Estonian Land Boad (www.maaamet.ee)

public_free access_open

private_free access private_limited access private_no access

Open spaces are often neglected in urban and architectural research, assuming that the built structure is the main aspect. Although building manifest themselves more clearly in the landscape, open spaces are equally important to take into consideration. It is the interrelation between the built and opens that from the urban structure. When looking at open spaces, we might get a different understanding about a certain aspect. In this case of land use, we are looking at the ownership of the open spaces of AREA 1. As one of the aims in this work is to find a way of perceiving the area, it was considered interesting and possibly clarifying in this matter to further classify private spaces. It was carried out according to the criteria of the access by a passer-by.

Muusikamaja courtyard cafe

Apart from the streets that in public use by default, the only and biggest private use space in AREA 1 is Kanuti Gild park. All other spaces are in private use. Nevertheless there are spaces that have free public access, like the parking lot between Aia and Uus street that is constantly used as a short-cut of the two. There are also some intriguing spaces that have limited public access, the most interesting of them is the walk-through hidden courtyard of Tallinn Muusikamaja that also host a small cafe that even local know little about. Looking at the land use map of the open spaces on the left and the land use map of the built structure on the previous page, it is clear, that those few private courtyards with free public access are all located in the more commerce and active parts of the area.

Muusikamaja courtyard entrance

the only and the bigges public space of Kanuti park

closed private courtyards

parking lot between Aia and Uus street

closed courtyard of Russian Cultural Center


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

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2. DIVERSITY - IN WHAT WAY? 2.2. BUILT STRUCTURE 2.2.1. HISTORICAL LAYERS 2.2.2. VISUAL PERCEPTION

view on the begging on Uus st; the historical part of AREA 1

RIMI grocery store

It is not only the matter of different uses and ownership of the space that determine diversity; it can be also viewed and even more evidently in the structure of the space itself. 2.2.1. HISTORICAL LAYERS

building of different style facing eachother; end of Uus st

massive 5-storey residential building on Aia 5

bottle collecting spot on the historical cobblestoned Uus st

the only and the bigges public space of Kanuti park

half-burned private houses on the corner of Aia and Inseneri

different style built forms on same view axis; Inseneri st

AREA 1 belongs administratively to the territory of the Old Town. Without doubt the aura of the medieval Tallinn can be felt on Uus st considering its cobblestoned pavement and numerous historical buildings dating back to the XVIII century (e.g. Uus 10, Uus 15, Uus 3). At the same time, few could say that there is anything Old-Town-line on the parallel street of Aia, which is on the contrary a very modern looking asphalted car dominated area. Although it is also considered as Old-Town, it actually already relates more to the commercial city centre of Tallinn.

2.2.2. VISUAL PERCEPTION AREA 1 is visually a very confusing area with different historical layers and structures being present side to side and on top of each other. Right next to each other there could be a building of high heritage protection facade, an ultramodern business building, a massive residential building, an abandoned halfburned wooden house. The diversity is also represented in a variety of very different building materials and forms being used. On one hand, this kind of variety is not an unusual sight in the city centre. On the other hand, when comparing to the coherent look of the rest of the Old-Town and also the coherent commercial look of the city centre, it could be said that the contrast and the collision of differences in AREA 1 is very high especially considering its small territory.

collision of different built structure; Vana-Viru and Aia st

ultramodern business building next to historical Vana-Viru 15

wooden house on Aia street

collision of different built structure;corner of Vana-Viru and Aia

5-storey residential houses


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

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3. HOW THE SITUATION CAME ABOUT? TYPOMORPHOLOGICAL RESEARCH

In order to fully understand the chaotic diverce complex situation of AREA 1 that was introduced, it is essential to look at the process of the development and find important key points that led to the current situation. In this work, four different phases of development were brought out that each characterizes different state of AREA 1. PHASE I UNTIL 1652

Interestingly, the area was initially a non-area, a buffer zone right behind the city wall. From the formation of the city defence wall in 1265 until the expansion of the Old Town beyond the wall in 1652, the AREA 1 was known as territory behind the wall, buffer-area between the city and the country where lied the moat that served as separation and defence. The area was overall quite moist; it was also known for it´s clay ponds that laied outside the Viru gates.

PHASE II 1652 UNTIL

PHASE II. SITUATION IN YEAR 1825

From the formation of Uus st in 1652, AREA 1 had totally new character. Uus st is a very special street indeed; it is totally straight and does not follow anymore the curvy typology of the existing medieval city. There fore, the plots that

PHASE I. SITUATION IN YEAR 1310 were distributed on Uus st had also a very regular structure that was totally unfamiliar for the rest of the Old Town. AREA 1 served as a periphery of the city. If before it was the territory behind the wall, then now it became the area between two walls, the old medieval wall and the more recent bastion fortification line. Although the housing was mostly residential, the area had overall a very strong military role. The moat fortifications formed a very important defence purpose for the whole inner-city. Also for military defence purposes, Ingeneer Comando prohibited any built structures outside the wall, so it was all a wasteland, so to say.


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

PHASE III FROM 1857 UNTIL END OF THE CENTURY After 1857 when Tallinn lost its position as a fortification city and the bastions together with fortifications were dug up, it freed space for further development of land and enabled connections to the areas on the east. different services and bussinesses

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AREA 1 became, on the on the contrary from the previous situation, a well accessible territory. Situated just between the historical Old Town and the new emerging city centre, AREA 1 has a very beneficial location. During XIX century, Viru square was an important node, where roads from Pärnu, Narva and Tartu met. It was the official centre of Tallinn and therefore beneficial place for a market area (Russischer markt). PHASE IV XX CENTURY Viru square area became even more central and important in the begging of XX century, when Pärnu road was prolonged from Vabaduse to Viru square.

PHASE IV. SITUATION IN YEAR 1944 different services & bussinesses 1944 different services & bussinesses 1985

For this reason, AREA 1 started to be a very desirable area for different businesses. As the centre develops more, AREA 1 becomes strategically valuable real-estate land and falls under constantly rising pressure. This situation is also described in the work of Johanna Rannula on the example of emergence of Kaubahoov (pg. 17-24). AREA 1 is a very confusing and chaotic area because of its diverse historical background, but also because of the loose building regulations before 1966 after which Old Town was taken under heritage protection. But even after that the regulations concerning new development were more loose than the rest of the Old Town since AREA 1 was still considered a more recent historical area.

PHASE III. SITUATION IN YEAR 1885

PHASE IV. SITUATION IN YEAR 1985


DIVERSE UNIVERSE MARIA DERLÕŠ

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4. CONCLUSION Despite the chaotic diverse situation of AREA 1 described in this work, there is still a possibility to have some order in this “mess“, so to say.

AIA , VIRU & VANA-VIRU ST AREA busy, car dense old vs new structures service & entertainment services users: tourist, locals, cars use: shopping UUS ST AREA not very busy different small businesses users: passer-byes, locals use: passing through

KANUTI GILD PARK AREA green, open users: children, locals, birds use: recreational, leisure

Considering the analysis that was carried out about the existing land use and ownership and visual appearance, we can bring out three distinctive areas within AREA 1. Firstly, the area of Uus, and Vana-Viru street can be traced. Considering land use, it is the area with the biggest percentage of commercial function and also area where all the private spaces with free public access are located. It is the area that can be characterized as the busiest and most active considering people and traffic flow. It is also the area that host the most of the controversial spatial situations mentioned before. Secondly, Uus street with the adjacent plots can be brought out as a quite coherent area. It comprises the most valuable heritage structures and delivers the essence of the Old Town-likeness the most. It is the calmest area with the biggest percentage of very private and residential use. Lastly, the area of Kanuti Gild park is the most obviously coherent part of the whole area that has a strong character. It is the biggest green open public area that quite evidently stands out in AREA 1.


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THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7

JOHANNA RANNULA

course - the Engineer Commando plot and ensemble of buildings had been highlighted on several maps that we came across, and it was surely one of the first in the area. It was a military institution that inhabited the place from early 19th century until it was given for civil uses around a century later. I chose it to be my case study not knowing what was going to unravel or what was waiting for me ahead. But there was a lot to discover indeed.

INTRODUCTION HISTORY (UNTIL 1970s) HISTORY OF THE QUARTER HISTORY OF PLOT

- ENGINEER COMMANDO

CONSERVATION HERITAGE PROTECTION

DEVELOPMENT: TYPOMORPHOSIS

- PLOTS

TYPOMORPHOSIS

- QUARTER

CONFLICT BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT CONSTRUCTION OF KAUBAHALL

- THE DEBATE

Before starting this research I had two separate ideas - to investigate a specific place in depth or to investigate the influence of ideologies-ideas on urban morphology. But it happened so that the two merged into one, despite the fact they at first glance they seemed to be completely unrelated proposals, at least for me. The chosen place ended up being one that had stood out in our group research of the first half of this

While I was concentrating on just getting the history of this plot straight, looking into ownership, contruction activity, and everything else I could find from the depths of Tallinn archives, I stumbled on several inexplicable facts and remarks that left me wondering. Many of them were concentrated around the time when the morphology of this place went through the most drastic change yet – just before the 1980s most of the area was covered with the blanket of a shopping mall, the biggest one yet in Estonia, called Kaubahall. The questionable information and the apparent significance of the construction of Kaubahall led me to further investigate this turnover in the history of the place. In a nutshell, this curiosity resulted with the question of what were the forces which influenced the current shape and form of this plot most. My proposal for a possible answer revolves around two basic concepts – conservation and

development. thus my focus is on the 20th century, moreover, I also took into account the vicinity of the plot. Under the topic of conservation I focus on what has been deemed as valuable by heritage protection and thus has stayed the same – namely, Uus st 10 building and specifically its facade. Under the second concept I collect some examples that pushed the morphology of the area to change – the widening of streets, the restructuring of plots and the ’typomorphosis’ of the buildings. But the incident that illustrates best these two forces – development and conservation – in action, is the debate around the construction of Kaubahall. Trying to unscramble the discourse around this postmodernist development project led me to read several articles (some currect, some 3 decades old), interviewing the architect Eva Hirvesoo and a heritage protection expert Riin Alatalu, and comparing it all with what I had unearthed from archives. It would be nice to bring forth a concrete conclusion from this jumble but (un)fortunately I am unable to do so. I would rather just state that this debate or conflict is exemplary to similar cases all around the world (and in Tallinn) in the past and nowadays. Perhaps the most it can do is to teach something to those who will have to deal with such situations in the future - and there will definitely be plenty.


THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

HISTORY (UNTIL 1970 ) S

HISTORY OF THE QUARTER While Uus street and the plots around it were long in place, in the middle of 19th century a significant change took place in the area. As Tallinn was deleted from the list of military fortresses, the bastion belt lost its function as a fortification. The land was then started to be distributed to civilians. The maps beneath illustrate this drastic change - the first map is from 1825 with Engineer Comando ensemble between the flanks of the New Viru Gate bastion; the second maps is from 1885 and shows how the event led to the expansion of the urban fabric further and further outside the medieval city wall. 1825

TO TELL THE STORY OF A PLACE, THE HISTORY IS ONE OF THE MOST CRUTIAL ASPECTS. MOREOVER, HISTORY CANNOT BE TOLD WITH ISOLATION TO A SPECIFIC SITE. THEREFORE, I START THE NARRATION WITH SOME ESSENTIAL AND RELEVANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE LAND AROUND THE UUS 10 / AIA 7 PLOT TO GIVE SOME CONTEXT. WHILE THE ENSEMBLE OF BUILDINGS HAD STOOD AS SUCH FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, THE GROUND PLAN PREPRESENTS THE SITUATION OF 1960S. SHORTLY AFTER, THE PLACE TRASNFORMED GREATLY WITH THE CONSTRUCTION OF KAUBAHALL. I WILL ‘SKIP’ THAT ERA OF THE PLACE HERE TO FOCUS ON IT IN GREATER DEPTHS IN THE FOLLOWING SECTIONS. Aia street was established in the I half of 19th century. New plots were sold out from 1866. For a few decades in the 20th century, this street was called Ujula.

