Roadworks uncover old cobblestone street in Tallinn

Road and utility works on Kreutzwaldi Street in Tallinn have uncovered an old cobblestone road, ERR reported.

Discoveries of old cobblestone roads during excavation work in central Tallinn and its surroundings are not unusual. However, only cobblestone roads in Tallinn’s Old Town are protected, according to the city’s Heritage Protection Department.

Triin Tõrs-Ojari, head of the department’s advisory service, said cobblestone roads are a characteristic feature of the historic Old Town and are therefore protected only there. Outside the Old Town, cobblestone paving has been covered by asphalt. During street reconstruction, it is not restored, but where possible it is preserved beneath the asphalt or reused elsewhere as an element of public-space design.