Tallinn of vice
· Vanalinn
The Red Monastery
The name Red Convent was linked to a regulated brothel, exposing the gap between public morality and city policy.
Red Convent sounds like a religious institution, but the name is associated with the organisation of paid sex in old Tallinn. The town authorities could seek to restrict, monitor and tax an activity condemned in public. Near present-day Müürivahe Street, there is no reason to imagine a surviving convent or assign an undocumented past to every building. The point of the story is the contradiction between moral judgement and practical regulation.
Practical information
Address: Müürivahe tänav
Use Müürivahe Street as a historical area marker; the name alone does not identify an intact original building.