{"id":8,"date":"2024-04-04T05:27:33","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/tartu\/"},"modified":"2024-04-04T05:28:21","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T02:28:21","slug":"tartu","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/tartu\/","title":{"rendered":"About Tartu"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tTartu is the second largest\u00a0city in Estonia, with about 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 largest university in Estonia and one of the highest ranking\u00a0in the Baltic region (belonging to top 1% universities of the world,\u00a0according to\u00a0QS World University Rankings 2019<\/a>). Tartu was chosen as one of the three capitals of culture of Europe for the year 2024 (https:\/\/ec.europa.eu\/programmes\/creative-europe\/content\/tartu-will-be-european-capital-culture-2024-estonia_en<\/a>).\n<\/p>\n

\n\t\"Tartu\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 trade route due to its access to many interconnecting rivers and lakes. The first permanent settlement on the site of modern Tartu dates to as early as the 5th century AD.\u00a0By the 7th century AD, 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\u00a0under the name of\u00a0Academia Gustaviana<\/i> in 1632, during the Swedish rule of 1629-1721. There were numerous breaks in the university\u2019s work. First it was a latin university, then German, Russian, 1918-1940 Estonian, 1940-1989 Soviet, and since the 1991 Estonian re-independence once again Estonian. In the recent decade, University of Tartu has also become increasingly more popular among international students, as more and more programs in English are now also offered.\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 2nd of February 1920 in Tartu (Treaty of Tartu).\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. The interwar period was one of cultural advancement. University of Tartu became the first university in the Estonian language. <\/span>Estonian language schools were established, and artistic life of all kinds flourished.\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 the Kaarsild (Arc Bridge). Some of the stones from the original Stone Bridge are still visible and a replica of the Stone Bridge can be found next to the Arc Bridge. As a result of the\u00a0Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact\u00a0of 1939, Estonia went under the governance of\u00a0the Soviet Union after 1940.\n<\/p>\n

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

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

\n\tAfter the Second World War,\u00a0Tartu was declared a \u201cclosed town\u201d to foreigners, as an air base for bombers was constructed on the Raadi Airfield, in the northeast outskirts of the city. It was one of the biggest military air bases in Eastern Europe and housed intercontinental bombers carrying nuclear warheads. On one end of the the runway, the new building of Estonian National Museum was opened in 2016.\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 turbulent history, Estonians have maintained their distinct identity, language and culture.\u00a0The Estonian language belongs to the Finno-Ugric languages and is very similar to the Finnish language.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you are more interested in Estonian history and culture, it is recommended to visit the Estonian National Museum (https:\/\/www.erm.ee\/en<\/a>).\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 the 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

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

\n\tWeather in Estonia is notoriously unpredictable, with yearly temperatures ranging from -30o<\/sup>C to +30o<\/sup>C.\u00a0Generally September sees temperatures between 10-20o<\/sup>C with chances of occasional precipitation.\n<\/p>\n

\n

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

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

\n\t\"Mother\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 a nice view of the city, and part of which houses the Museum of History of the University of Tartu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tartu is the second largest\u00a0city in Estonia, with about 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 …<\/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-8","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/197"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61,"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions\/61"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sisu.ut.ee\/epic-xs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}