It is bordered by Pirita and Kose to the north, Lasnamäe to the south, Kadriorg to the southwest and the Bay of Tallinn to the west.

[3] The earliest known name for the area is the German Streitberg/Strietberg ('strife hill'), referencing an alleged Livonian War battle between the Brotherhood of Blackheads and besieging Russians.

[4] A colloquial name for the area, Suhkrumäe ('sugar hill') emerged in the 19th century with the construction of a sugar factory by Johan Gottlieb Clementz.

An alternative theory suggests the source as the historical, disused name for Pirita, Marienthal, Vallis Mariae.

[4] Ratsherr [de] and Brotherhood of Blackheads member Christian von Geldern founded a summer manor overlooking the sea at the end of the 17th century.

[5] The burgher Johan Gottlieb Clementz obtained a plot of land and led the construction of a sugar factory on the site in 1811.

[2] Some imperial-era resort homes remain in Maarjamäe today, but the vast majority of the district was constructed after the war.

Estonia stood out in the USSR with construction of private houses allowed in urban areas, though still strictly regulated with building series.

[2] Today, the former courtyard hosts the museum park, including a permanent exhibition of removed Soviet-era monuments.

After independence, an agreement was reached to respect the burial sanctity of all sides (in light of former violations) and today the site has memorial plaques in Estonian, German and Russian.

[7] In spite of its original purpose, the site survived post-independence decommunisation, but its future is still under question and intense debate.

The memorial includes a walled corridor, with the aforementioned names on plaques, and a park symbolising one's home garden.

The first one, opened in 1989, commemorates American parachutist Charles Leroux, who was killed in Tallinn after a failed jump.

[16] Alongside it is a monument to rally co-driver Michael Park, wingman to Markko Märtin, tragically killed in an accident in 2005.

The Varsaallika stream flows along the northern and eastern borders of the subdistrict, an important element of Lillepi Park.

Various historic development plans notwithstanding,[6] most of the park is natural forest and encompasses around a fifth of the entire subdistrict.

Plans to build a covered football hall were derailed after questions were raised about its effect on the sanctity of the newly built memorial (located right next to it) and were scrapped in a deal with the city and national government.

[25] Maarjamäe hosts the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, with its Soviet predecessor constructing their facitilies there in 1980.

The site also includes a parade ground, sporting centre, dorms, and a replica of the Estonian-Russian border fence.