AIA ST

5b

7

645 406

643

5

642

400 404

408

5a

A significant change happened in 1930s, when the owner of plot 400 sold the Aia st side of his land which was still vacant. The distribution of the plots and the widening of the Aia street was planned by architect Eugen Habermann. The city of Tallinn bought the land which was going to be under the street and took the task of paving.

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403

4

2

8

UUS ST

1885

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Uus street was established in 1653 when the defence area was moved further and 2 new bastions were built. A straight line was a great contrast to medieval streets. A baroque building stood on plot 408 until 1962. Around 1980, a Quonset-style building was erected there as a part of Kaubahall. In 1990, a boarding-house was planned there, but never realized. Now used as a parking lot.

The 1825 Engineer Commando plans show small house on plot 404. From the end of 19th century there was a 2-storey stone building, designed by N. Thamm. Heidi Glesen, an actress, used to live there, and that gave a reason for the building to be considered of cultural value. It was torn down for the construction of Kaubahall in the ond of 1970s.

In 1934-35, functionalist 5-storey buildings were built on Aia st 5, 5a and 5b. These were a great contrast to the 1-storey stone sheds in the area. Plot 403 originally was about the size of 404, touching the street and plot 406. It also hosted a small house in 1825. A building on this plot was bombed during the II world war. Until the building of Kaubahall, only garage and wooden shed were taking up the plot.


THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

HISTORY OF THE PLOT ENGINEER COMMANDO The story of this plot starts when Uus street was first formed - in 1653. The side which is nowadays closer to the Aia street, was still for military use until mid 19th century when the bastion belt lost its fortification function. Nevertheless, the plot of Uus10 / Aia7 was built up earlier. Building A was built first in the ensemble in 1791 (date on the balcony forging) by a smithsman called Leidloff. (Another source says 1749). A little more than a decade later this building was taken over by the Engineer Commando, a military institution that first dealt with fortification management but later its field of activites was expanded to managing the contruction of the whole city. The rest of the buildings were added during the I half of the 19th century for the Commando and were used as stables, sheds and also (later) as dwellings. In 1967, all of these were considered to have little or no value according to the architectural-historical inventory. Building A, however, was said to be valuable thanks to its early classicist facade and position in the ensemble and street front. While building A has been always in use, the other buildings were in a derelict around the middle of 20th century. Some were dismantled during the 60s, but building D was considered for general

overhall for making it into a kindergarten (was also considered to be given to a city office), which was never realized. The plot was divided and all the buildings besides A went for demolition in the II half of 1970s as most of the plot, as the area around, was going to be built into the bigger shopping mall in the soviet Estonia at that time - Kaubahall. [All photos are from 1966.]

AIA ST 7

D

E

F G

L H

B

C

A

UUS ST 10

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THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

CONSERVATION HERITAGE - FACADE

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A FORCE THAT HAS HAD A CONSIDERABLE IMPACT ON THE EVOLUTION OF THE PLOT IS THE INFLUENCE OF HERITAGE PROTECTION, IN OVER WORDS - CONSERVATION. THERE IS NO 1-TO-1 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO HOWEVER. NOT EVERYTHING THAT HAS BEEN DEEMED VALUABLE HAS BEEN PRESERVED OR CONSERVED. AS MENTIONED, THE SITE IS/WAS CONSIDERED VALUABLE FOR TWO REASONS - POSITION OF THE BUILDINGS AND THE FACADE OF UUS 19. WHILE THE FORMER HAS GONE, THE FACADE OF UUS 10 (WHICH IS THE ONLY ONE STANDING FROM THE ENGINEER COMMANDO ENSEMBLE) IS CONSIDERED A HERITAGE FOR ITS OUTSTANDING EARLY CLASSICIST STYLE. THE FOLLOWING TAKES A CLOSER LOOK ON THE TWO HERITAGE ASSETS.

HERITAGE VALUE : POSITION 1. Uus 10 building is positioned next to the street front and follows its general atmosphere

2. The buildings were valueable in the context of the ensemble

Uus 10

IMPORTANT DATES 1966 - Tallinn old town was taken under heritage protection 1967 - general evaluation of old town buildings, Uus st 10 facade under national protection

Facades of Uus street

1973 - Uus street 10 building is considered to be a built monument

Facades of Aia street

HERITAGE VALUE: FACADE fronton console balcony with a classicist tracer decorations with dropper shapes and draped shawl wide flat lesenes undecorated elements front door with metal tracery (19th c. II half ) stone staircase with cast iron balustrades


THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

DEVELOPMENT TYPOMORPHOSIS -

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THIS SECTION DEALS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SITE THOUGH AN ANALYSIS OF SERIES OF PLANS. THE FIRST STAGE ILLUSTRATES HOW THE PLOT STRUCTURE HAS DEVELOPED OVER TIME IN THE QUARTER BY COMPARING PLOT DIVISION PLANS FROM VARIOUS YEARS. TO COLLECT THIS INFORMATION I USED DIFFERENT HISTORICAL MAPS AND REDRAW THE NECESSARY DATA.

NOT ALL OF IT WAS COMPLETE WHICH LEAVES SOME ‘GAPS’ IN THE RECORDS. THE PLOT NUMBERS ON THE FIGURES, HOWEVER, CAN BE USED TO FILL THE GAPS, SOMETIMES. A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE IS DEVELOPED ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE.

PLOTS

1856 406

404

403

401

1885 408

Around the middle of the 19th century Tallinn lost the title of a sea fortress and the bastion belt area was no longer under military use. The 1856 maps probably describes the first plot structure there ever was as this is the time the land was given to civil use and divided into plots. The next figure (1885) shows that over time the plots were divided up even more. The same trend continues on the following figure as well as two new plots (645, 643) appear. As mentioned in an earlier part, the owner of plot 400 decided to sell the land he was not using. Right after, the land was extensively developed as the road was paved and

407

401, 400, 399

404 403 402

643

645

1944 408

404

406

403

400

645

643

642

1960s three 5-storey buildings were built in the following years. While 1960 situation is quite the same, a significant transformation occurred afterwards - plots were merged for the construction of Kaubahall. That can be observed from the 2012 figure.

408

406

404

403

2012

400

78401:101:3470

78401:101:2190

78401:101:3580 78401:101:0730 78401:101:3580

78401:101:1910

78401:101:3050


THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

TYPOMORPHOSIS QUARTER

THE TYPOMOTHOSIS OF THE QUARTER WHERE THE UUS 10 / AIA 7 PLOT IS LOCATED IS A PROOF FOR A DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. THE FOLLOWING PLANS SHOW HOW THE BUILT STRUCTURE HAS DEVELOPED DURING THE II HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY . IT SHOWS THE EMERGENCE OF KAUBAHALL IN 1978-1980 IN RELATION TO THE SITUATION BEFORE AND AFTER THE EVENT.

AIA ST

1960s

UUS ST

AIA ST

The contruction of Kaubahall drastically changed the typomorphology of the area because a more historical small structures were replaced with a very large scale construction that was and still is completely ‘out of place’ in the context of the old town and the usual patchy plot division. At the same time, the south of the quarter remained largely the same. The (also out of scale) 1930s houses, for example, are still standing strong. From these plans we can also observe how Aia street was gradually widened. This was done part by part while the quarter was redeveloped. First the

1978-80

UUS ST AIA ST

kaubahall

aforementioned 1930s houses part of the street was widened, and then the whole Uus10 / Aia7 plot from Aia street side was ‘pushed in’ so that the street became the same width throughout the whole quarter.

2012 UUS ST

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THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

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CONFLICT BETWEEN CONSERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

1979 This is a story of a place that saw an conflict between two forces that ‘battled’ for the construction of a new structure, Kaubahall, and for the preservation of the old structure, the Engineer Commando ensemble of buildings. I’ve read various sources from development conditions written by the heritage board, to an opinion article of an architect published in a respected newspaper, and done interviews with concerned parties. I hereby try to give an overview of the discussion related to the construction of Kaubahall in the context of two general forces that play a part in this situation – conservation/heritage protection, and regeneration/development. It would be an easy subject if everything was black and white – heritage protection wanting to only conserve and developers wanting to tear down everything old and build anew – but it is not. (Un)fortunately it is impossible to put a clear boundary between these

two sides, their relationship is a lot more complicated than this. I will hereby try to map the situation while trying to give a objective overview of the dynamics that were in the air around this situation. At the same time I have to admit that although the materials I have gathered are vast, it is probably just the tip of the iceberg. Especially because the real thoughts and ideas are only in people’s heads. Once they are put out in the world, all sorts of filters start to influence it’s objectivity. But it is nevertheless worth the try to reach some kind of understanding of this conflict and debate. The construction of Kaubahall was a worst nightmare scenario in many respects. Several parties argued against Kaubahall already before the construction started. First, the Tallinn old town regeneration plan had set requirements for each quarter. Requirements for the Aia street area demanded the exclusion of very intensive institutions, especially in terms of traffic. Another document that commented on the issue stated that large scale building are not appropriate for Uus street. It disagreed with the demolition of the Uus 8 building (of cultural value because an actrass called Glesen used to live there) and the canalization of goods traffic to Uus street. The inspection institution for architectural monuments wrote that a food store in this area is

not a very good idea in the viewpoint of heritage protection. They only agreed to the construction of Kaubahall to a certain extent because there was a real necessity for a solution to the strengthening of the commerce infrastructure. They also emphasized that the size of the building should have been as small as possible (which obviously was not in accordance with the vision of the developers). The most severe criticism comes from the restoration administration that composed a set of condition for the construction in terms of architectural and historical conventions. It suggested that Kaubahall is not the best solution for the area as the plot was already considered to be given to a kindergarten. Two building were to be repaired, others taken down. Apparently there were no other appropriate places available in the old town for this function as a kindergarten needs a low traffic and low noise level location where was enough room for a playground. They said this move would be a disservice for old town because the construction of Kaubahall obviously made the plan of a kindergarten impossible and because it was going to artificially implement lively traffic to one of the most quiet areas of the bastion belt This, in return, would have brought about a change in the historical street system. The administration foresaw

that the construction of Kaubahall should keep to a set following rules, for example: (1) as small sales area as possible, (2) the shopping mall should not stay the only one like this in the old town and its vicinity, there should be more, (3) there should have been a possibility for marking the area or borders of the historical New Viru Bastion, (4) there should not have been any changes made on Uus street etc. Most interestingly, the restoration administration states that the old town was a protected area of importance for the whole of Soviet Union. The fact that this was compromised for a building such as Kaubahall, was expressive about the overall formal attitude towards the official cultural protection principles. Despite the multitude of opinions that show disagreement with the construction plan, the building was nevertheless built and hardly with any reference to the conditions that it was supposed to follow, with exceptions. The same situation was viewed very differently from the perspective of the developers – namely, the commerce administration of Tallinn (Eva Hirvesoo, the architect, mentioned in her interview that the ‘engine’ behind this project was the minister of commerce, Todeson). It prescribed that the sales area should be 1200 m2 while only 750 m2 would have


THE STORY OF UUS10 / AIA7 JOHANNA RANNULA

24

CONSTRUCTION OF KAUBAHALL - THE DEBATE been necessary, and that it should be built from ferroconcrete panels which, according to the architect, was an absurd choice for this setting. The size, and the material, were clearly not appropriate for the old town. It was an apparent exaggeration. But the plan was carried out nevertheless due to the rush that accompanied the project and the prime location of this spot. However, the factor that must have been one of the most crucial was the upcoming Olympic Games and the sailing regatta which was taking place in Tallinn in 1980. The city had an extensive development boost during the same time as Kaubahall was constructed which, among other clues, indicated that this project was a part of a general movement. One could even say that this is an example of how an event as big as the Olympic Games can cause many conflicting opinions to be overruled. Nevertheless, as I mentioned in the beginning, the story of this debate, this conflict, is not a straightforward one. As the architect was implementing a postmodern solution for Kaubahall, she tried to fit the building into its environment. That was carried out with the subdivision layout and a ridged roof. That, according to Riin Alatalu, was a considerable ‘win’ for whose who did not favour the construction of Kaubahall. It showed that the building tried to fall

in line with the environment which in itself is a very diverse one (considering the combination of 5-storey modernist building on Aia st 5, 5a and 5b and the medieval urban structure). But nevertheless, with the emergence of Kaubahall, the old town lost a potential kindergarten, the Uus 8 building of cultural value and a calm quiet area around this part of the bastion belt. And lastly, the Engineer Commando ensemble of buildings.

