Town Hall Square
Raekoja plats

Raekoja plats is the central square of Tartu and the city’s historical and social hub. The square is located in front of the city’s town hall, Tartu Raekoda, and was formally laid out in the 1620s under Swedish rule as a rectangular square surrounded by merchant and civic buildings. The original buildings were primarily wooden houses, which were destroyed in the fires that raged in 1775 and 1802. After the fires, many of the facades and houses were rebuilt in stone with classicist features.

Raekoja plats has served as a marketplace, courthouse, and gathering place for public ceremonies. The square was paved with cobblestones in the mid-19th century and later received decorations such as fountains and statues. In the 1860s, the eastern facade of the square was harmonized with the classicist style of the town hall. Today, the square is surrounded by buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries, several of which house shops, cafés and cultural institutions, and of course the town hall is also located here.

Tartu Town Hall
Tartu Raekoda

Tartu Raekoda was built between 1782 and 1789. This happened after a fire in 1775 that destroyed the previous wooden building that was the town hall at that time. The architect Johann Heinrich Bartholomäus Hoffmann was responsible for the current classicist facade, which has four Ionic columns, symmetrical window axes and a high roof with a central bell tower. The building was constructed of brick and whitewashed. The town hall has a rectangular floor plan with large reception rooms on the ground floor and administrative functions on the first floor.

The town hall has undergone several restorations in the 19th and 20th centuries, most notably after bomb damage during World War II. The interior has been reconstructed with classicist panels, stucco ceilings and staircases. The building historically served as the city’s administrative centre, including the town hall, court and prison, and it remains a symbol of Tartu as a regional political and economic centre. The architecture represents the classicist tradition of the Baltics, where symmetry, columns and proportions expressed authority and stability.

University of Tartu
Tartu Ülikool

Tartu Ülikool or university was founded in 1632 by the Swedish King Gustav II Adolf as Academia Gustaviana and is one of the oldest universities in Northern Europe. The university was originally located in the centre of Tartu, but was destroyed several times during wars and fires, including during the Great Northern War. The current main building was built in 1804–1809 according to plans by architect Johann Wilhelm Krause and is a central example of classicist architecture in the Baltics. The building has a symmetrical facade with six Doric columns in front of the main entrance, mullioned windows and a balustrade along the roof edge.

The interior contains the auditorium, lecture halls and a library, the ceiling of which is decorated with stucco and plaster ornaments. In the period 1918–1940, the university played a crucial role in the development of Estonian culture and science, while during the Soviet era it was reorganized as Tartu Riiklik Universitet with a focus on technical and scientific subjects.

The building has undergone several restorations, where the classicist details were reconstructed, the facade was whitewashed and the windows were replaced with original copies. Today, the university houses over 10,000 students and researchers and is an academic and cultural center in Estonia. The architecture symbolizes the early 19th-century neoclassical tradition and serves as the city’s dominant monumental landmark.

Tartu Cathedral
Tartu Toomkirik

Tartu Toomkirik is the name of the remains of the medieval cathedral, which was founded in the early 13th century as the episcopal seat of Livonia. It was built on a Romanesque and later Gothic plan in brick and boulders and was begun around 1224, but was constantly rebuilt due to wars and fires. The cathedral was destroyed during the Swedish Wars in 1624 and was not fully rebuilt, and therefore its northern and southern walls, apse and remains of columns were preserved as ruins.

The ruins were partially restored in the 19th and 20th centuries as a historical monument. The masonry shows characteristic Gothic elements such as pointed arched windows and vaulted arches. The cathedral originally served as the episcopal seat and religious center of Tartu, and the remains of the church are used today for cultural events, concerts and exhibitions.

The ruin is part of Tartu Toomemägi, the historical hill where it stands as a testament to the city’s Catholic and medieval history. The area is used for exhibitions, guided tours and cultural events, and is one of the most studied archaeological sites in Estonia. At Tartu Toomemägi, you can walk around the church building, and you can also see some of the city’s university buildings and the observatory.

Tartu University Observatory
Tartu Ülikooli Observatoorium

Tartu Ülikooli Observatoorium is an observatory built in 1810–1814 on Toomemägi under the direction of Professor Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve and architect Johann Wilhelm Krause. The observatory is an early example of a research facility in Northern Europe dedicated to astronomical observation and geodesy. The building is in a classicist style, with three floors, a symmetrical facade and a dome for the telescope. It was built of brick, and the dome was originally manually operated by gears.

