During its long history Tartu has had different names - Tarbatu, Derpt,
Dorbat, Jurjev. Sometimes it is also called Taaralinn and the Athens on
the Emajõgi River. Original and many-sided, Tartu is old because
of its date of foundation and traditions but young because of its people
and way of life. Tartu is at the same time peaceful and bustling, rigid
and dynamic, national and international. Tartu was first mentioned in chronicles
in 1030 A.D., when Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kiev conquered the stronghold
of Estonians on a hillock in the present centre of the town, called Toomemägi.
German invaders, who conquered Tartu in 1224 A.D. built a castle and a
cathedral on Toomemägi and surrounded the town with a wall.The only
two medieval buildings that have survived in Tartu are the St. John's Church
and the SS. Peter and Paul's Cathedral on Toomemägi. Toomemägi
is closely related to the university. An evidence of this is the Angel's
Bridge, connecting two slopes of the hill, that has been built in honour
of the first Rector of the university, Georg Friedrich Parrot. About two
hundred metres from the Angels's Bridge, next to the beautiful neoclassic
buildings of the Court of Justice, you will find the Devil's Bridge that
connects ancient bastions.There are a number of neoclassic buildings in
Tartu, dating back to the end of the 18th or the beginning of the 19th
century. One of the oldest of them is the Town Hall, built in 1782-1789,
and designed by J.H.B.Walter.
Tartu is an important industrial and cultural center. Manufactures
include footwear, agricultural machinery, printed materials, and lumber.
Population 114,239 (1991 estimate).