1993

2012

AIA ST

2012

UUS ST

In addition, Kaubahall became a part of a food store chair during the 1990s and continues to be one of the (if not the only one) larger food stores in the area. Now, just over 3 decades later, there are several

plans with the building. While there are steps taken for renovating it, there are also plans that foresee a construction of highrise on that place. The latter is almost certain at this point.

2012


AREA 2: COAST GATE BASTIONS RAINA LILLEPÕLD, JAAK SOVA, KAUR SARV

We have investigated how the medievel Tallinn has developed outside the City Wall - the area of Coastal Gates next to the harbour, on the east side of the old town. Different parts of fortifications have formed the basis for current housing, street network and green public space next to the City Wall. This has been an area where new housing typology has approached the old town and contested relations between heritage and modern. This is best represented by the Kalevi pool and the Small Coast Gate Bastion reconstruction, which all brought new styling and functions to the area so far considered worthy for historical buildings only.

Uus St. year 2012

View to Rannavärava St. year 2012

View to Coast Gate Bastion. year 2012

View to Fat Margaret. year 2012

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Uus St. 1920-s. Time passed: 90 years

Coast Gate. 1882. Time passed: 130 years

Coast Bastion, 1935. Time passed: 78 years

Promenade, 1818. Time passed: 196 years


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LANDSCAPING OF BASTION BELT

RAINA LILLEPÕLD FOCUS OF STUDY

BASIS OF STUDY

My focus area of the study is former Great Coast Gate Bastion which is situated to the east of Great Coast Gate, next to Fat Margaret. I chose this particular area because it illustrates quite well how the garden around old town were turned into bastion and after the bastion lost its defence function, was turned back into public green places.

Reinventing the former bastion fortification Tallinn City made plans after Crimean War 1857 to redesign the bastions outside Old Town City walls into public green areas. The role-model for this was probably Vienna’s Ringstraße which was planned at the same time. Unlike in Vienna, Tallinn’s greenbelt was not just meant to be for tram-traffic with avenues. As bastions and surrounding esplanades had been for a military reasons a nonbuilt zone (about 300m wide) it was perfect open area to design public green space which Old Town had been lacking. Financially, it was costly to level the bastions, so parks were designed that incorporated bastions and moats nearly as they were, adding tree-lined avenues to be used as walk-promenades.


LANDSCAPING OF BASTION BELT RAINA LILLEPÕLD

DEVELOPMENT TILL 1700

CONCLUSION

Behind Great Coast Gate, next to Fat Margaret there has been one of Tallinn’s oldest gardens – Rose-garden which is mentioned already 15th Century.

The cannon tower nicknamed afterwords Fat Margaret was built in 1529 as a defence tower, being one of the first of Tallinn’s coastline defence fortifications.

The tradesmen of Great Guild had ordered fine soil for this area and had the surface of the ground raised. The area was surrounded by stonewall (as to the west were pastures for cattle) with stone steps leading up to the garden. In the middle there was big lime tree which canopy was tended every year – money for this work came from Great Guild cash register – that is why we know the garden has existed.

Small Coast Gate was planned at 1634 by Swedish government and built at 1647, architect being Gebhard Himselius (city engineer) & Johan Wärnschöld (manager of the fortifications).

At 15th Century city did not own much of its public green places as this was prerogative of wealthy tradesmen of Guilds. They were responsible for designing the landscape of that area but as the garden was walled in, it was not for public use. Nevertheless, when government needed the land for defence purposes, it was expropriated with substitute plots given quite far from city walls.

As early as 1370 30m wide moat was built in front of the Gate. Uus Street was built at 1652 and initially was just a gravel road.

At 1537 the garden was somewhat levelled and hibiscus bushes were planted and benches were added. Garden was used for leisure by Guild’s tradesmen and their families. At 1569 during Livonian war cannons were placed to the area, aimed at war-ships attacking from sea and thus the Rose-garden was destroyed. During Swedish Empire’s (1561 until 1721) governing the bastions were built around Tallinn. The gardens and vegetable patches which were owned by Tallinn’s citizen were expropriated and given to government. As a substitute the owners were given land further from the city, e.g. where currently Laululava is situated.

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fragment of 1688 map

Great Coast Gate with Fat Margaret on the left, 16th Century


LANDSCAPING OF BASTION BELT RAINA LILLEPÕLD

DEVELOPMENT TILL 1850 Garden plans for Great and Small Coast Gate Bastions were actually made already before the Crimean war (1857) took place, after which Tallinn was no longer considered a military fortification for Russian Empire. At 1728 there were 13 lime-trees planted on Great Coast Gate Bastions as seen on 1825 map. By the end 18th Century the avenues

fragment of 1825 map

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CONCLUSION with trees were formed. They were called promenades or glacis promenades because they were planned on the glacis part of the bastion. Promenades were meeting points for Tallinn’s citizens in the evening when news were exchanged.

of 18th century Fat Margaret served as an armoury. At 1796 it functioned as a warehouse for the Admiralties, but at 1830 was used as a prison.

The Great Coast Gate and Fat Margaret were strengthen. The wooden gate was given iron covering and from the middle

Uus St. was stone-paved at 1730. One of the oldest building that is existing today was built on Uus 37 at 1749 as a gunpowder storehouse. Around 1850 it became private property but still functioned as a warehouse.

1818 postcard, view to avenue with trees

2012

1820 painting, view to Uus 37 before it was rebuilt for a gunpowder warehouse

2012

The area around Great and Small Coast Gates have been interchanging function between garden and military defence purpose more than once. First it may seem like a huge contradiction but as 17th and 18th Century fortifications demanded open areas next to bastions, private gardens or public green spaces were much more compatible than housing as in case of necessity, the trees or other plants could have been hacked within days.


LANDSCAPING OF BASTION BELT RAINA LILLEPÕLD

DEVELOPMENT TILL 1900 After Crimean War (1857) the bastions were demilitarized and levelled, moats were filled – land was formed into plots and given for rent to the citizens of Tallinn and used as vegetable patches or fruit garden. The avenues were replanted as 1842 storm had destroyed lots of trees as well as during Crimean War trees were cut down for better defence possibilities. At 1859 Promenaden Commission was elected which was in charge of designing the promenades as well as founding the finances. The first members were from Great Guild E. v. Girard ja Chr. Rottermann, from Kanuti Guild C. G. Linse, also J. Sieber (not guild tradesmen).

fragment of 1858 map

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CONCLUSION By 1868 the bastion areas were assigned to Tallinn City Government administration.

At the 19th Century Tallinn city was lacking funds, so the tradesmen were very much involved in the decision making process of planning promenades and public green places. Also public collection for funds was used (e.g. to replant the trees after the 1842 storm) to gather funds for these purposes.

At 1869 yet another plan for tree-lined avenue was made by Tallinn’s land surveyor F. Adamson’s – to form the promenades around Old Town. The 1876 city planning was approved by Russian Emperor – “to have promenades as in Riga”. 1881-1885 the trees were planted to Coast Bastion – project by garden-engineer V. Stimming. Promenade use was also regulated, e.g. at 1880 city prohibited to use promenades by horses or carts. At the same time the city rainwater was still collected into former moat next to Small Coast Bastion seen as a wetland on 1885 map.

fragment of 1879 plan (not realised)

1882, view to Small Coast Gate

2012

fragment of 1885 map

After Crimean War the roads system were planned around Tallinn. The 1879 plan shows railroad being planned through Great Coast Bastion which was not realised. The area around bastion was planned for public green place, the promenade (which is situated at current Mere pst.) was used for pedestrians.


LANDSCAPING OF BASTION BELT RAINA LILLEPÕLD

DEVELOPMENT TILL 1950 From 1902-1922 the end of Uus St. and the open area between Coast Gates was used as a grounds for a flea-market. Until 1910 City of Tallinn gave parks for rent for both private owners or organisations but they were badly looked after and therefore at 1910 they were improved at the cost of the renter and taken under city administration. At 1910 there was also regulation published for promenade use,e.g no stray dogs. At 1918 Tallinn City took a decision that parks should be planned around Great Coast Gate. At 1923 the income tax was introduced which partly went to finance the landscaping. The same year City bought land surrounding Great Coast Gate from

CONCLUSION Ministry of War in order to carry out landscaping. At 1920-s and 1930-s Tallinn city’s architects E. Habermann, A. Soans, E. Lohk, H. Johanson all contributed planning the greenbelt. At mid -1920-s Habermann announced in an interview that there should be no railway (trams) through the open area were a flea-market was held but instead it should be turned into landscaped park. The tramline was to be directed through Old Town – this part of the plan didn’t realise. 1930-s architects A. Kotli and A. Soans were making several plans for landscaping the greenbelt

1915-s, view to Great Coast Bastion

The Rannamäe road was planned to cut through the bastion, and stone steps were designed in order to negotiate the difference in heights see 1936 map and photo). Also all the city architects had much to stay about planning the greenbelt, although not all their plans got realised.

At Fat 1917 Margaret was damaged by fire, the whole Great Coast Gate was reconstructed during between 1934-40.

early 1930-s, view to Fat Margaret

1922 plan by A. Soans (partly realised)

1936 plan of stairs (realised but partly demolished)

As mentioned before, it was easier to incorporate the bastions into the landscape instead of totally demolishing them. What happened between 1910 when all the parks went under Tallinn City Administration and till WW II (during Estonian first Republic period) to the Great Coast Bastion area, illustrates the point precisely.

1936, view to landscaped Great Coast Bastion

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LANDSCAPING OF BASTION BELT RAINA LILLEPÕLD

DEVELOPMENT TILL 2000

CONCLUSION

Fat Margaret was reconstructed in 1978-81, when new interior was built for Maritime Museum. The first major construction near Coast Gates was Olympic size swimming pool (first in Estonia), built between 1957-1965, architects. U. Tölpus, P. Tarvas and O. Kontšajeva. The same architects made a major circus project to be built nearby but it never got built.

Until 1950’s the former bastion belt had been approach with caution and no major changes topographically or otherwise has been made. As the project for circus was not implemented, the steel girders were used for the construction of swimming pool, which being too massive, is quite misplaced between the park and Aia St.

