Tartu Ülikooli kunstimuuseum

About the museum

The Tartu University Art Museum (Tartu Ülikooli kunstimuuseum) is the oldest art museum in Estonia. It dates back to 19 April 1803, when the university council set a separate budget for the art museum. The collection was founded by Professor Karl Simon Morgenstern, who wanted to illustrate his lectures on art history and antiquity with copies of works ranging from the old masters to contemporary art, and to develop the students' artistic taste. For the first seven years the collections were in the professor's flat on Town Hall Square; in 1810 they were moved into the newly completed main building of the university.

In the middle of the 19th century the museum changed direction and specialised in antique art. From 1868 the museum has been located in the left wing of the main building. The Pompeian-style wall paintings date from the same year and are Estonia's oldest interior designed specially for a museum. During the First World War the original collections were evacuated to Russia, where they remain to this day, and after that the museum's activity stagnated for several decades. From the 1960s activity picked up again, and in 1978 the restored historic student detention cell (kartser) in the attic of the main building was opened to visitors.

The permanent exhibition contains full-size plaster casts of Greek archaic, classical and Hellenistic sculpture, which were bought in the 1860s from museums in England, Germany, France and Italy. The exhibition also includes the original death mask of the philosopher Immanuel Kant and a mummy chamber with two human mummies from Egypt and one dog mummy. The museum ticket also gives access to the university's assembly hall (aula) and the kartser.

Highlights

• Estonia's only permanent exhibition of antique art: plaster casts of Greek sculpture
• Original death mask of Immanuel Kant
• Mummy chamber with two human mummies and one dog mummy
• Pompeian-style wall paintings from 1868
• Neoclassical university assembly hall (aula)
• Historic student detention cell (kartser) in the attic of the main building

Permanent exhibitions

• Tartu Ülikooli kunstimuuseumi püsinäitus – Estonia's only exhibition of antique art consists of plaster casts of Greek archaic, classical and Hellenistic sculpture; the exhibition also includes Kant's death mask and the mummy chamber.
• Kartser Tartu Ülikooli peahoone pööningul – The attic exhibition tells the story of the student kartser, and visitors can enter the historic kartser room, whose walls bear the records of former prisoners.

Founded

1803

Operated by

Tartu Ülikool

Admission & discounts

The museum ticket (€5) gives access to the permanent exhibition and the mummy chamber. Free admission also applies to students and employees of the University of Tartu, employees of Estonian museums, holders of ICOM and Estonian Museums Association membership cards, repressed persons, the press, and pupils of EKA (Estonian Academy of Arts), Pallas, Tartu Kunstikool and Tartu Lastekunstikool; the museum card is valid.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking
• Service dogs welcome
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

In the back courtyard of the main building there is a parking space for people with mobility impairments, beside which a ramp leads to the entrance; from the panel next to the door the building administrator can be called. The main building has a lift to the assembly hall, the hall gallery and the Senate Hall. Some hall doors have a low threshold, and a ramp leads to the rear halls. The kartser is in the attic and can only be reached by a narrow wooden staircase. The accessible toilet is on the ground floor next to the lift shaft. The museum can be visited with a trained guide dog.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Stroller-friendly

A pushchair or pram can be left at the cloakroom or at the art museum ticket desk, and can also be taken into the exhibition halls. The museum offers educational programmes and activities for children.

Getting there & parking

There is a bicycle parking area in front of the main building and on the side of the Ülikooli kohvik (university café). The art museum is in the left wing of the main building; after entering through the main door, signposts lead to the museum.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check

Outer clothing can be left in the cloakroom of the main building or on the coat hooks at the art museum's ticket desk. The Toompoe sales kiosks are also located in the art museum.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit