Travel in Tartu Estonia

Tartu - Culture

The most beautiful city in Estonia is Tartu - say the lyrics of a well-known song. For this to come true you first of all have to promote one part of it - culture. Therefore several cultural groups and intellectuals help to advance culture and the biggest planner, organiser and executor of cultural, sports and youth events in Tartu - the Department of Culture of the City Government, in turn support them. Close contacts with professional artists contribute to the development and promotion of national culture - the results of that can be enjoyed by the citizens and guests of Tartu when they visit interesting concerts, exhibitions or cultural events in Tartu.

Sport life is promoted by big events with masses and masters participating, the most well known among these are undoubtedly Tartu Marathon in winter and Tartu Bicycle Race in summer

Tourists from all over the world discovered Tartu only some years ago - at Soviet times the biggest Baltic military aerodrome was situated here and therefore the town was strictly closed for foreigners. But the more hospitable the citizens of Tartu are towards the visitors of their city today. Every year more and more tourists come to visit Tartu.

Tartu is internationally known for its symbol - one of the oldest universities in Europe. Many international conferences and seminars are held here. We wish to restore the city to its previous reputation as Athens on the River Emajõgi

The cathedral was built during several periods of construction and reconstruction, reaching its final shape in the 16th century. During the wars of the second half of the 16th century the building was neglected and started to decay. A fire in 1624 quickened the process. The cathedral was partly restored in 1804-1807 after the reopening of the university in 1802, according to the plans of the first university architect Professor Johan Krause to house the university library. In 1927-1928 the library was extended and in 1962-1964 the wooden constructions of the first floor were replaced by concrete inserted ceiling. New restoration work was started in 1985 and gave the building its present-day look. the museum values most highly its collection of apparatuses, instruments, devices and various collections used in the university for scientific research since its foundation. The oldest exhibit is a 13th century celestial globe. As Tartu University had close connections with Europe, several outstanding equipment producing firms are reresented in the museum`s collection: Zeiss, Leitz, Schick (microscopes); Sartorius (scales); Askana (measuring devices); Dolland (optic devices); Kohl (laboratory equipment); Meissner (areometers); Geissler (devices for measuring temperature); Schmidt & Haensch (spectroscopes), etc. The museum also has an archive, a photo collection and art collection.

The Tartu Town Museum was established in 1955 for collecting, studying and displaying the objects connected with town history as well as other sources.

The permanent exposition reflects the development of the of Tartu, the medieval Hansa town, its development into an educational and cultural centre of Estonia. It is possible to observe the townspeople and the changes in their way of life throughout almost a millennium in the one of the oldest towns in the Baltic countries .

The Tartu Town Museum has been organizing Tartu History Days and Hansa Conferences in the form of a conference and is publishing its own yearbook since 1995.

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