Execution sites
· Kesklinn
The Executioner’s Work at Gallows Hill
At Võllamägi, the executioner’s work formed part of the public enforcement of a sentence, beyond a single dramatic moment.
The name Võllamägi preserves a memory of a place where the city displayed its power to punish. An executioner acted under official orders, with preparation and subsequent duties surrounding the execution itself. A general account of the profession, however, cannot tell us the details of one executioner’s working day or the burial place of every condemned person. The former landscape is difficult to recognise around present-day Liivalaia; the change hidden beneath roads and buildings is part of this site’s story.
Practical information
Address: Liivalaia 8a
Observe the area around Liivalaia 8a from the public street. Do not enter private property or building courtyards in search of a presumed execution spot.