1960, the construction of the swimming pool

2012

The second big project for the area was built however some 20 years later. It was Housing Authority office masked as a bastion (1979–86) by architects K. Rõõmus and E. Kreis. Great Coast Gate Bastion park got also addition. At 1996 Estonia Monument (authors: V. Jaanisoo and J. Mukala) was opened to mark the second anniversary of the tragedy of ferry Estonia.

fragment of 1987 map

The Housing Authority office tries to disguise itself better, following the contour of former fortification but being actually much higher from the ground as a historic bastion was, it obstructs the view to Mere pst. and also from sea towards Old Town. Also as the Mere pst. was widened for traffic the outer triangular part of Great Coast Bastion was levelled (as seen on 1960-s photo).

1960-s, front part of the bastion is levelled

2012

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It is quite arbitrary if these two large construction have a place next to Old Town’s quite homogeneous housing but as there is still green open areas left in place of the bastion belt, it gives Tallinn quite a unique appearance.


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THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAMLINES Jaak Sova

The aim of this project was to research how and why the Tallinn tramlines run the lines as they are. I mainly focused on aspect who were the forces behind the tramlines. and what kind of connection could be found between the development of tramlines and Tallinn city growth. What kind of power issues there have been in the history of Tallinn tramlines and how it has affected the citizens. The layout of the studies follows the historical lines how the tramlines have developed. The material was mainly gathered from different text bibliography. Also I draw the tramlines myself, by following its development to get the grasp how the tramlines were constructed. I also were concentrating on unrealised plans which gave the information about the forces behind the tramlines. In the end I tried to compare the history with the situation today to find out is there any examples what to follow when new plans should be made.

CONTENT: Tram Timeline The Beginning Kopli Tramline The Connection Between Kopli and City Tramline Trams Today

The main reason why the tramlines were built was the development of new factories and the growth of the citizen population. The first tramlines were planned and built down the arteries which followed the lines how the Tallinn developed outside the City Wall and which connected and activated different districts. During its 124 years history, the Tallinn tramlines has survived 8 political systems, its name has been changed 16 times and it has had 25 directors. The main thing that has remained is the same unique width of the rail-track - 1067 mm as it was put down in 1888. Tallinn tramlines also awns the world record for the most stable tramline system in the world. The reason behind this lies the unrealised plans and lack of development for the new tramlines in Tallinn.


THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAMLINES JAAK SOVA

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TRAM TIMELINE 1857 Tallinn was deleted from the list of fortification cities. 1870 Paldiski-Tallinn-Peterburg trainline 16. april 1888 concession deal signed by Tallinn City Government, baron Nikolai Fersen, baron Arved Rosen and John Girard de Soucanton. 3 horsetramlines were planned: Vana turg (Olde Hansa) – Viru st. – Narva rd. – Kadriorg ( opened 4. August 1888). Viru Väljak (Vene turg) – Tartu rd. – Turu st. (10. September 1888). Vana turg – Raekoja plats – Balti Jaam. 4. August 1888 testride. 10. August 1888 Grand opening. 24. August 1888 opened for citizens (Official Birthday) 1898 Tramways de Reval became the new owner of the concession deal.

1 1901 Vana turg – Suur-Pärnu 1912 Vene-Balti, Bekker and Noblessner shipyards were built to Kopli. 1915 (15000 citizens in Kopli) Vene-Balti and Bekker shipyards planned to built a tramline from Kopli to downtown (Kopli – Volta – Soo – Mere pst – Viru Väljak). City Government allowed the line from Kopli – Telliskivi.

7. March 1923 City municipality planned to build electric tramline from Kadriorg – Vabaduse Väljak – Toompuiestee – Balti jaam. 1924 economic crisis dropped the plan.

1928 tramlines got numbers: Line nr. 1 Freedom Square– Narva mnt Line nr. 2 Freedom Square– Tartu mnt Line nr. 3 Vene turg – Pärnu mnt

1932 Kopli tramline extended to Balti jaam 1936 Official opening of the electric tramline (Not Kopli) 1941 City power plant was bombed

953 Kopli and Viru Square were connected through Põhja and mere pst

1946 Tallinn generalplan for city transport.

1962 Kopli - Ülemiste line nr. 2

1940 – 50 cheapest and most used transport by citizens (mass overload on trams).

2000 Line nr 5 Kopli - Vana-Lõuna opened

1950 Kopli tramline were constructed to two way tramline

991 Tallinn municipality started to sell the external surface for advertisements.

2004 Kopli - Vana-Lõuna was closed


THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAMLINES JAAK SOVA

THE BEGINNING After Tallinn was deleted from the list of fortification cities in 1857, the town started to develop outside of the City Wall. When the Paldiski-TallinnPeterburg trainline were open in 1870, it was a mayor impetus for Tallinn development. Many factories were built like Kalinin trainfacotry near Balti Jaam (1870), shipyards to Admariltet pool (1873-77), furniture factory to Pärnu mnt (1873). This was the reason why the population start to grow and the outskirts near Old Town started to spread. In 1880s the problem of movement and transportation of the citizens gave the municipality the idea to build a horsetramway to Tallinn. Inspired by the idea of Riga’s municipality, Tallinn wanted to make a concession deal with private entrepreneurs who would build and run the tramway in the city. It was the third deal (first deal was with local merchant Christian Rotermann and second with three entrepreneurs from Saint Petersburg) that was successful and in 16. of april 1888 the deal between Tallinn municipality and thee estonian barons Nikolai Fersen, Arved Rosen and John Girard de Soucanton. 3 horsetramlines were planned and two of them were realised already in 1888.

The opening of the tramlines also activated residential districts like Kadriorg. When the trainline to Peterburg were open many tourist came to enjoy the beaches next to Kadriorg, but when the tramline were opened also citizens from other district came to visit Kadriorg more often and the district started to develop fast. When the first lines were open, there were already some opponents, mainly the landlords and businessmen who were disturbed by the tram transportation which runned next to their houses. Therefore in 1891 the third line from Raekoja plats to Balti Jaam were dropped and in return the municipality lengthened the concession deal to 50 years without any taxes. Tramlines were taken over by the Tramways de Reval in 1898 who promised to electrify all the lines and built the new tramline from Viru Square to Suur-Pärnu.

Since then the horsetramway were staying the same until the end of the I World War. The number of the passangers although were growing consistently. In 1912 the municipality was not satisfied how the concession deal were followed by the Belgian entrepreneurs, and started to apply the idea that the city would take over the ownership of the tramlines. But before the fate over the deal were decided, it came the 1918 year October Revolution and Tramway de Reval company were nationalised. In same year the horsetramway were closed and the concessio deal were canceled due to the lack om investments. But beacuse of the early cancelation of the deal the municipality had to pay a fine to the Belgian entrepreneurs.

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The opening of the first electric tramline (Freedom Square - Narva mnt - Kadriorg) were in October 1925. The other tramlines were electrified later due to the economic crisis which influenced the overall development of the tramlines. By the year 1935 all the three city tramlines were electrified, and Until the end of the World War II, the development of the tramlines stayed input. Except on the fact that the schedules were changed due to the usage of the lines (Kadriorg line were more often used then Tartu mnt). In mean time Kopli tramline were constructed and municipality turned their interest into the connection between the Kopli and city tramlines.

Since from the November 1918 all the tramlines were closed until the 1921 when the first motortramway were open between Viru Square and Kadriorg. The trams were getting old and the municipality tried to develop the new trams. In same time many entrepreneurs were making offers to take over the tramline system in favour to construct the electric tramline system. But all the offers were also considering the concession over the gas- and power plant. Therefore the municipality decided to build the electric tramline system, so they can keep the power plants to themselves. 1888 tramlines 1901 tramline 1888 planned tramlines


THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAMLINES JAAK SOVA

KOPLI TRAMLINE In 1911, the Kopli peninsula were still quite deserted area. But when Tallinn were announced again to be seafortress in 1912, new shipyards (RussianBaltic Ship Plant, AS Böckler and Co, Noblessner) in the area. The factories were development very fast and in 1916 there were already 12000 workers and around 15000 inhabitans. Although the workers were transported with the wagons, but rapidly growing number of people soon began to exceed the capacity of transportation of the times and the local factories decided to construct a new tramline to Kopli to solve to problem of logistics of the people. In 17th of September 1914 the entrepreneurs applied an approval from the municipality to build an steam-engine tramline system to Kopli. In 1915 the tramline were constructed and the tracks followed mainly Kopli street to Telliskivi. The line had two branches: one line were built next to Russian-Baltic Ship Plant and other to Böckler factory. The whole tramline were built by the private entrepreneurs for serving their personnel and in 1916 there were already 1.2 million passengers using the tramline in Kopli. During the World War I by the year of 1918 horsepower tram-traffic entirely ceased working that caused some difficulties, but nevertheless Kopli tramline was able to operate and was the main vehicle connection for the city and the

Kopli peninsula. The factories owned the Kopli tramlines until they were sequestrated by the municipality in 1926. The tramlines went under the city’s tram department. Due the lack of interest and investments Kopli tramlines were depreciated and in 1931 the whole lines were reconstructed by the municipality and only petrolengine trams started to drive. In 1932, city bought a plot from local entreprenur the lines were lengthened to Balti Jaam and the same lines stayed the same over 20 years. Until the tramlines of Kopli were electrified and linked with the rest of city tramlines. The development of Kopli tramlines is an good example how the tracks followed the same lines of city growth. Also it has the confirms the history how two forces (municipality and entrepreneurs) were managing Tallinn tramlines.

1931 Telliskivi Station at Kopli tramline

1949 Kopli tramline map

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAMLINES JAAK SOVA

36

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN KOPLI AND CITY TRAMLINES There have been many plans before the connection between Kopli and city tramlines were linked. Since the the first tramlines were constructed in 1888, there were already a plan to connect the city lines with Balti Jaam through Old Town (Vana turg – Raekoja plats – Balti Jaam), the plan was dropped because the horsetram which were built on Viru street were already disturbing the landlords and businessmen. The nex t plan were proposed by the entrepreneurs who built the Kopli tramline. They wanted to connect the line from Kopli to Viru Square through Mere pst. But because the steam-engine trams were producing lots of smoke and sparks, it was too dangerous for neighbourhood building and the municipality did not allow the plan to realise. In 1923 when municipality planend to develop the electrifed tramlines, the master plan foresaw the electrified line from Freedom Square - Toompuesti - Balti Jaam. But because the economic crisis in 1924, the municipal tram department dropped the plan and instead invested the money into electrying the Narva mnt tramline, which were opened in 1925. Another master plan were proposed by the municipality to borrow the money from the bank and develop 1 motorway and 4 electrified tramlines. One of the planned lines were from Kopli to

Viru Sqaure on to Tartu mnt with the extension to Ülemiste. But Anton Uesson who was the mayor in that time were against for borrowing the money from the bank and the plan was unrealised again. After the World War II, the growth of the citizen population affected the use of trams, which were the cheapest and most used transport system in that time. The mass overflow of passengers made it hard to follow the lines in schedule. Another problem was that because the Kopli and city lines were not linked, people had to buy two tickets to drive from Kadriorg to Kopli. For these reasons in 1947 Tallinn general plan projected to develop the trolley and autobus lines and to connect Kopli with city tramlines through Põhja and Mere pst. The plan also included the idea of Kopli line to be electrifed. The plan became a reality when the construction started in 1949 and in 1951 when Kopli line was reconstructed into double-track line and electrified. In 1953 Kopli line was linked with Viru Square and other city lines and dedicated to October Revolution anniversary The linked tramline connection open up the harbour area for the citizens and also changed the overall street network on Mere pst.

