By Karl Cushing
Spoiler alert – Estonia’s cute and compact capital Tallinn isn’t the country’s only cultural metropolis. Enter second city Tartu, the southern university city, so long under the northern counterpart’s shadow.
As Tartu prepares to enter 2024 as a European Capital of Culture, with a packed program of edgy and eye-catching events, it’s an excellent time to immerse yourself in the fascinating southern Estonian region.
The first point to note is it’s a breeze to get to, well served by rail and bus links. My outward rail journey comprises a leisurely 2.5 hour journey from Tallin’s rail station, which at 11.5 Euros for a First Class ticket is a steal.
This editorial reflects experiences you can enjoy on Sustainable Journeys 11 day Estonia Exploration by EV trip. Find out more here.
“Tartu is slow whereas Tallinn is fast,” is how, when pressed, my local guide summed up the difference between Estonia’s two major cities, and it’s fair to say the city and its 100,000 or so citizens exude a relaxed, unassuming air. That said, there is also a palpable sense of local pride, as evidenced in the big red letters proudly spelling out Tartu2024 I encounter on the old town hall square on the short walk from the station to my hotel.
Much of Tartu’s action and attraction spills out from this historic cobbled square, from bars and restaurants to hotels such as the Lydia, the nearby river making a notable boundary marker, making it easy to get your bearings. It’s certainly a pleasant place to wander around and I relish the rich spread of old buildings and architectural styles scattered throughout the city.
Ready to explore Estonia? On this 11-day EV escape, you’ll explore Tartu, Lahemaa National Park, and Tallinn. You’ll stay in fantastic sustainable accommodations and enjoy a vibrant street art tour in Tartu, explore the gorgeous Soomaa National Park, and visit the majestic Alatskivi Castle.
Heading to Toome Park, a popular gathering spot, not least on its Kissing Hill, I take in the impressive ruins of the old cathedral, part of which is renovated and occupied by the university. I also enjoy taking a turn around the city’s lovely botanic gardens (free to enter) – a bonafide hidden treasure.
More modern twists include Aparaadirltehas. Like a scaled-down version of Telivisiki in Tallinn, this repurposed industrial area, clustered around a central courtyard area with outdoor seating, is a hipster-ish hub of creative businesses, street art, bars and restaurants and a good place to hang out for a few hours.
Journeying to the edge of town I take in one of the more recent sources of local pride, the Estonian National Museum. Housed on an old Soviet-era airstrip, it’s worth visiting for the striking architectural design alone while inside its exquisitely curated exhibits offer insight aplenty into local traditions, traits and tropes.
As Tartu prepares to wear its crown as European Capital of Culture in 2024, the National Museum is set to play a major role, hosting happenings such as the Surrealism 100 art exhibition (15 March – 8 September), focused on Eastern European Surrealism. But not before the grand opening – a multimedia spectacle entitled ‘All Becomes One’ – kicks off on the riverbanks on 26 January 2024, a prelude to a citywide celebration.
With ‘Arts of Survival’ as its rallying theme, Tartu2024’s year-long festival of more than 1,000 events aims to spotlight themes such as sustainability, science and technology through media ranging from art, theatre and architecture to music, film and gastronomy. LGBTQ+ awareness is another focus, Estonia having legalised same-sex marriage in June 2023, and August’s Pride is expected to be one of the year’s main events.
The limits do not end with the city, however. Indeed, the organisers have leveraged the opportunity to shine a light on all of southern Estonia, from the region’s pristine green spaces, replete with biodiverse forests and wetlands, to its traditional communities such as the Seto, Võro and Old Believers.
Consequentially, many artistic happenings such as ArCo3 (1 March – 30 November) and Out of Town Art Festival (06 July 24 – 31 January 25) aim to draw Tartu’s visitors out into the countryside to interact with open-air exhibits and installations. This as Aigu Om! (2024, 15 – 21 July) offers cultural encounters using the forest as their theme, from outdoor cinema and concerts to folk medicine workshops and forest bathing.
For one of the strongest nods to the festival’s overarching ‘Arts of Survival’ theme look no further than the quirkily titled exhibition Washing Machine Made of Beetroot (24 April – 29 December), which aims to show how locals learned to be creatively self-sufficient in order to survive in Soviet times, and how such innovative ‘DIY’ approaches can help humanity thrive in the future.
Other notable events include a literary festival celebrating Tartu’s legacy as a UNESCO City of Literature (May 6-11). There are even events celebrating Estonia’s endemic sauna culture such as Naked Truth (10 – 11 May), featuring events held in pop-up saunas.
From spring awakenings and summer outdoors adventures to autumn foraging amid vibrant autumn colours and winter wonders such as Christmas Markets, Southern Estonia always promises visitors something for all seasons. And thanks to Tartu2024, whenever you visit in 2024 there’ll be something fun, tasty or thought-provoking going on in the local vicinity – possibly all three.
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Editorial submission – 1st November 2023
