Toome Hill
Trip Start
Jul 04, 2005
1
27
37
Trip End
Jul 18, 2005
Tartu,
Estonia
Thursday, July 14, 2005
These are situated in two different areas :
- Old Town
a. Town Hall Square
This has been a market place since the 13th century and now is more like a massive café with pubs everywhere. The most noticeable feature is the Kissing Students fountain. All the buildings around the square date from after the 1775 fire. Those on the north side are neo-classical, those on the south side Stalinist (if you look carefully you can still see the hammers and sickles.
b. Town Hall
This pink building is the third (the first two were destroyed by fire). It contained a prison, a weigh house and of course the Town Council.
c. Leaning House
Tartu's answer to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Builders in the 1790s unwisely set part of the foundation on the old city wall and another part on wooden piles. The later eventually sank, giving the house a noticeable lean. It was in danger of falling over until Polish engineers managed to shore it up during the Soviet period.
d. Tartu University
The university goes back to 1632 but this neo-classical building dates from 1809. There are many interesting things to see there, especially a student's lock-up. This was a room that was used for punishing those who broke faculty rules. The punishment for returning a library book late was 2 days. Insulting a cloakroom attendant would get you 5 days, and duelling 3 weeks.
- Toome Hill
a. cathedral ruins
This massive, red-brick structure at the northwest tip of the hill is the remains of the Dome Cathedral, which dates to the late 13th Century when Tartu was a bishopric.
b. sacrificial stone and Kissing Hill
Pre-Christian Estonians used to worship their pagan gods at the Sacrificial Stone, a large boulder on the north side of the cathedral. This is one of the 400 stones in Estonia where sacrifices were made, and students traditionally burn their lecture notes here after exams.
c. Angel's Bridge
A classical-style bridge from 1838. You should cross it while holding your breath and make a wish.
d. Devil's Bridge
A newer bridge built in 1913 to honor the 300th anniversary of Romanov rule in Russia.
e. Old Observatory
This was the university's original observatory, founded in 1810. It contained the most powerful telescope of that period.
