Tartu University

King Gustav II Adolph of Sweden established the University in 1632 but it has not been all smooth sailing. Due to the Great Northern War (which I had never heard of) it was closed from 1710 until 1802. Most of the old buildings date from the reopening and it is a very pretty spacious campus with wide expanses of lawn with mature trees. This was not the only time the university was closed. The First World War also saw it closed and then in the fifties the Soviets built a big airbase next to Tartu and the whole city was closed until about 2000.

After inspecting the University we stocked up on chocolate and then asked the guide, Christa to drop us at the new National Museum. It has all the latest technology which works really well. For example you have a card which when you touch the icon turns the text to English. There are also wheelchairs available.

The first section was called 'Echo of the Urals' and had beautiful embroidered costumes and told of the stories and customs of the people.

The other big section was  modern history including about the Soviet times.

Our hotel Villa Margrethe.Our balcony is on the right.

The front of the hotel. There are a lot of wooden buildings in a similar style.

Classical building of the University, It now has about 14,000 students and over 1,000 are foreigners and a lot of classes are in English.

One of the new buildings.

Kindergarten excursion.

House of Culture -literature

Oscar Wilde and an Estonian poet whose surname is also pronounced Wilde.

The famous kissing fountain in front of the Town Hall.

 Ruins of the cathedral of St Paul and St Peter

Some of the terracotta figures from St John's church.

From the display Echos of the Urals

More costumes

Home made lawnmower from Soviet times. The maker had to take a job as a taxi driver to access the company workshop to make the blades.

Another display was of ghastly shoes. Apparently for a wedding you got a special ration to buy your wedding outfit, but there was no guarantee the shop would have the correct size. One couple donated their outfits to the museum. His shoes were one size too small and hers were too big!