Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia and the most famous
university city in the Baltic States. The University of Tartu does
not look like the Russian ones, because it was created on the
European model, but it does not look like the European ones, since
it was located on the territory of Russia most of the time. In
addition to the university museums, Tartu has several medieval
churches, a pretty, though not very ancient Old Town, as well as a
huge array of urban development — from traditional wooden houses to
interesting monuments of Estonian functionalism.
Tartu is
located 185 km south-east of Tallinn on the banks of the large
Emajıgi River (est. Emajõgi), which connects Lake Vyrtsjärv with
Lake Peipsi. The population is predominantly Estonian (80%), the
main language is Estonian, and Russian is used relatively rarely,
although many people speak it.
The settlement of the ancient
Estonians on the site of Tartu arose in the V–VII centuries AD and
may have given the name to the modern city (Tarbatu, from tarvas –
bison). The first documentary evidence dates back to 1033, when
Yaroslav the Wise marched to Chud and founded the city of Yuryev in
accordance with his Christian name. Later, Yuryev was repeatedly
raided by local tribes, and in 1224 it was conquered by the German
Order of the Sword and renamed Dorpat – oddly enough, this name also
comes from ancient Tarbatu. Although the Novgorod and Pskov
principalities repeatedly attempted to conquer Yuriev-Dorpat, the
city remained German for more than three centuries and was part of
the Hanseatic League, flourishing due to trade with the same
Novgorod and Pskov.
In the second half of the XVI century,
Dorpat found itself in the center of the confrontation between
Russia, Sweden and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, who waged
endless wars for control of Livonia. In 1582-1600, the city was
ruled by the Poles, who managed to open a Jesuit college here.
Nevertheless, Catholicism was not popular either among the German
residents of the city or among the Swedes who conquered Dorpat in
1600, so the collegium quickly closed, and was replaced by the
university founded in 1632. However, the university did not last
long then either: in 1656 it had to be urgently transported to
Tallinn due to another war with Russia. In Tallinn, however,
knowledge was not in great demand at that time, so the university
quickly stalled, was revived in Dorpat in 1672 and finally finally
closed (in its Swedish version) with the outbreak of the Northern
War.
After the Northern War, Dorpat became part of the
Russian Empire, and for almost a hundred years nothing interesting
happened to the city except for a large fire in 1775, which
destroyed almost all the medieval buildings. In 1802, in the wake of
his fascination with the enlightened monarchy, Alexander I revived
the university, whose main task is to train qualified personnel for
the Russian Empire. Although many Russians studied here, mostly
foreigners taught, which made the University of Tartu a unique
center of European culture, and at the same time the center of the
Estonian independence movement. In particular, it was in Tartu that
the tricolor Estonian flag was invented and made for the first time.
At the end of the 19th century, the university and the city itself
underwent Russification – for example, the old Russian name Yuryev
was returned – but these changes had no serious consequences and
were abolished in 1918 with the declaration of independence of
Estonia.
Tartu suffered greatly during the Great Patriotic
War. In Soviet times, the city and the university continued to
develop, although the latter lost some of its free student
traditions. With the restoration of Estonia's independence, Tartu
becomes the country's largest scientific center and, along with
Tallinn, its cultural center.
Tourist Information Center, Raekoja plats
(part of the town hall building), +372 744 21 11, fax: +372 744 21
11, e-mail:
tartu@visitestonia.com. Sat 10: 00-17: 00, Sunday 10: 00-16: 00.
Located on the first floor of the Tartu Town Hall.
Since Tartu is a student city, English is widely understood. As usual, older people often speak only Estonian and Russian.
Net is a walk through the streets of Supilinn , the soup town. The streets have names like "pea" or "carrot.“ The district itself is full of old wooden houses and radiates a very special charm. Every year in the spring there are the one-week "Supilinn Days".“
The Domberg
Toome mägi. , the Cathedral Hill, a hill right next to
the city center, already offers a few of the sights: on it is the old
cathedral, which is partly in ruins. Next to the cathedral is a square,
which is decorated with three statues at once. Among other things, the
statue of K. E. Baer (discoverer of the egg cell) stands here. Despite
the Russian ban on this tradition, students washed this statue once a
year (then at night). Karl Ernst von Baer is also referred to as the
"Nordic Humboldt.“ He was probably the last universal scholar of modern
times. He became famous as the founder of embryology and had a great
influence on the fate of the University of Dorpat for a long time, until
he died here in 1876.
Also on the Toome mägi Engelsbrücke
(Inglisild). The Engels Bridge probably owes its name to the similarity
of the words "English" (inglise) and "engels-" (ingel) in Estonian. The
bridge was built in the English style.
Ruins of the cathedral
(Tartu Toomkirik)
In the back part is the 3 University Museum (Tartu
Ülikooli muuseum) . Focus on the history of science and its instruments.
Screenings Saturday Before. Open: Summer Tue.-So. 10.00-17.00; Winter
Wed.-So. 11.00-17.00. Price: Summer € 10, winter € 8; only church tower
(only in summer) € 5; combined ticket incl. Observatory and Art Museum:
€ 10, valid for 30 days.last change: Aug. 2023
To the east of the
Toomemägi Park is the Kassitoome, a depression where sledging, even
skiing and snowboarding is done in winter.
