{"id":7,"date":"2024-04-04T05:39:30","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/about-tartu\/"},"modified":"2024-04-04T05:40:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:40:00","slug":"about-tartu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/about-tartu\/","title":{"rendered":"About Tartu"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTartu is the second-biggest city in Estonia, with 100,000 inhabitants. It is located on the banks of Emaj\u00f5gi (Mother River) and in the centre lies the beautiful Toomem\u00e4gi (Dome Hill) with its historical buildings and green scenery. Tartu is considered as the intellectual centre of Estonia, as University of Tartu is the biggest university in Estonia and most prestigious univesity in the Baltic region (belonging to top 1% universities in the world,\u00a0according to\u00a0QS World University Rankings 2019<\/a>)\u00a0Tartu was chosen as one of the three culture capitals of Europe 2024.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tHistory<\/strong><\/u>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTartu was founded on the banks of Emaj\u00f5gi (Mother River), as it was an important water trade route. The first permanent settlement on the site of modern Tartu dates to as early as the 5th century AD.\u00a0By the 7th century, local inhabitants had built a wooden fortification on the east side of Toomem\u00e4gi (Dome Hill).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring medieval period Tartu (Dorpat) was\u00a0the capital of the semi-independent\u00a0Bishopric of Dorpat. The bishop\u2019s fortress was on Toome Hill. Also a cathedral (Dome Church) was built on the hill, the ruins of which can be seen today.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Ruins\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe University of Tartu was founded in 1632, during the Swedish rule. There were numerous breaks in university\u2019s work. First it was a latin university, then German, Russian, 1918-1940 Estonian, and after that until 1989 Soviet.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTraditional Estonian constructions\u00a0were\u00a0built from wood. Due to that Tartu was burned to ground several times. After the Great Fire of Tartu in 1775\u00a0Tartu was rebuilt while belonging to the Russian Empire. Most of the buildings you can see in the city centre today were built then after the Great Fire in Neo-Classical style, for example the City Hall and University of Tartu main building. During the Russian rule Tartu was called Yuryev.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"University\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Tartu\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the end of\u00a0Estonian War of Independence\u00a0following World War I, a peace treaty between the\u00a0Bolsheviks\u00a0and Estonia was signed on 2 February 1920 in Tartu (Treaty of Tartu). The treaty meant that\u00a0Soviet Russia\u00a0renounced territorial claims to Estonia \u201cfor all time\u201d.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe first period of independence lasted 22 years, beginning in 1918. Estonia underwent a number of economic, social, and political reforms necessary to come to terms with its new status as a\u00a0sovereign state. Importantly, large estate holdings belonging to the\u00a0Baltic nobility\u00a0were redistributed among the peasants and especially among volunteers in the\u00a0Estonian War of Independence. The interwar period was one of great cultural advancement. University of Tartu became the first Estonian language university. Estonian language schools were established, and artistic life of all kinds flourished. Estonia became\u00a0an important exporter of agricultural goods to Western Europe.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tDuring the Second World War Tartu was heavily damaged by bombing. For example the\u00a0historical\u00a0Kivisild\u00a0(Stone Bridge) located next to the City Hall Square was destroyed. It has now been replaced by Kaarsild (Arc Bridge). Some of the stones from original Stone Bridge are still visible and a replica of Stone Bridge can be found next to the Arc Bridge. As a result of the\u00a0Nazi-Soviet Pact\u00a0of 1939, the Soviet Union occupied Estonia and Tartu in 1940.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Stone\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Arc\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter the war, Tartu was declared a \u201cclosed town\u201d to foreigners, as an air base for bombers was constructed on\u00a0Raadi Airfield, in the northeast outskirts of the city. It was one of the biggest military air bases in Eastern Europe and housed intercontinental fighters, that carried nuclear bombs. The concrete runway there now houses a large used cars market, and is sometimes used for automotive racing, and big open air concerts. On one end of an older strip of the runway, the new building of Estonian National Museum was built.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Estonian\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tCulture<\/strong><\/u>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAs all of Estonia, Tartu has seen many rulers throughout the history \u2013 Russians, Germans, Swedes, and several rounds back and forth\u2026 Despite the grim history we are proud to have maintained our national identity, language and culture! Estonians are considered to be\u00a0Finno-Ugric, so linguistically more similar to the Finns, rather than the other neighbouring countries.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you are more interested in Estonian history and culture, you should visit Estonian National Museum (https:\/\/www.erm.ee\/en<\/a>). The colossal museum was opened in 2016 and the building\u00a0itself is worth seeing.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tTartu has the oldest Estonian language theatre Vanemuine, which is also considered as the only 3-genre theatre in Estonia (drama, musicals and ballet).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe main square, the City Hall Square (Raekoja plats), is the heart of the city with its fountain of the kissing students, Mother River on one end and Dome hill behind the city hall. The square is surrounded by numerous restaurants and bars. R\u00fc\u00fctli street, starting from the square, is known for its busy nightlife.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"City\n<\/p>\n

\n\tActivities in Tartu can be checked on Tartu events website:\u00a0https:\/\/kultuuriaken.tartu.ee\/en<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tWeather<\/strong><\/u>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWeather in Estonia is highly unpredictable, with temperatures ranging from -30C to +30C. On the bright side, we don\u2019t have natural disasters.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThere are 3\u00a0general rules:\n<\/p>\n

\n\t1. Don\u2019t trust the weather forecast. Tartu (and Estonia) is affected by air flows\u00a0from Scandinavia\u00a0and the East. Due to this the weather can change all the time.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t2. Weather can be very different in a 10 km radius and can change in half an hour.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t3. Be prepared for everything. So have your swimsuit, rubber boots\/raincoat, and winter\u00a0jacket with you all times.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tGenerally September has temperatures between 10-20C, and it can be rainy, and it can also be dry\u2026 \ud83d\ude42\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Words\n<\/p>\n

\n

\n\tSightseeing<\/strong><\/u>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIt is definitely worth to walk around the city centre. On the banks of the river Emaj\u00f5gi you can find green areas, some interesting architecture\u00a0and statues of historical figures.\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Mother\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIn city centre there is a lot of interesting architecture. To name a few a\u00a0medieval church St. John\u2019s Church, University of Tartu main building with its pillars.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Dome Hill is also a beautiful walk through a park. The colossal ruins of the cathedral, the towers can be visited for an awesome view of the whole city, and part of which houses University of Tartu Museum of History. The National Court, Old Anatomicum, Angel\u2019s and Devil\u2019s Bridge, numerous statues, the Kissing Hill, and more. Inside the Dome Hill is also the highest pub in the world \u2013 P\u00fcssirohukelder (Gunpowder Cellar).\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen going outside of city centre you can for example visit the Tartu Singing Festival Grounds, which is a smaller version of the one found in Tallinn. It is possible to walk there along the river, and through \u201cSouptown\u201d (Supilinn), which is a cute neighbourhood featuring more traditional Estonian wooden architecture.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

\n\tAcross the river you can go to Raadi, which has the Estonian National Museum, the Soviet airfield and also Raadi Manor park.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tActivities in Tartu can be checked on Tartu events website:\u00a0https:\/\/kultuuriaken.tartu.ee\/en<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tartu is the second-biggest city in Estonia, with 100,000 inhabitants. It is located on the banks of Emaj\u00f5gi (Mother River) and in the centre lies the beautiful Toomem\u00e4gi (Dome Hill) with its historical buildings and green scenery. Tartu is considered …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/7\/revisions\/31"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs-meeting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}