Estonia: Tartu: Town Hall
Tartu (historical names: German: Dorpat, from original name Tarbatu, Russian: Юрьев, Yuryev) is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the city is the centre of southern Estonia. The Emajõgi River, which connects the two largest lakes of Estonia, crosses Tartu. Archaeological evidence of the first permanent settlement on the site of modern Tartu dates to as early as the 5th century AD. By the 7th century, local inhabitants had built a wooden fortification on the east side of Toome Hill (Toomemägi). The first documented record of the place was made in 1030 by chroniclers of Kievan Rus. The present building of Town Hall is already the third one on the same site. In comparison with the long history of Tartu its buildings are relatively new: very seldom you can see buildings which date back to earlier times than the last quarter of the 18th century which can be explained by numerous devastating wars and fires. The Great Fire of 1775 ravaged almost the whole central part of Tartu. After the fire Tartu began to obtain its present configuration and the present Town Hall was also built. The Town Hall of Tartu was designed by the then master – builder of the town Johann Heinrich Bartholomäus Walter from Rostock. The cornerstone was laid in 1782. Although the Town Hall was festively opened in 1786, the finishing touches were made until 1789. The Town Hall of Tartu was built at the time when the style of Early Classicism reached the Nordic countries, including Estonia, replacing the earlier styles of Baroque and Rococo. The contest between different styles is also reflected in the Town Hall of Tartu.
Size: 5120px × 3413px
Location: Estonia: Tartu
Photo credit: © Aivar Mikko / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: architectural, architecture, baroque, bartholomä, buildings, classicism, cultural, dorpat, early, emajõgi, estonia, europe, hall, heinrich, history, horizontal, hub, intellectual, johann, medieval, river, rococo, tarbatu, tartu, tartumaa, tourism, town, travel, university, walter