Baeri muuseum .
Commemorates the life and work of Karl Ernst von Baer. Open: Mon.-Early.
10.00-17.00.last change: Aug. 2023info
The Devil's Bridge
(kuradisild) takes its name from Mr. Manteuffel, who designed it.
The Rathausplatz
The elongated Town Hall Square (Raekoja plats)
is the old center: here you will find the beautiful town hall with
chimes, the fountain of kissing students (suudlevad tudengid) and an art
gallery Tartmus in the "crooked house," open Wed.-So. 11.00-18.00. In
addition, you can see an arched bridge over the Emajõgi, the Kaarsild,
which is crossed by students walking on the arch as a test of courage
(it's not that bad).
("Winter" means October to March during opening hours.)
University
Art Museum, Ülikooli 18, 50090 Tartu (a wing of the old university main
building). Open: Summer: Mon.-Sat. 10.00-18.00; Winter Tue.-Sat.
11.00-17.00. Price: € 4 with mummy chamber € 7; combined ticket incl.
Observatory and Science Museum: € 10, valid for 30 days.
Toy Museum
(Tartu Mänguasjamuuseum), Lutsu 8, 51005 Tartu . Open: Wed.-So.
11.00-18.00. Price: Children € 6, adults. € 8; Parking € 3/h.
Housing
Museum of the 19th Century (19th sajandi Tartu linnakodaniku muuseum),
Jaani 16, 51007 Tartu . Idealized depiction of the life of the
bourgeoisie in the 19th century. Open: Summer Wed.-So. 11.00-17.00;
Winter Wed.-So. 10.00-15.00; Holidays closed.
City Museum (Tartu
linnamuuseum), Narva mnt 23, 51009 Tartu . Open: Wed.-So. 11.00-18.00.
Dorpat Observatory (Tartu tähetorn), Uppsala 8 . The oldest observatory
in Estonia. Heritage. Open: Summer Wed.-So. 11.00-18.00; Winter only
Sunday 11.00-17.00. Price: € 4; combined ticket incl. University and Art
Museum: € 10, valid for 30 days.
KGB Cells, Riia 15b, 51010 Tartu.
Very small museum of cells of the Soviet Security Service. A certain
scary effect, not propaganda-free. Information in English on laminated
sheets. Price: € 5.
Museum of Paper Art (Paberimuuseum MTÜ), Kastani
38, 50410 Tartu.
Natural History Museum, 46 Vanemuise (buses 1, 2,
8, 10, 11 12 Stop Pauluse or 3, 25 Pepleri). Together with the botanical
garden, it belongs to the university. Open: Tue.-So. 10.00-18.00,
Holidays closed. Price: Erw. € 10.
Estonian National Museum (Eesti
Rahva Muuseumi uus hoone), Muuseumi tee 2, 60532 Tartu . A museum with
exhibitions of Estonian culture and folk art in a daring modern building
with a cinema. Open: Tue.-Sat. 10.00-18.00, Sun. until 20.00. Price: All
€ 14, individual exhibitions € 7 each.
A house turned upside down is
the Tagurpidi Maja, Roosi 86, 51009 Tartu (bus 7 stop ERM; within
walking distance from the National Museum). Open: 10.00-18.00. Price: €
8,50.
Beer Museum, Tähtvere 56/62. Factory museum of A.leCoq incl.
Brewery tour and tasting. Guided tours are even possible in German.
Open: Tue.-Sat. 11.00-17/18.00. Price: € 10, family € 20, foreign
language guided tour € 45.
Orthodox Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady (Tartu Uspensky
kirik, Uspensky Cathedral), Magasini 1, 51005 Tartu . Open: Sat.
17.30-20.30, Sun. 8.30-12.30.
Jaani Kirk (Tartu Jaani kirik, St.
John's Church), Jaani 5 . Decorated with unique terracotta figures.
St. Paul's Church (Pauluse kirik), Tartu, Riia tänav 27 (Buses 1, 2, 8,
10, 11, 12 Stop Pauluse) . Imposing brick building from the outside,
planned in 1915 by Eliel Saarinen. destroyed in 1944, repaired in
1959-62. It was used as a museum from 1967 to 2005, until the new
National Museum was completed. Then renovated until 2015, since then the
Lutheran heresy has been attached here again.
In front of the Café Wilde there is a monument in honor of the two Wildes. The monument represents the meeting of the Irish poet Oskar Wilde and the Estonian writer Eduard Vilde. The same sculpture is also in Ireland.
The Kaarsild leads from the Town Hall Square over the river to the
Ülejõe Park. Here is also the city museum. By bus you can get to the
stop Atlantis with lines 1, 2, 4, 8, 9, N22.
Botanical Garden (Tartu
Ülikooli Botaanikaaed), Lai 38 . The institution of the university has
existed since 1800. This also includes the Natural History Museum. Open:
7.00-19.00, greenhouses 10.00-17.00. Price: Erw. € 5, Family € 10.
