Tartu - The Soul of Estonian Nation
Without a doubt, Tallinn is very often the first and only city foreign tourists visit during their visit to Estonia. But in many ways, Tallinn does not represent Estonia’s cultural and political development. The land of modern Estonia has long been dominated by foreign powers ranging from the Danes and Teutonic Knights to Nazi Germany. Tallinn has long been the political base from which foreign rulers administrate the Estonian land. As part of the Hanseatic League, Tallinn’s fairytale Old Town that we see today was built by a wealthy merchant class of Baltic German. Estonians, regarded as uncivilized at the time, worked as serfs and played no part in the administration and culture of their native land.
But despite being the capital and largest city, Tallinn has never been fully Estonian. This is particularly the case since the Soviet occupation and the mass emigration of ethnic Russians under Josef Stalin. This legacy of Russification persists even in the 21st century. Today, Ethnic Estonians only account for less than half of Tallinn’s population. Tallinn also appears to be quite a segregated city with large residential sections, such as the Lasnamäe district, which is comprised entirely of Russian speakers. In contrast, Tartu is decidedly Estonian, with over 85% of residents identified as ethnic Estonians.
Tartu Town Hall.
Given that Estonia is a relatively small country in terms of geography, Tartu is within easy reach of Tallinn. Express bus service connecting the two cities departs seemingly on an hourly basis. Tartu’s main bus terminal is located in the modern, somewhat charmless neighborhood just southeast of Old Town. But it was only a ten-minute stroll to the city center. You felt like you had entered into an entirely different realm. The steel and glass apartments and shopping malls gave away quaint lanes and neo-classical buildings.
For first-time visitors, Tartu may seem lackluster as a destination. During the Second World War, Tartu and much of eastern Estonia became the battlefield between Soviet and Nazi forces. Much of the old town and Tartu’s famous stone bridges were leveled. During the period of Soviet occupation, the majority of the ruined buildings were abandoned in the city center. As a result, pockets of greenery and public plazas permeate much of central Tartu. But fortunately, the city escaped the wrecking balls of the Soviet era and did not suffer the whole-scale redevelopment like other Narva.
The Town Hall Square.
Kissing Students (Suudlevad Tudengid) at Town Hall Square.
Even though much of the commerce has been shifted outside of the Old Town, the spiritual heartbeat center of this city of just under 100,000 is still the Town Hall Square (Raekoja Plats). As the name suggests, the neoclassical-style town hall dominates the square and creates a perfect backdrop for all kinds of civic events and celebrations. The 18th-century structure still houses the municipal government today and is among the oldest surviving buildings in the city. But the main attraction in the square seems to be the fountain just in front of the town hall.
Known as The Kissing Students, this endearing fountain is quite a 1990s addition to an existing fountain. Created by Estonian contemporary sculptor Mati Karmin, the fountain depicts the spontaneous embrace of two students in the rain. The playfulness of the fountain reflects the youthful energy of Tartu. Having a reputation as a stoic nation, Estonians may just be relieved with that moment of spontaneity. By all accounts, it is the most popular meeting spot and is often considered the very center of Tartu.
The Intellectual Capital of Estonia
Today’s Tartu is best known as a university town to most Estonians. The University of Tartu is the oldest (indeed, the oldest in all three Baltic states) and the most prestigious institute of higher learning in the country. Founded in 1632 by Swedish governor-general Baron Johan Skytte, the university has the same turbulent history as Estonia. Interrupted by wars and changes in the language of instruction, the school’s evolution mirrors that of the nation. It seems like half of the members of parliament and every prime minister since 1997 have been alumni here. While Tallinn Institute of Technology has emerged as a powerhouse in digital technology and entrepreneurship, the University of Tartu remains the envy of the country and the custodian of Estonian literary tradition and history.
The Main Building of University of Tartu.
Unfortunately, my visit to Tartu coincided with the university’s summer break, so I did not experience the bustle and youthful energy that Tartu is known for. Nevertheless, the urban campus was absolutely lovely. Just two blocks from the Town Hall, the imposing University Main Building is the most recognizable campus landmark. Designed in a strict neoclassical style, the Main Building is the backdrop of most key ceremonies throughout the academic year. The stoic Doric columns at the front invoke the “Athens of the North.”
University of Tartu.
Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies.
But for me, the real highlight of the campus visit was Toome Hill, just behind the main building. For centuries, this hill was the main settlement of Tartu and the site of the bishop’s palace-fortress. The gentle ramp led me up the hill. It was a wooded area dominated by the ruin of Tartu’s cathedral. The massive Gothic structure dates to the 14th century and was the seat of the Bishop for Dorpat. However, the fervent wave for Reformation devastated the church by removing all icons and decorations. The bishop was expelled with the arrival of Orthodox Russian rule, and the cathedral has stood in ruin ever since. Today, a small annex has been built onto the original structure and houses the main museum of the university. While I did not get to visit the museum, walking among the cathedral ruins was cathartic.