1953 June construction of the tramline in Mere pst

1953 construction and connecting the new tramline in Viru Square.

1953 electric tram in Mere pst.

1953 grand opening of the new tramline.


THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRAMLINES JAAK SOVA

When analysing Tallinn with other Tallinn like analogcities of Europe, which has almost the same car oriented lifestyle, and were tramlines are very important transport system

TRAMS TODAY City ways (Citizens, thousand) (km)

Since 1962, when the tramline nr. 2 KopliÜlemiste were opened, the tramline system have stayed the same. Therefore, Tallinn owns the world record of most stable tramline system. New tramlines have not been constructed since, although there have been many districts that have develepod in Tallinn.

Tramlines which are operating today. The map also shows the potential for the develolpment new tramlines into new districts

Citizens (K)

The top years in the history of tramtraffic were in 1975 when 162 machines were in use, 1979 when 6,9 million kilometers were driven and 1988 when 109 million passengers were carried. There has been a decrease in the on run trams since re-independence along with a mayor decrease of the number of users of the tramlines (in 2008 there were 25,4 mln passengers). One of the reason can be seen in a more car oriented lifestyle, but also how Tallinn have not developed the new tramlines which would connect the new districts.

Tramlines lines (nr) (km)

Taking an example from other European cities , especially form Helsinki, Tallinn started to sell the external surface of the trams to advertisements. Through this paid service, tram department have earned some extra income to invest in new tools and equipment.

37

stops (nr)

The diagram shows that Tallinn tramline system is very poor compared with other cities. Tallinn has bigger users population then most of compared (mln) cities, but its short tramway and -lines length shows how there is the less users of the tram also. Therefore, Tallinn should invest more in developing the tramlines into the new disctrict rather than buying new trams. There have been many master plans for develing the tramlines into new areas, but they have been all unrealised. Therefore, it can be seen how the Tallinn tramlines have been depricated in the aspect of the city growth and following the lines of new districts

Tramway length(km)

Tramlines length (km)

Tramstops


AREA 3: SKOONE BASTION PILLE KOPPEL, VALENTINO PAGANI, IIE-MALL PÜÜA

Skoone bastion, also known as Rannavärava mägi is a section of the green belt that surrounds the Old Town of Tallinn, and borders with the district of Kalamaja. The construction of the fortification began in 1683 on land that was earlier used as a public garden, that had also served as a spot for a chapel and a small hospital. A network of tunnels was built inside the bastion after 1704, when it was finally finished. In the middle of the 19th century, Skoone bastion lost its significance as a fortification and was turned into a green space. The area became popular among the locals, because of the views. A restaurant that was opened on the bastion hill, but unfortunately it burned down and no new buildings were constructed until 1948 when a summertheater was built to entertain the Soviet soldiers. An amusement park was added in 1976. The former gunpowder warehouse under the bastion was turned into a civil defense headquarter. In the 1930s the area went through some modifications in landscaping. One of the greater changes was the construction of Rannamäe road that cut the bastion away from the Old Town. The other influential element in the spatial structure is the railway, that was introduced in the area in mid 19th century. The tracks connected the Kopli peninsula and other industrial areas by the sea. The railway tracks ran through and along the former moat. The construction of Rannamäe road and the railway infrastructure have had a significant impact on the spatial configuration of Skoone bastion. Currently, Skoone bastion functions as a park, but due to poor accessabilty it is rather unused, and is waiting for a successful reintegration into the bastion belt.

Stairs of the summertheater. 2012

View to Kalamaja. 2012

The city wall and Suurtüki courtyard. 2012

Tramlines along Põhja puiestee. 2012

View from the South hill. 2012

Suurtüki courtyard. 2012

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1995. Time passed: 7 years

1995. Time passed: 7 years

1940. Time passed: 72 years

1900. Time passed: 112 years

1983. Time passed: 29 years

1940. Time passed: 72 years


39

RAILWAYS AND THE PLOT OF ESTONIAN RAILWAYS TABEL OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SUBTOPIC: 1. INTRODUCTION 2. THE RUINS ON THE SUURTÜKI 12 3. FIVE STEPS ON GOING THRU THE CHANGES 3.1 PLANNING THE RAILWAY LINES 3.2 FIRST DECADES OF THE RAILWAY 3.3 PEAK OF THE USE OF THE TRACKS ON THE AREA 3.4 DISCONNECTION OF THE RAILWAY 3.5 REMAINS OF THE RAILWAY CONNECTION

by PILLE KOPPEL


RAILWAYS AND THE PLOT OF ESTONIAN RAILWAYS PILLE KOPPEL

40

1. INTRODUCTION On the North-West of Skoone Bastion is an area in the ownership of Estonian Railway that is nowadays looking more or less like a wasteland - there is a fenced parking lot, some ruins of historical railway buildings and disconnected railway tracks.

The plot Suurtüki tn 12 on North-West of Skoone Bastion: Area: 9481 m² Owned by Eesti Raudtee

View to the plot in the beginning of XX century

Intended purposes: Commercial 10% Industrial 10% Transport 80% Buildings on the area (according to ehr.ee): -repair workshop -heavy fuel oil pump house

View to the plot in 2012

Although non of the railway constructions are functioning in the present time on the area 3, that was the connection area for railway lines between the central

This subtopic is looking back to the history of Estonian railways to see the present situation developing from the past. The aim of this part is to see how the railways have physically changed the area behind the Skoone Bastion and meaning of the area and also to see the reasons behind the changes.

2. THE RUINS ON THE SUURTÜKI 12 In the same time with building the railway in 1870, there was also a need for many buildings to service the railways. Most of the buildings are preserved till today, althought most of the buildings has no use today. The ruins of the buildings on Suurtüki 12 are belonging to the former railway’s buildings complex. Most of the buildings in the complex have been built

Railway lines in Tallinn, 1884 (Eesti Ajalooarhiiv EAA.854.4.119)

station Balti Jaam and the port of Tallinn, the character of railway is still present on the site.

Repair workshop, drawing by A. Sildre

according to the standard project as the heavy fuel pump house is, but the repair workshop is one is an exception. Both of the buildings have been built in the period 1900-1914, the exact dates are not known. Repair workshop is valuable because of extraordinary look – limestone building and art deco motifs.

Heavy fuel pump house, drawing by A. Sildre


RAILWAYS AND THE PLOT OF ESTONIAN RAILWAYS PILLE KOPPEL

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3. FIVE STEPS ON GOING THRU THE CHANGES To represent the physical changes, there are five segments of maps from different periods on the left with highlighted railway lines. These five maps have been selected to represent main periods of changes that are also more or less coinciding with the political regimes of Estonia.

KALAMAJA AREA 3

PORT OF TALLINN

BALTI JAAM

OLD TOWN

0

100

500m

The observed area (in the red box). In the center there is the area 3 (marked with red on every image). The area is the connection area between the central station and the port of Tallinn, so the segments of the maps are presenting the area from Balti Jaam to the port of Tallinn. (on left map by Dmitry Bruns)

On the right there is an overview about the wider reasons behind the physical changes of the railways. Railways have an important role already on state’ level, therefore there is a combination of information on the political, institutional and urban level.

3.1 PLANNING THE RAILWAY LINES

N

The main reason to plan the railway was to get a connection between the Estonian ports and Russia. During the period of 1850-1860 the local Baltic nobility in Estonia realised that the development of manors required efficient connections with the Russian provinces. In 1868 Baltic Railway Association was founded. The main shareholders were the Estonian squires and merchants of Tallinn. 1869 building of the Gatšina-TallinnPaldiski railway was started.

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500m

Segment of a map of Tallinn 1865 and the railway lines in 1885. The location of the first railway lines were planned carefully to fit into the existing situation. The North-West part of Skoone Bastion on the area 3 became a connection area for the port and and the central station.

the port and the central station, that includes also the area 3, which was originally intendent to be a horse railway. In practice it turned out otherway. Places like Lilleküla, Kanuti aed or Mere puiestee were seriously considered as a central station location in the end of 1860-s. The present location was chosen beacuse it was near to the old town. It was not a classic Dead End Station, the tracks continued to the harbour, where was one more station.

The railway hook around the old town was planned due to the difference of heights of the port and glint of Lasnamäe, what it had to connect. 20’th Noveber 1869 the first locomotive made the first trip on the section of

Considered location for the central station


RAILWAYS AND THE PLOT OF ESTONIAN RAILWAYS PILLE KOPPEL

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3.2 FIRST DECADES OF THE RAILWAY

N

In october 1870 an opening ceremony of the Baltic Railway was held in Narva, where trains from Tallinn and St Petersburg met. In 1871 built Balti Jaam station.

On the first years expected number of passangers was transported, but the freight transport was much more modest than had been hoped. But the port of Paldiski started to be used only when the one in Tallinn was frozen over and the volume of freight transport in the port of Tallinn was increased sharply

0

100

N

100

Russo-Turkish War showed disorganization of private railways and the government involved themselve into this. In 1893 the Baltic Railway was nationalised. The proposal of Saarinen’s Great Tallinn master plan(1913) was to move the industrial rail station south, between Old Town and Lake Ülemiste.

500m

Segment of a map of Tallinn, 1885. Most of the wide gauge tracks ended before or in the area 3, from there continued the narrow-gauge tracks to the port. The railway buildings were built on the area 3.

0

with next years, the turnover of the port increased from 1,8 billions ruble (in 1869) to 140,5 billions ruble (1879).

500m

Segment of a map of Tallinn, 1922. The indusrtial growth expanded the network of railways, especially on the area of port. Many industrial and storage buildings added. The busy period on the Suurtüki 12.

Balti Jaam in 1871, in 1941 and in 2000. Restoration in 60-s changed the appearance to unknown.

3.3 PEAK OF THE USE OF THE TRACKS ON THE AREA In the War of Independence railways played an extremely important role, the strategic succes of Estonia Army was often based on armoured trains.

In 1924 an electric railway began operating providing an connection between rapidly developing Tallinn and its surrounding suburbs.

The railways were under different administartions, in 1923 the private railways were nationalised.

After the Tartu Peace treaty, Tallinn became the first access point with western countries for Soviet Russia, the volumes of rail transit from Soviet Russia to the port of Tallinn were rapidly increasing till it dropped suddenly in 1923.

The first period of Estonian independence was fraught with post-war economic hardship and political instability. Progress, however, was rapid, and industry revived through the expansion of home markets. By the 1930s, industry generated nearly a third of Estonian national income that also brought increase to the industrial railway business and during that time was the peak of use of the tracks on the Skoone Bastion area.

In 1928 the Parliament passed the Act on the Development of the Railway Network, the aim of it was modernisation of railway and building new lines, it was cancelled in 1932 when economy crisis reached to Estonia. Kopli freight depot was started to build in 1933 on the NortEast of Balti Jaam - the present location.


RAILWAYS AND THE PLOT OF ESTONIAN RAILWAYS PILLE KOPPEL

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3.4 DISCONNECTION OF THE RAILWAY

N

The World War II damaged the railway structures and buildings a lot. In 1945 reopened the Balti Jaam. 1946 regular traffic on the electric railway between the capital and its suburbs was restored. Major enterprises, railway included, were subjected to All-Union ministries. In 1950 the language of administration on the railways became Russian.

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Segment of a map of Tallinn, 1985. The railway lines between the port and Balti Jaam is disconnected. There are still a wide metwork of raillway lines in the port area and in Balti Jaam.

In 1950s the modernisation of the wide gauge railway took place in Estonia and the narrow-gauge lines were gradually converted to broad gauge or abandoned, here economic, logistic and military considerations were combined. The last narrow-gauge line was closed in 1975.

Already the first General plan of Tallinn (1953) as well as the second one (1968), claimed that the structure of the city and the seaside is disconnected and there is a proposal to demolish buildings and storages on the area and connect the city with the sea again. Also the problems of intersections between railway lines and traffic roads are mentioned. In the same time the area of the port of Tallinn was considered as a border zone. The area was closed and under military defense. The transportation of goods were brought out from the city center. This period saw the peak of passengers train traffic.

3.5 REMAINS OF THE RAILWAY CONNECTION

N

In 1991 the state-owned company Eesti Raudtee was founded – in the mid1990s it operated with loss year by year and conditions got bad. In 1996 the Government passed the Development Plan of SE Estonin Railways this foresaw the splitting of the Estonain Rail into three units. There were founded: Estonian Railways Ltd, AS Edelaraudtee, Elektriraudtee AS.

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500m

Segment of a map of Tallinn, 2010. The tracks on the area is disconnected from both sides and there are few ruins lefton the area. The network of railway line is decreased, especially on the port area.

There is an optimistic view to the future of passengers train traffic. Suburban electric trains are being modernised at the moment. Koidula railway border assumes the tasks of three presently operating border stations and a new transport corridor from Northern Russia to Riga and on to Kaliningrad. A new high speed rail line from Tallinn to Warsaw, Poland via

Riga, Latvia is planned for 2020. According to the letter from Estonian Railways to the City Planning Department, the general position about the area is to arrange archaeological excavations on the area and take it into the public use, they are proposing to keep it as a parking plot to serve the theatre that is planned on the Skoone Bastion.

New platforms and trains of Elektriraudtee


44

The Construction of Rannamäe Road Iie-Mall Püüa

2012

1922

Contents

The Development of Rannamäe Road through Skoone Bastion

Introduction: The Development of Rannamäe Road through Skoone Bastion

Rannamäe road can be considered one of the most influential spatial changes that has occurred in the area of Skoone bastion. Since Rannamäe road is a relatively new addition to Tallinn’s infrastructure, compared to other connecting streets, it can be said, that it has fractured historical spatial configurations. The project of Rannamäe road drifted apart from some key conceptions in the urban planning principles of Tallinn. Thus, it can be viewed as a remarkable disruption in the fabric of the green belt that surrounds the Old Town. Its controversial background raises questions about the priorities in the urban planning of early 20th century and also about the current situation and future developments.

The Socio-Political Context Three Viewpoints of the Spatial Change Suurtüki Courtyard The Green Belt Infrasturcture of Tallinn Conclusion

1932 plan of Rannamäe road. Red lines represent the segments that the road created.

The Socio-Political Context Rannamäe road was constructed in 1932, in the context of the 1929 stock market crash and during political uncertainties in the newly independent Republic of Estonia. The effects of the economic crash reached Estonia by 1930. The country’s economy had been weak since 1923, which is why the government set up a system of public works, which was managed by a special committee until 1928 when it was trusted

completely to the Ministry of Roads. The function of the system was not only to provide employment to the increasing number of people, who were out of work, but also to enhance the infrastructure and to alleviate the housing shortage. The public works system was also functioning in the beginning of 1930s. The economic crisis was overcome by 1935. Thus, the construction of Rannamäe road was probably realized in this governmental framework.


THE CONSTRUCTION OF RANNAMÄE ROAD 45 IIE-MALL PÜÜA

Three Viewpoints of the Spatial Change The event of constructing Rannamäe road and its effects can be approached from three viewpoints: from the local position, from the spatial configuration of the green belt and from the larger framework of Tallinn’s infrastructure.

Suurtüki Courtyard The main body of the fortification that has been functioning as a green space form 1876. The area included the current Suurtüki courtyard. When the road was built, the landscape was considerably leveled and separated into fragments. The hill of the bastion remained a green space, Suurtüki courtyard that was noted to have had buildings from around 1722 was separated from the landscape by a wall. The Southern hill of the bastion remained on the side of Old Town, next to the Great Coast gate. Suurtüki street is significant, because it connects the Old Town and Kalamaja. The connection through the city wall is dated from 1870. A part of the wall was demolished by the request of the residents of Kalamaja, and the street was called Petenberg street, because the main initiator of this plea was Kalamaja’s wine salesman whose name was Carl Hermann Petenberg. Historically, Suurtüki courtyard itself was used for storing gunpowder. According to archive materials of a land survey from the 1920s and 1930s, the courtyard was attached to the the bastion. Buildings stretched along Suurtüki street and along the city wall. The plot immediately in front of the entry to the civil defense headquarter beneath the bastion can be considered a link between the courtyard and the bastion since it was planned to be

connected to Skoone bastion in 1924. The plots were used by the Ministry of Defense until 1935, when they were gradually being given to the municipality of Tallinn. During the Soviet occupation in 1945, the property in Suurtüki courtyard was turned into place for auto repair shops by the national security. The former gunpowder warehouse beneath the bastion was established as a bomb shelter and a civil defense headquarter. In 2003, demolition of some walls revealed the basis of Renten tower that was believed to have been completely destroyed centuries ago. Currently, a hotel is built on the base of the tower, but its round shape is still visible. The plot has also been in the center of dispute concerning heritage conservation. Restoration and conservation company Restor, that had permission to reconstruct barracks from the 17-18th century went too far with demolishing which led to a court case between Restor and the municipality of Tallinn. The dispute ended in a compromise: Restor was allowed to reconstruct the barracks and make them into luxury terraced houses, the municipality established that Restor would not build terraced houses between the remains of Renten and Grusbeke tower. The land between the two towers was planned to be developed into a green area in the future, when Põhjaväil road would take on the function of Rannamäe road, and the latter would be turned into a green space as well.

Suurtüki courtyard 1930s

The Suurtüki plot is currently a gated community. Privatization of Suurtüki courtyard and the whole dispute could have been avoided, if the Ministry of the Interior had not sold the property to Restor in 1997. If the municipality of Tallinn had obtained the plot, the current image of the courtyard might have been totally different. Suurtüki courtyard 2009


THE CONSTRUCTION OF RANNAMÄE ROAD 46 IIE-MALL PÜÜA

1905 South hill of Skoone bastion

The Green Belt In the beginning of 20th century, one among other urban planning concepts was to connect the fortifications around the Old Town into a coherent green belt. The idea can mainly be associated with Anton Soans who was Tallinn’s city architect in 1923-1928. The fortifications had lost their military importance in the 19th century. Skoone bastion was properly landscaped after 1876 when it was established as a green space. In the previous decade it had been returned, from military use to the municipality of Tallinn. The bastion hill became a popular spot for strolling because of the excellent view to the sea, which is why stairs and observation decks were added to the bastion’s landscape in 1881-1885. In 1912-1913, Tallinn’s new power plant was built on the former

Stuart’s redoubt, which unfortunately blocked the view to the sea. In the end of the 19th century, the Skoone bastion hill was rented to a hotel owner called Wicke, who contributed to Skoone’s green space with an open air stage and a restaurant, which was one of the first where you could make a reservation over the phone. The restaurant burned down in 1914, and was never rebuilt. The neighboring area, the current Tornide väljak park had a slightly different use than Skoone bastion. It was used as an exhibition ground (it was called Näituse plats in Estonian), where local companies and farmers exhibited their produce. Similarly structured barracks as in the Suurtüki courtyard, stretched along the

Scheme of the green belt. Red lines represent Rannamäe road and the borders of Skoone bastion

city wall on the exhibition ground side as well. By 1930, the exhibition ground was moved to Pirita, and in 1931 Tornide väljak became a park. The motive behind returning the Suurtüki courtyard to Tallinn municipality in 1924 was to make a connection between Skoone bastion and Tornide väljak. The municipality’s plan was to create a view from the bastion to the city wall, and have a park space instead of the barracks beside the wall. However, the municipality did not obtain the area until the late 1930s, and the initial plan was overshadowed by construction of the Rannamäe road and the soviet occupation. In a way, history repeated itself in the 1990s when the

when Suurtüki courtyard was sold and put up for development. Even though Tallinn owes the current bastion belt to the planning decisions that were made in the early days of the Republic of Estonia, it can be said that the idea was not completely implemented. The failure to establish Suurtüki courtyard as a linkage between Tornide väljak and Skoone bastion can be regarded as one of the reasons why the whole project of creating a green belt around the Old Town was not a complete success. The other reason is the decision to separate the bastion from the Old Town with the construction of Rannamäe road.


THE CONSTRUCTION OF RANNAMÄE ROAD 47 IIE-MALL PÜÜA

Infrastructure of Tallinn The construction of Rannamäe road can be looked at as a bigger project. It was constructed in three sections that include the former Näituse street from the railway station to the corner of Suurtüki street, the section that cuts through the bastion and the section that connects the road to Mere pst. The construction began in 1929 and was finished by 1934. The sections of the road were built roughly simultaneously. The aim for creating a connection through the former fortification was to alleviate the traffic situation in Põhja puiestee which was used as a main passage between the central railway station and the harbor. The road, however separated the bastion in to pieces, which altered its spatial structure. Eugen Habermann who was the city architect from 1914 to 1923, concentrated on the infrastructure system when he was in office. The urban planning of Tallinn followed the logic of main traffic arteries, such as Tartu, Narva and Pärnu road. Housing districts were built between these main roads. Elmar Lohk who became the city architect after Anton Soans, in 1928, improved the general plan by adding precise guidelines for streets and squares. Thus it can be concluded, that Habermann and Lohk were responsible for shaping Tallinn’s network of streets and roads. Consequently, the project of Rannamäe road can be associated with their plans and decisions. The planning of Rannamäe road began in the 1920s, when the tram line connection

was under discussion. The outlook of building a road through Skoone bastion would have served for a circular tram line, that was supposed to go around the Old Town. The track would have begun in Vabaduse väljak, passed through Kaarli and Toompuiestee, and would have connected to Mere puiestee by the central railway station and Rannamäe road. The idea was implemented partially. The current tracks run along the main traffic arteries of Tallinn. The connection between Balti jaam and the city center was established in 1953. Põhja puiestee that borders with Kalamaja and Skoone bastion was completed in 1868, served as a connecting road between Kalamaja and the city center and the harbour area. Rannamäe road’s possible function was to level the amount of stress that was put on Põhja puiestee. The agenda of extending Rannamäe road to Mere puiestee was to prevent the use of Põhja puiestee as a roundabout. Currently both of the streets have dense traffic, which is caused by the gradual increase in car use. A new road is planned in North Tallinn to solve this situation. In a way the new road can be compared to 1932’s Rannamäe road, as the reasons to build it seem to overlap. This can be considered the logic of car based infrastructure and urban planning. The aim seems to be keeping the cars flowing.

