Kesklinna lokaalses tekstis määratlemise probleemist: Narva keskväljakute funktsioonid ja maine 1920. aastatel
The issue of identifying a city centre in a local text: Functions and images of Narva’s central squares in the 1920s

Summary/Abstract: The article is a logical continuation of the articles (Burdakova & Nõmm 2025a; Burdakova & Nõmm 2025b) published in previous issues of the journal Mäetagused. The previously published articles propose an approach to studying residents’ perceptions of the city centre based on historical material. Using materials from the Russian-language press of Narva in the 1920s, the articles reconstruct residents’ perceptions of Narva’s centre: a list of places referred to in newspapers as central is identified, the centre is localized and “geometrized”, and the functionality and reputation of Vyshgorodskaia as the city’s main street are described. In the present article, following our previously proposed approach, we reconstruct the functions of two central squares as perceived by city residents in the 1920s – Ratushnaia / Raekoja Square and Petrovskaia / Peetri Square. A comparison of the functions of the squares has revealed that, in addition to their shared role as a leisure center and transport and communications hub, each square had its own key functions that defined its significance in the lives of its residents. For Ratushnaia Square, this was primarily administrative and cultural-educational significance, while for Petrovskaya Square, it was its significance as a shopping centre and a venue for city parades. Reconstructing the functions of Narva’s central places allowed us to answer the question of why the perception by Narva residents in the 1920s of the concept of ‘city centre’ expanded to include objects that did not belong to the administrative district of Südalinn (in particular, Petrovskaya Square).

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