For a few international visitors like myself, a big draw to Tartu is the humble University of Tartu Old Observatory (Tartu Tähetorn). The humble structure is also inscribed as one of the country's two UNESCO World Heritage Sites and listed as part of the Struve Geodetic Arc. Baltic German scientist Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve established a series of triangulation points from Norway all the way down to the Black Sea to work on the curvature and size of the Earth. This observatory marks the starting point of the part where most of Struve’s research was conducted. The observatory also houses the Dorpat Great Refractor (Dorpat was the name for Tartu during the Baltic German rule), the first modern refractor telescope of significant size.
Church of Saint John.
Tartu Dome Church (Toomkirik).
I could only admire it from the outside because no public guided tour was offered during my visit. Physically, the observatory itself is visually underwhelming. However, this UNESCO designation is unique because it consists of 258 markers across ten countries. It currently holds the record of being the most transnational site UNESCO ever recognized. A guided observatory tour could be arranged ahead of time through the University of Tartu Museum for those interested.
Birthplace of National Culture
Throughout the history of Estonia, the native Estonian culture has often been considered inferior to the colonizers. During the late 19th century, a national awakening movement spread across northern Europe. Away from the ruling class of Tallinn, intellectuals among ethnic Estonians began to gather in Tartu, and a flurry of literary and cultural activities flourished in Tartu. The university played a great role in cementing the city’s status as a cultural center. The Estonian language is also standardized, and Postimees, the first newspaper published in Estonian, began daily publication here. Estonians achieved the second-highest literacy rate within the Russian Empire in a few decades.
The slanting Tartu Art Museum
The success of the Estonian National Awakening is aided in no small part by Estonia’s singing and song festival tradition. Tartu is the birthplace of the song festival tradition in Estonia and the singing traditions in Latvian. Johann Voldemar Jannsen, the publisher of Postimees, organized the first festival. Together with like-minded poets and composers, they took simple peasant songs that generations of Estonians knew, elevated them into choral pieces, and sang together on the stage.
Jannse’s daughter, Lydia Koidula, composed beautiful poems to be set to music for the first song festivals. The two pieces, Mu Osamaa On Minu Arm and Sind Surmani, are so beloved that they regularly appear in the Song Festival. The latter song was set to new music by Gustav Ernesaks in 1942 and remained the unofficial national anthem during Soviet occupation. In Tartu, Koidula provided literary support and assisted in organizing and fundraising for the nascent movement.
Today, Tartu is proud to call itself the birthplace of this treasured tradition. Although it has been 224 years since the song festival was hosted in Tartu, Tartu’s dedication to this tradition is strong. Not only is Tartu the home to the Song Festival Museum (Laulupeomuuseum), but the city also hosts its own regional song festival at its own song festival ground just northwest of the Old Town.
Since my visit in the summer of 2012, Tartu’s status as the center of national culture has been further bolstered by the new building of the Estonian National Museum (Eesti Rahva Muuseum). The national museum was founded in 1909 in Tartu and has steadily grown into the national repository of cultural and historical artifacts of great importance. One of the most treasured items in the collection is the original Estonian national tri-color flag. The Society of Estonian Students created the blue, white, and black flag at the University of Tartu. The parliament later adopted the design after the proclamation of an independent Estonia.
In 2016, the museum inaugurated a striking new museum on the site of a former Soviet airfield. For an ‘Estophile’ like myself, this brand-new museum alone is enough to lure me back for a second visit. In addition to the temporary exhibits, the museum also holds a well-designed exhibit of Estonian national costumes and another on the ‘uniqueness’ of the Estonian language. Interestingly, the museum’s interactive display of the history of the Reformation created a minor scandal in the global Christian community.
Judicial Capital of Estonia
I was actually not aware that Tartu actually hosts a large number of important ministries of the national government, such as the Ministry of Education and Research, the Baltic Defense College, Estonian Aviation Academy, and the Estonian Historical Archives. But most interestingly, Tartu is also the host city for the Supreme Court of Estonia, the court of last resort in the country. I am always curious why a country split its capital, such as South Africa or Chile. I am not quite sure why the Supreme Court is located in Tartu, but it may have something to do with the university’s law school or the legacy of Johan Skytte.
As the governor-general for Swedish Lavonia, Skytte not only established the university here but also a crown court here that had jurisdiction over the whole dominion. Perhaps this is why a stainless steel sculpture of a giant stamp was placed in front of the Supreme Court building on the 375th anniversary of the University of Tartu.