Scheme of the main traffic connections and Rannamäe road. Numbered parts represent the sections of Rannamäe road

Scheme of the supposed circular tramline. The red line represents the circular line. Dark lines are the currently established lines


THE CONSTRUCTION OF RANNAMÄE ROAD 48 IIE-MALL PÜÜA

Future of Skoone Bastion and Rannamäe Road Due to Skoone bastion’s unattractive state detail planning was called out in 2007 to reintegrate Skoone bastion into the urban fabric. The ideas for regeneration came from architecture bureau Salto, that proposed to turn Rannamäe road in to a pedestrian walkway, which would connect Suurtüki courtyard, the South hill and the body of Skoone bastion into a unified green space. The implementation of this concept also requires other adjustments to be made in the vicinity of Skoone bastion, especially in the traffic scheme. AB Salto’s idea suggests to revisit the planning concepts that were relevant in 1920s and 1930s. However, this places the possibility of Skoone bastion becoming a part of the green belt again, into the hands of

Põhjaväil road, the building of which has been strongly opposed as it endangers the future of the culture kilometer and the access to the sea. Other issues that shadow the realization of the future solutions are ownership and heritage conservation. The Skoone bastion and Suurtüki courtyard has multiple owners, and their activities as well as the city’s are limited, because the bastion itself is under protection and the ground under the moat is believed to contain artefacts from a medieval suburb.

2005 AB Salto winning project of the idea competition for Skoone bastion


THE CONSTRUCTION OF RANNAMÄE ROAD 49 IIE-MALL PÜÜA

Conclusion The development of Rannamäe road reveals controversial aspects of urban planning. Historic research showed that during the first Republic of Estonia, there were simultaneously multiple possible directions to follow, as Tallinn was quickly growing and becoming more populated. The two contesting priorities in urban planning are present in the case of Rannamäe road. Firstly, the concept of connecting the fortifications around the Old Town into a consistent green belt, and secondly, the development of infrastructure and bettering the traffic flows to the harbor and to the center. Looking at Tallinn’s current situation, both concepts are still relevant, even though time has significantly changed the face of the green belt.

What is seen in the urban fabric, is a result of prognosis, choices and compromises. Even rationalizations can be found in the urban form. Rannamäe road could be a rationalization of a seemingly appropriate decision in urban planning. All Tallinn’s bastions are cut through by streets that function as entrances and exits to the Old Town. Rannamäe road, on the other hand, does not lead into the historical center of Tallinn but right past it, segregating Skoone bastion that could form a ensemble with the city wall and also with the neighboring Great Coast gate bastion and Tornide väljak. Even though the idea of creating a green belt around the city was pronounced at the time, bettering the infrastructure might have appeared like more efficient path to take, as the city had grown out of being a war machine and

1931-1932 the building process

started to mature as an industrial center. The lack of possibilities to construct a supporting road for Põhja puiestee might have also dictated the choice to plan it through the bastion. The railway that ran along the seaside, on the current track of the culture kilometer, was an important part of the infrastructure, which is probably why traffic could not have been led elsewhere. Now that the tracks have been removed, and the railway is not in use anymore, an opportunity has presented itself to finally construct Põhjaväil in its place. Thus, this can also be considered as returning to an initial idea. It also implies that planning decisions have a cyclical dynamic. Problematic structures of urban space get shuffled around to find a solution for the time being, but

somehow processes in urban areas bring the municipalities and planners back to the issues they started from. Keeping the initial concepts and the issues with the infrastructural system in mind, it might be that Rannamäe road was constructed as a temporary solution. As the future of the infrastructural change is still undecided Skoone bastion’s and Rannamäe road’s status quo remains fixed. What is up to come, is yet again the question of choice. As seen before, concepts that exist in the same framework are not quite equal. Both of them cannot be implemented at the same time and in the same place. In that sense, it cannot be excluded that Suurtüki courtyard, Skoone bastion and its South hill will remain separated by Rannamäe road.

1931 project of the road


GIS ANALYSIS 1825 - 2012

kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

KAUR SARV, DZMITRY HERYLOVICH, VALENTINO PAGANI

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Introduction Our ‘GIS-group’ worked with six historical maps of tallinn old town (1825, 1858, 1885, 1944, 1980 and 2012). Historical maps are useful to summarize changes in land-use, environmental and living conditions or infrastructure uses at different moments in time and space (Koppa 2006). We observed the changes in land-use on the area chosen by the 2012 EKA typomorphology course and also on the scale of Tallinn’s old town. As a result 2 posters were made: first presents the changes for the old town and current poster describes both typomorphology course area and the historcial bastion belt of Tallinn. Yet different historical maps can result with multiple results – topographical maps do not inform about specifc landuse or other types of maps do not focus on detailed landscape information. Mapping technologies and rules for legends have improved technologically and mathematically within time.

1825 HISTORICAL MAP

1825 VECTORIZED MAP

Our hypothesis is that the current research will create framework for future interventions. Similar land-use change development pattern may reoccur in future and can be analyzed in other areas of the old town. Analyzing landuse and landscape changes on historical maps creates basis for future planning processes and scenarios designing the cities and districts (Marcucci 2000 via Koppa 2006). The term land-use change in our analysis describes the land cover which is formed by human activities and natural landscape elements in past and present. When vectorizing the landuse on historical maps we took into consideration both actual land cover and functions of the areas.

1858 HISTORICAL MAP

1858 VECTORIZED MAP

1885 HISTORICAL MAP

1885 VECTORIZED MAP

Aim of our research was to find out how land-use in and around the Tallinn Old Town has changed within 200 years from 1825 to 2012. Whether and where industrial development or changes in the landscape have influenced street networks, housing placement and green areas.

In the period of 200 years from 1825 to 2012 we have to consider different socio-economical aspects and building technologies, which have impacted typo-morphological qualities of the old town and its surroundings. It has been emphasized by scientists (Bender et al 2005 via Koppa 2006) that to picture sufficient change in land-use analysis the maps should include pre-industrialization periods from the beginning of 19th century. Hence we extended the timeline until 1825 to include the fortifications and bastion belt to the analysis.


GIS ANALYSIS 1825 - 2012

kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

KAUR SARV, DZMITRY HERYLOVICH, VALENTINO PAGANI

In our work we took into consideration possible adjustment and technological inaccuracies, because the main aim was to summarize larger landscape and land-use changes instead of detailed calculations for each area.

Methods of analysis First we scanned chosen historical maps (rasterizing), adjusted the map coordination scales to modern coordination system (Estonia 1997 lambert Conformal Conic) and then manually vectorized selected six layers following the areas on historical raster map.

1940 HISTORICAL MAP

1940 VECTORIZED MAP

1980 HISTORICAL MAP

1980 VECTORIZED MAP

2012 HISTORICAL MAP

2012 VECTORIZED MAP

This enables us to describe changes between vectorized areas on historical maps, which gave us information about the developments of land-use and landscape changes. Outcome Based on our group work we can argue that with historical map analyses it is possible to follow the timeline of Tallinn old town land-use in the past approximately 200 years. Analysis of historical maps is summarized on the adjacent group poster “Maps and layers”. This includes the visualization of vectorized map layers.

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kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

GIS ANALYSIS 1825 - 2012 KAUR SARV, DZMITRY HERYLOVICH, VALENTINO PAGANI

Bastion belt in 2012 Tammsaare park in the SO-corner of the bastion belt replaced the former city market area. The housing area has not increased significantly. Yet the whole bastion belt is interrupted by several large parking areas. The tram lines along the Pohja and Mere pst and on Parnu mnt was built in 1950s. At the same time railway lines have disappeared from the area. NO-area in 2012 Northern part of the former fortifications area is least developed. The green belt in this area does not form uninterrupted whole. This is emphasized by the Rannamae road which cuts through the Skoone bastion with intensive traffic. Most of the former rampart fortification area and moats is still with unclear identity and temporary functions. Greenery requires partly regeneration. The Soviet period had left its heritage with 2 massive but not quite well harmonized buildings in the northern part of aia street – the pool and the reconstruction of the Small Coast Gate bastion. To summarize different land-use and landscape changes in the 200 year period we decided to add following layers to current poster, as here we focus on 3 research areas of the typomorphology course student groups and on the bastion belt.

The layers are following: 1)Blocks 2)Parks/gardens 3)Water 4)Rampart fortifications 5)Car park 6)Dry moats 7)Squares/markets 8)Sport 9)Wasteland/unclear identity/ construction area Additional polyline layers are: Roads Railways and tramlines

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CITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH VISUAL MAPS ANALYSIS KAUR SARV, DZMITRY HERYLOVICH, VALENTINO PAGANI During our work with geo-referenced maps of an old city of Tallinn we worked with 6 maps that presented the city in the period from 1825 to 2012. We divided the maps to work with so each person from the group received 2 of them: Valentino Pagani worked with 1858 and 1885 maps, Dzmitry Herylovich – 1825 and 1940, Kaur Sarv – 1980 and 2012. After work was finished all the maps contained vector objects made in different colors on separated layers of six different kinds: blocks and housing, forts of city walls and bastions, green areas, roads, railways and tramlines, open water resources around the city. The maps themselves can be used as a visualized tool for contemporary and historical city analyses. Thus main focus of this paper is to describe observations that we made comparing outcomes of our work and present some hypothesis on city development processes during the periods of our concern. In order to reach the goal we will start with thorough investigation of development of different kind of object in the city. After that we will undertake further analysis and will state hypotheses on causes and effects of that changes and their influence on local citizens. Blocks and housing Blocks and housing system of the old city of Tallinn development process

was to some extent intensive according to the maps. Some minor changes of consolidation and extension can be seen when switching down on time-line but shapes of blocks configuration and spaces between them still pretty common if you compare maps from 1825 and 2012. It’s important to mention that 1825, 1858 and 1885 maps are not very detailed about housing. We think that it mostly due to a purpose that those maps served – a military one and what really mattered were shapes of the blocks and roads but not the original shape of buildings or some additional information about them. On 1885 map basic changes happened on the right side of the city: Aia street and new block of houses appeared there. We can assume that population of city grew and the very first place to settle for people was just next to the city. This right side was easier to populate since fortifications were demolished and water from ponds and moats was drained. So new district growth started at this time. Its’ growth continued as we can see on 1940 map as well as extension of blocks from the south of old city. Also we can see that big blocks of houses emerged around the old city but they are out of our concern for now. At the same time it shows that city population grew in comparison to 1885. Map itself contains more details and small streets, so we can

distinguish houses which can be a part of future work with this layer of the map. 1980 map introduce big amount of minor changes: new buildings emerge, some old were demolished, mostly on the right side in the blocks that developed since 1885. Also shapes of almost all blocks changed and descriptions on the map say number of storeys of buildings and material they were built from – stone or wood. Just small changes to the old city of Tallinn happened during that time due to new status of historical heritage that it received in 1960-th. As we can see on the map historical status received only those buildings inside the city walls. Buildings on Aia street were less lucky and were easily demolished to give place new and, probably, more important for city life buildings which nature we cannot say by the map only. The same reshaping process presents on the 2012 map too. On the right side of the old city some old buildings were demolished and new buildings were constructed on their places. Aia street became wider, also blocks between the street and city walls were reshaped greatly. Old city details were added to the map but we can assume that those ‘holes’ inside blocks of houses were there before they just were not represented on previous maps.

