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Popular Things To Do | Other Things To Do Tips | All Tips (114) Emajogi river flows through Tartu and is a good place to go for a walk... Not on the river, of course, but in the parks and along the beaches surrounding the river! I'll describe two walks here. The first one starts at the Tartu bus station. From there on, you can go across the bridge and turn right immediately afterwards. Walk on on a little dyke until you reach the new Emajogi footbridge (built 3 years ago). According to a sign, it's some 240 m long and its tower reaches a height of 47 m or so. An interesting custom, which goes back to a Russian tradition, is to fix a keylock on the bridge which is supposed to be a sign of luck for a newly married couple. Cross the bridge and walk back to Tartu's centre. You pass through an open air market, where you can sometimes buy cheap clothes and the like.
The second walk is the more interesting one. It takes you up Emajogi river and can be varied as to which side of the river you actually walk. Start at the arched Emajogi bridge. The first meters lead you through the nice park on the opposite side of the centre. In summertime, this is a great place to play football or frisbee or just have a break... At the next bridge, you may pass the river to check out Tartu's botanical gardens. Going further up the river, you now face the hardest decision of the walk: On which side to continue? The town centre side continues with a very nice path which leads on for several kilometers until you're somewhere in the outskirts of Tartu. It's a quiet and tranquil footpath and especially likeable in spring or summer. The other side, however, leads to the beach, a wonderful place to watch the sunset in summertime and listen to the concert of thousands of frogs from the other riverside. It's also possible to swim there, although the water is not really warm at any time of the year... I don't know whether it is allowed, but the beach is a great place for bonfires or barbecues, too. Some of my fondest memories of Tartu are connected with these!
So, decide for yourselves... Leave a Comment Address: Emajogi riverside
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Supilinn is an old part of Tartu with lots of old wooden houses. It has a very special character as it is not a place that most tourists see. Instead, it's more original Estonian... even rural in a way. The streets are dirt roads, i.e. muddy at the moment, dusty in summertime. The houses are slightly run-down, the dogs are running around unleashed. But walking through Supilinn, you'll discover all those things that seem so normal, but are interesting in a way: clothes drying outside, the trees grow uncontrolled, a cat enjoys some sunrays on a rooftop of a garage... There are plenty of interesting motives for photos. And Supilinn has a curious thing, too: The most colourful house of Tartu in Oa street 28... Leave a Comment Directions: Supilinn is the quarter next to Emajogi river. Walk up the riverbank on the side of the old town for about 15 minutes. At the big bridge (Kroonuaia st), Supilinn begins.
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Jaani Kirik was built in the 14th century and is said to be one of the most outstanding architectural treasures of Northern Europe. It is decorated with roughly 1000 terracotta sculptures, most of them hardly discernible somewhere above your heads. There are plenty of different items - Jesus, John the Baptist (after whom the church is named), but also the devil and portraits of citizens.
Jaani Kirik squeezes between several houses of the old town and really looks massive in there. What it doesn't look, is impressive. I'm not a church historian or an architecture professional, but at first sight, most churches are more interesting than Jaani Kirik. The same is true for the terracotta figures. If you're not very much into this kind of stuff, you'll hardly be able to understand the fuzz about it...
Never mind, this is my opinion, and it's always best to check it out yourselves. Leave a Comment Address: Jaani tn, Lüübeki tn, Rüütli tnDirections: old town, look out for the Gothic looking church tower and you won't miss it
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They are in the middle of renovating the church and unfortunately you can see that the new part is new. It doesn’t look original at all and in our opinion the ruins would be far more interesting left in their present stage. We didn’t visit the church because there was an admission to go in or climb up to its tower, because my friend felt that it would be too much for her. I could have done it alone though and have great photos, but I decided to stay with my friend. They began to build the cathedral at the end of the 13th century and finished it in the 15th century. During the Reformation and some war the church was destroyed and big fire finished the destruction. Leave a Comment
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It is the house of end of XVIII century. Maybe the house could be nothing special, but the most interesting thing - it is leaning. That happened because of this: one wall of the building was built on the foundation of old defensive city wall and another - on wooden piles. The structure was different for both sides of building, so one side has leaned.
Inside is Tartu Art museum. Leave a Comment Directions: Town hall square
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Tartu town hall was built in 1789. There were two town hall buildings before, but they were devastated during the fires. This building, I suppose, is the main landmark of Tartu together with sculpture "Kissing students" in front of it. Building has mix of a few architectural styles - baroque, rococo and classicism that was spreading in Northern Europe at end of XVIII century.
The Town hall houses Tourism information centre - here is possible to get free maps, postcards, so on. Leave a Comment Address: Town hall square
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The most noticeable feature of Tartu is the large hill that rises behind town hall square (raekojaplats). Toomemägi or Dome hill rises above Tartu and offers a great place to walk. The area is a large park filled with paths that surround the cathedral ruins and old observatory. There are statues located throughout the park to several important Estonian figures. Also located on the hill is an old pagan sacrificial stone, which is located near the cathedral and high point of the hill (which is called the kissing hill). Toomemägi is a great walk anytime of day and during any season.
Dome Hill is one of the most historically significant points in Tartu as it has witnessed battles between pagan Estonians and the Germanic crusaders, the power struggle between the archbishop of Riga and the Tartu bishopric. It once held a pagan fortress, a Swedish fortress (two of the old earthen ramparts of this fortress can be seen, and of course the cathedral which remains in ruins today; although Tartu is currently resorting part of the old cathedral. If you are all familiar with Estonian or Baltic history than a walk across the hill is more than just a walk through a nice city park, it is also a tour of town’s long history. Leave a Comment
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Tartu is a small town, so basically all the sights are within walking distance of the center. Thus, I will describe some pleasant walks through the town in here. A good starting point for all of them is Raekoja Plats, the Town Hall Square.
It is also a great place to hang out: In summer, cafes place their tables outside and you can enjoy a coffee there and watch the passers-by. The fountain (Suudlevad Tudengid) is probably the best meeting place in Tartu. Leave a Comment Address: Raekoja Plats
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The statue of two Wildes seems to be a popular place for tourists to stop and take photos and I was no exception. Somebody had left a small bottle of vodka (empty) so I toasted to Oscar Wilder and Estonian writer Eduard Wilde with it! These two writers lived at the same time but never met. Leave a Comment
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"The Kissing Students" were put on town hall square in 1998 and was projected by Mati Karmin. It is like a symbol of Tartu, quite popular place to take photos. I should say this sculpture is symbolizing all the atmosphere of Tartu, especially at period of studying, when town is full of students and, of course, falling in love by young couples.
I have seen lots of people enjoying this structure and taking photos nearby it. Leave a Comment Directions: Town Hall Square
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on August 12, 2007
on August 27, 2005
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on January 8, 2004