The observatory played a central role in the establishment of the Struve Meridian Arc, which was used to measure the shape of the Earth over 2,820 kilometers from Norway to the Black Sea. The building has undergone several restorations, with the dome and internal wooden structures being preserved, while electrical installations were added in the 20th century. The observatory still houses historical telescopes, documents and instruments from the 19th century and is used for public outreach and research.

National Museum of Estonia
Eesti Rahva Muuseum

The National Museum of Estonia or the Estonian National Museum is located in Tartu and was inaugurated in its current building in 2016. The museum was originally founded in 1909 in Tartu to preserve Estonian culture, folklore and crafts. The modern building was designed by the Finnish architectural firm DGT Architects and is built on the site of a former Soviet air base. The building is 28,000 m² and has floors above and below ground. The structure consists of steel, concrete and glass, and the facades are partially clad in corten steel, which rusts to a coppery color.

The museum’s design follows the principles of universal access, with three main corridors forming a network between permanent and temporary exhibitions. The main hall has a clear height of 18 meters and can accommodate large exhibitions and concerts. The building is planned with a focus on sustainability with solar panels, heat recovery and rainwater harvesting.

The National Museum’s collections contain over 500,000 objects that document Estonia’s culture, history and nature from the Middle Ages to the modern era. The collections include archaeological finds from the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages, including tools, jewelry, weapons and ceramics, which provide insight into daily life, crafts and trade relations in the Baltic region. Ethnographic objects include traditional costumes, agricultural tools and household utensils, as well as ritual objects that illustrate folk culture and local customs in different regions of Estonia. Crafts and textiles range from woven fabrics, embroidery and lace to woodcarving and metalwork, showcasing craft traditions and stylistic developments over the centuries.

St. John the Baptist Church
Jaani Church

Jaani Church is one of Tartu’s most distinctive churches and one of the largest Lutheran churches in Estonia. It was built between 1862 and 1869 to replace an older wooden church on the same site. The building was designed by the Baltic-German architect Johann Wilhelm Krause. The church was built in the Neo-Gothic style with brickwork, tall pointed windows and a striking tower that reaches 63 meters into the air. The church is oriented to the east, with the apse and choir facing the Emajõgi River.

The interior is a three-aisled nave with limestone columns. The altar was made by local craftsmen in 1870 and is decorated with sculptures and paintings that reflect the Gothic style. The church’s organ, built in 1873 by the German organ builder Friedrich Ladegast, is still used for concerts and services. During the Soviet era, the church was preserved as an active church, making it one of the few undisturbed religious centers in the region.

Tartu Art House
Tartu Kunstimaja

Tartu Kunstimaja was built in 1899 as a building complex for artistic and cultural purposes and is located in the city center. The building was designed by architect Arved Eichhorn, who integrated elements of Neo-Renaissance and Art Nouveau into the facade. The building is three stories high, built of brick with plastered details and symmetrical window axes.

The interior is planned for exhibition and educational purposes with large halls, high ceilings and large staircases. The Kunstimaja has served as a studio, exhibition space and meeting center for local artists since the beginning of the 20th century. During the Soviet era, the building was used for state art exhibitions, while private initiatives were limited. Restorations in the 1990s restored the facade and interior to their original forms.

Today, the Tartu Kunstimaja is used as an exhibition venue, art school and cultural centre with a focus on visual arts and design. The building’s architecture combines functional exhibition areas with ornamental details, illustrating the transition between 19th-century historicism and Art Nouveau.

KGB Cell Museum
KGB Kongide Muuseum

KGB Kongide Muuseum is a museum housed in a former building used by Soviet security services from the 1940s to the 1980s. The museum is located at Ülikooli 18 in the central university district, where the building’s original function was as an office and prison for political prisoners and surveillance. Today, the museum serves as a documentation and dissemination of Estonia’s Soviet history and is central to understanding political control in the period 1940–1991.

The museum documents the activities of the KGB in Tartu and southern Estonia, such as surveillance, arrests and trials of students, professors and citizens during the Soviet era. The interior has been preserved with cell complexes, metal grilles and original office furniture. There are exhibitions about the security apparatus, documents, photographs and archives showing methods of intelligence and control.

Emajõe Promenade

Emajõe Promenade is a recreational area that follows the banks of the Emajõgi River, and which constitutes the city’s central urban space with both historical and recreational functions. The promenade was established in the late 19th century as part of Tartu’s then urban plan for the growth and modernization of the city. The Emajõe flows beautifully through the city as a green belt, which could be used as a kind of park.

The promenade was expanded with benches, avenues and lighting in the early 20th century, and the central bridge over the Emajõe served as a crossing point from the central part of Tartu. The promenade also contains historical buildings such as warehouses and merchant houses, which are part of the city’s recreational landscape.