As a conclusion of blocks development process in old city of Tallinn we can remind of its’ main characteristics: the part of city inside of city walls haven’t changed greatly during the period 1825-2012. Minor changes of shapes of houses’ blocks are the only things that happened to it. To this preservation of old city contributed also a status of historical heritage which was granted to the city in 1960-th. Changes happened mostly in the eastern and southern parts near the city walls. In these two areas we observed minor or major changes from map to map: new streets appeared and blocks’ shapes changed. Growth of the city population caused development of these areas: it was cheaper and easier to find or buy a place for house outside the city. We also suppose that people who lived in houses in these two areas were not very reach since they couldn’t allow themselves to build inside the city walls and also due to the fact that they couldn’t protect their houses from being demolished in period from 1940 to 2012. Now these regions contain a lot of tourist infrastructure buildings and supplies like hostels, restaurants, souvenir shops, pubs. Forts of city walls and bastions City of Tallinn played great role as a military unit on a scale of Russian Empire in the beginning of 19-th century. Evidence of this fact can be found on the maps from 1825 and 1858 where detailed


kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

CITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH VISUAL MAPS ANALYSIS

KAUR SARV, DZMITRY HERYLOVICH, VALENTINO PAGANI

mapping of defensive structures and objects are presented. City was totally covered with 3 layers of fortifications: stone walls, bastions and special land configuration that provided better defensive conditions to warriors inside the city during a siege. In 1825 the city fortifications were very solid and civil citizens wasn’t allowed to settle there. On 1858 map we can see some inner city walls appearing in western part and central part of the city. These differences can be just outcomes of purpose to hide some defensive structures on 1825 map so if it will be found or stolen by enemies they would be surprised with real shape of defensive structures of the city. Another possibility is weaker and assume that this inner walls were built in order to increase defense of western part of the city in a case of land war not sea siege since sea was closer to the upper right part. Bastions and land configuration presented in the same shape and size we saw them on previous map. At the map from 1885 we can observe that bastions and land configuration doesn’t serve for military reasons anymore: these objects are demolished, though stone city walls survived in these changes untouched. Main background of these dramatic changes was declaring the city as civil one. So when military status came to past all those fortifications and lands became a source for city growth and development. In more recent maps we see that no changes happen to city walls and no new fortification structures were constructed.

Basically today really say that stone walls that we can touch and see are just the same as they were in 1885. To sum up forts and military infrastructure of old of Tallinn one big change happened in the period from 1858 to 1885 when city was freed from its military status. This guided to deconstruction of 2 outer layers of defensive structures: bastions and defensive land configuration. Only city walls were saved. They serve today as an attraction for tourists and as a reminder of military past when Tallinn played role of very important and protected forts in western Baltic region. Greenery for parks, gardens, trees and grasslands Green areas and public city gardens were not very popular in Tallinn in the beginning of 19-th century. The map of that time shows us small green islands in the center of the old city. Some intensively green areas were in western and south-western part of the city. Small amount of greenery we explain with intensive urbanization and limits of available area inside the city walls. From the other hand bastions and defensive lands were partly covered by greenery and might serve as public gardens that time. 1858 map shows that center of the old city lost all its green spots. We suppose that it happened due to intensive urbanization and intensive land use for housing and buildings. Green areas survived in the south of the city and

extended in the eastern part of it mostly around military constructions. Another distinctive feature is a tree belt that covers military constructions by outer perimeter. In comparison to previous map the 1885 one looks like a big green flash – all areas around old city are green and that is easy to explain by demolition of fortifications of the city and people haven’t built houses there yet. There are also 3 green spots closer to the center of the map that probably served as public city gardens. Also the tree belt around the old city grew in amount and length. In the period from 1885 to 1940 we see that green areas in the north, west and east parts of the old city decreased in size, were reshaped and disappeared. Green areas in south-western part gained some size but not that much to cover other parts losses. The tree belt around the old city disappeared as well as green spots in the city center where we can find just one instead of three on previous map. New shapes of some green areas with, probably, crossing streets can be assumed as public parks. Map of 1980 shows signs of growth of green areas in southern, eastern and north parts of the city. There are also new green areas that are located closer to the city center. We think that this could be caused by industrialization of the city, growth of number of cars, their exhaust’s amount and ecological standards that describes necessary amount of green area for health protection of citizens. On this map we can also see a green belt which

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has ellipse form and comes from the western part of the city to south. On the map from 2012 we see just minor decrease of green areas: some disappeared and some were reshaped. We think that it happened due to construction of new buildings as well as lowering of ecological standards. Main result of green areas changes analysis is that the old city lost all its inner greenery which was substituted with new public parks and green zones around its perimeter. Starting from 1980 green spots again appear inside the old city. The old city has good green belt around which protects people from noise and car pollution and also give place to relax in calm and natural way. Roads Roads inside the old city in 1825 are pretty developed: there are mostly big streets of big length that intersect each other or have connection with smaller streets. Shapes of the streets are not straight lines. Roads have a lot of angles and turns and cover buildings in irregular geometrical shapes. Old city has 5 roads that connect it to other places – 3 in the south, 1 in the east and 1 in the north. On 1858 map we see that density of streets increased. New roads appear on the map making new connections between main roads. Some of the roads serve as ways to inner yards. We think that these changes could be caused by increase of traffic and necessarily capacity for transport in the streets.


kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

CITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH VISUAL MAPS ANALYSIS

KAUR SARV, DZMITRY HERYLOVICH, VALENTINO PAGANI

1885 map shows small differences to previous one that happened inside the old city. At the same time we observe a dramatic increase of amount and density of roads that are close but outside the old city. We suppose that it happened to urbanization process and growth of city population. Big contribution to roads development was made by industrialization – new fabrics and enterprises needed new roads to transport goods in and from Tallinn in bigger amount than before. Old city received new connections to areas around it. 1940 map generally shows just slight changes in roads structure but shapes of street become straighter than they were before. Main change is a new street that connected the old city on the east – it is an extinction of Viru street which made the main entrance to the old city since it was opened in 1888. 1980 and 2012 maps both show that main changes to roads happened outside the old city. New roads were constructed which increased total density and served to new demands from city traffic and goods transportation. Inside the old city just a few minor roads were opened during that time. Roads development in the period from 1825 to 2012 happened mostly outside the old city with growth of traffic and transport demands. The old city roads generally haven’t feel big changes and survived in shape. Some minor streets appear and disappear from one map to another, making new connections

between main roads. The most important changes happened to make new connections between the old city and areas that developed around it. Railways and tramlines First railways can be found on the 1885 map. They are placed to the north-west and north-east from the old city. Their density is quite high especially in the north-west part that is mostly due to train station that is situated there. Another conclusion from the railways density can be made that Tallinn was intensively used to transport goods from sea to land by trains. Since railways have no direct connection to the old city, their influence on it can be questioned. In 1940 we can find increase in amount of the railways that are placed very close to train station. That shows that intensity of trains as transport facilities increased to this time. Looking at the 1980 map we can find tram roads that are situated to the east from the old city. New public city transport, for our point of view, was established to cover demands to connect people from distant districts of Tallinn. Important to mention that tramlines cross is very near to the old city and serves to bring people to and take them out of it, playing important role in public transportation and accessibility of the area. The 2012 map has light changes – railroads disappear from the north-east part of the map. That can be a sign of

decreased role that trains play this time in transportation of goods.

maybe it was a natural process when water level decreases.

The result of this part of analysis is a very well and sustainable development of the railroads starting from their appearance in Tallinn. Just some minor changes happened to railroads system – some railways were demolished from the north-east part of the city. From the other hand, a high density of the railroads, we suppose, is proving high importance of trains in transportation system of goods and connect land and sea transport. Tramlines influence the old city center since they are situated very near to it serving for transportation of people.

On the 1885 map there is nothing left from the canals and eastern moat lost about 75 % of it’s original size. The western moat remains in his original shape and size.

Open water resources Open water sources on the map of 1825 present with 2 moats around the defensive facilities of the old city. They are situated to the north-east and to the west from the old city and are connected with a canal that flows near the fortifications in the north. Another canal comes from eastern moat and flows along the fortifications to the south, shaping the old city. 2 minor ponds can be found on the map: one is situated on the upper canal and another – inside the fortifications. The purpose and usage of these water sources mainly military, it is to avoid direct access to city walls in a siege. In 1858 we see that minor ponds disappeared as well as southern canal. Northern one is not connecting two moats anymore. We can only imagine, what was the cause of these changes,

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On 1940, 1980 and 2012 there is only western moat that is left from open water resources. It’s not a moat anymore it serves mostly as a pond in a public city park. The conclusion for this part of analysis is that open water resources situation around the old city of Tallinn changed seriously due to declining its military status. Previously water resources played defensive role for the city but then one moat became a part of green area, another disappeared completely to 1940.


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MAP LAYERS DZMITRY HERYLOVICH

FORTIFICATIONS

WATER

GREEN AREAS

ROADS

1825

BLOCKS

1940

BLOCKS

FORTIFICATIONS

WATER

GREEN AREAS

ROADS

RAILROADS


kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

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MAP LAYERS VALENTINO PAGANI

FORTIFICATIONS

WATER

GREEN AREAS

ROADS

1858

BLOCKS

1885

BLOCKS

FORTIFICATIONS

WATER

GREEN AREAS

ROADS

RAILROADS


kaur sarv, dzmitry herylovich, valentino pagani

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MAP LAYERS KAUR SARV

FORTIFICATIONS

WATER

GREEN AREAS

ROADS

RAILROADS

BLOCKS

FORTIFICATIONS

WATER

GREEN AREAS

ROADS

RAILROADS

2012

1980

BLOCKS


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INTERPRETATION OF THE BASTION BELT AREA KAUR SARV

1825

Tallinn is still a castle town, the bastions surrounding the old town are at the peak of their powers. fortifications were mainly built from soil. The moats in front of them were partly filled with water and partly dry. Medieveal city wall had lost its military purpose. There is first park in the south, in front of Harju gate.

1885

7% - Blocks 3% - Parks / Gardens 7% - water 59% - Rampart fortifications 24% - dry moats

1825

On the research area, in the north was the Skoone bastion, in the no-corner of the town the Great Coast Gate bastion and in the east 2 Himsel bastions. Uus street was built together with the bastions outside the city walls. the area between medievals city walls and bastions was had several military buildings (the Engineers Quarter, with its HQ at Uus str 10, gunpowder cellars, guard houses etc.) 14% - Blocks 1% - Parks / Gardens 16% - water 53% - Rampart forti cations 16% - dry moats

1885

Demolition of fortifications created large empty areas Most of the unused land has no function yet. The old town and some peripherial districts are beginning to join. In the south, a new public square Hey Market - the predecessor of current Vabaduse valjak was built together with 2 new Estonian churches - Jaani and Kaarli. Parks were designed on larger bastions. In the north, from 1870 the railway reached partly the former area of fortifications. 34% - Blocks 23% - Parks / Gardens 3% - water 1% - Squares/markets 38% - wasteland/unclear identity/ construction area Most of the fortification moats with water are already filled. The northern fortifications are surrounded by railways going from the main station Balti jaam to the port. Uus street has gained parallel street - Aia - which received its name from the garden of Kanuti Guild. Building of housing blocks has started in the area between aia street and Mere puiestee. 39% - Blocks 25% - Parks / Gardens 4% - water 32% - wasteland/unclear identity/ construction area

1940

1940

By the end of the world war I most of the fortifications had new functions. An extensive green belt (Hirvepark, toompark, tornide valjak) was designed on the western side of the city. as signs of its era new outdoor sporting grounds (Harjuoru tennisevaljakud, Schnelli ja Skoone staadionid) were built next to the green belt. Built areas have grown on the eastern side of the old town - theaters, markets and squares were built. 40% - Blocks 44% - Parks / Gardens 2% - water 4% - Squares/markets 6% - Sport 4% - wasteland/unclear identity There were minor improvements in this area from the end of 19th century. A stadium was built on the northern side of the Skoone bastion, into an old moat. the surrounding of the Great Coast Gate bastion was changed into green area. Rannama road was built through the Skoone bastion which cut the integrity of the old town and surrounding green belt. 55% - Blocks 27% - Parks / Gardens 7% - Sport 11% - wasteland/unclear identity


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