By plane
International flights land in Tallinn-Ülemiste.
Tartu Airport. There has been no scheduled service since autumn 2022.
By train
Tartu Railway Station (Tartu raudteejaam) . About ten
daily connections with Tallinn, 2-2½ hours depending on the train type.
To the south there are 2-3 trains to Koidula resp. Valga on the Latvian
border.i
By bus
The Bussijaam bus station is south of the Old
Town, behind the Tasku shopping center. Buses to Tartu depart from
Tallinn Bus Station approximately every 20 minutes. A bus ride from
Tallinn to Tartu takes about 2 hours.
The regional bus routes are
operated by Go Bus (overview). There is a 5% discount on their lines if
a value card of the big cities (also Tartus) with the logo "Ühiskaart"
is used. The app Pilet.ee allows use on mobile phone.
You can
take the bus to Tartu from Germany with LuxExpress or Ecolines. The trip
takes a little more than a day and costs less than 100 euros each way.
On the street
The distance from Tallinn is not too long at 185
km, but there is no highway. So you have to plan a 3-hour drive. These
are designed in a variety of ways on an almost perfectly straight route.
A road border crossing to Russia is at Pechory (Pechora) (APP
Kunichina Mountain), 103 km south of Tartu. (The parallel railway border
crossing may not be used with the e-visa.)
In general, the routes to be covered in Tartu are all not too long.
In about 40 minutes you have crossed Tartu once on foot. The best way to
get around the historic old town is on foot.
Tartu has a
well-developed bus network (real-time bus stop info). Tickets can be
purchased at the RKiosk or on the bus, but cost more from the driver. A
multi-day ticket is suitable for the duration of the stay. There is a
rechargeable value card (€ 2), which must be held to the reader when
boarding. Personalized registration is only necessary if you are
entitled to a discount (residents, pensioners, disabled people, etc.).
On the nights of Friday and Saturday there is a night line.
The road leading through the city is the N3/E264, here called Riia.
The city of Tartu is located on both sides of the Emajõgi River
("Mother River", German Embach), which flows through the county of Tartu
from Võrtsjärv in the west to Lake Peipus to the east. The Emajõgi is
Estonia's longest river. Across Lake Peipus, Tartu is located in the
Narva River basin. It is about 40-45 kilometers from Tartu to Lake
Peipus, on the other side of which the Russian Federation begins. By
land, it is about 100 kilometers to the nearest border crossing to
Russia near Pechory. Tartu is about 180 kilometers from Tallinn; Riga is
located 245 kilometers to the southwest, and the border town of Valga is
89 kilometers away.
To the north of the city is the rural
municipality of the same name Tartu. To the south, from west to east,
the municipalities of Elva, Nõo and Kambja are located. To the west, the
municipality of Luunja borders on Tartu, which is the only one that is
smaller in area than Tartu itself. Tartu is the only city in the county
of Tartu and by far the most populous municipality in the region.
The first documentary mention under the name Tharbatas dates back to
1030. The Grand Duke of Kiev, Yaroslav the Wise, destroyed a wooden
fortress built by probably Finno-Ugric inhabitants in 1030 and built a
fortress under the name Yuryev (after Yuri, Yaroslav's baptismal name).
In 1224 the Estenburg Tharbatum was conquered by the Order of the
Brothers of the Sword. It became the seat of the bishop (until 1558);
the Hanseatic city developed in front of the castle since the 13th
century. In the Middle Ages, Dorpat was a link between the Hanseatic
cities (especially Reval) and the Russian cities of Pleskau (Pskov) and
Novgorod. Dorpat belonged to the Russian Tsarist Empire (governorate of
Livonia) since 1721.
A large fire destroyed almost the entire
city center in 1775. The most striking older buildings date from the
18th and especially from the 19th century. After the previous town hall
building had also fallen victim to the fire, the current town hall was
designed in the 18th century by the then city architect, Johann Heinrich
Bartholomäus Walther, a native of Rostock, and completed in 1789.
In 1893, in the course of Russification, the city was officially
renamed Yuryev; the use of the Estonian or German name was partially
prohibited. But the Russian name did not prevail, not even in Russian.
When Estonia gained independence in 1918, the name "Tartu" became
official. Both Dorpat and Tartu are descended from the Old Estonian name
Tarbata, with the possible meaning "aurochs".
The proportion of
German speakers in Dorpat was about 17% in 1897.
On February 2,
1920, the Dorpat Peace was signed in Tartu between Estonia and Soviet
Russia, in which the latter recognized Estonia's independence "for all
time".
In the 1930s, the Baltic Family History Notices were
published in Dorpat.
During the Second World War, Tartu, occupied
by the Red Army in 1940 and part of the Estonian Soviet Republic, was
captured by the Wehrmacht on July 7, 1941 and again captured by the Red
Army on September 18, 1944. The Soviet prisoner of War camp 331 for
German prisoners of war of the Second World War existed in the city.
The 25th International Hanseatic Days took place in Tartu in July
2005.
On June 23, 2016, Tartu was awarded the honorary title of
"Reformation City of Europe" as the 62nd city by the Community of
Protestant Churches in Europe.