Härjapea ( et, Härjapea jõgi, lit. ''oxhead'') was a river in

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

. The river was a few kilometres in length, flowing from

Lake Ülemiste Lake Ülemiste ( et, Ülemiste järv) is the largest of the lakes surrounding Tallinn, Estonia. Ülemiste is the main part of the Tallinn water supply system, which supplies the city with most of its drinking water. The lake is fed mostly by Kurn ...

into the

Tallinn Bay Tallinn Bay ( et, Tallinna laht) is a bay in Estonia on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland. The Estonian capital city Tallinn is located on the southern coast of the bay. Tallinn Bay itself is divided into several parts: Tallinn Roadste ...

. Härjapea was one of the most exploited rivers in Estonia in the Middle Ages. First,

watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

s were constructed in the 13th century. A map from the end of the 17th century depicts eight mills on the river, some of which later became the basis for larger industries. Due to the growth of industry in the 19th century, the river became increasingly polluted and was then already partly covered. In 1923 it was covered with planks and in 1938 the construction of an underground

sewage Sewage (or domestic sewage, domestic wastewater, municipal wastewater) is a type of wastewater that is produced by a community of people. It is typically transported through a sewer system. Sewage consists of wastewater discharged from residenc ...

pipe was completed in place of the river, which was around 4.5 km in length at the time. Nowadays the course of the river is recognizable in some places, otherwise little else remains of it. The underground sewage channel is still operational. Härjapea River

References

Rivers of Estonia Former rivers Landforms of Tallinn {{Estonia-river-stub