Squares and markets
· Vanalinn
Old Market
The Old Market was an early trading place where merchandise, foreign languages and city news converged.
Before Town Hall Square reached its later form, much of Tallinn’s trade gathered around the Old Market. The confined space by Vanaturu kael filled with merchants, animals, carts and conversations in different languages. The market was both an economic site and an information network: news arrived with goods from the harbour and distant towns. Today the street is quieter, but its shape still reveals an old junction of movement and exchange.
Practical information
Address: Vanaturu kael
Walk from Viru Street through Vanaturu kael towards Town Hall Square. The narrowing space helps explain why a natural market and meeting place developed here.