Tartu Ülikooli muuseum

About the museum

The Tartu Ülikooli muuseum (University of Tartu Museum) traces its origins to 19 April 1803, when the university council allocated a budget to the university’s art museum. The collecting of the university’s history began in the attic of the main building in the 1960s, when chemist Tullio Ilomets and other teaching staff began to collect instruments and teaching aids important for the history of science. On 6 December 1976 the Tartu Riikliku Ülikooli ajaloomuuseum (History Museum of Tartu State University) was established. The first exhibition opened in the cellar of the main building in 1981.

At the end of the same year the history museum moved into rooms in the ruins of the Tartu Toomkirik, where the university library had been until 1981. The church had been the main church of the Diocese of Tartu in the 13th–16th centuries. After the university was reopened, architect Johann Wilhelm Krause built the university library into the choir of the church, completed by 1807. A new exhibition opened in 1982 and a third permanent exhibition in 1989. The permanent exhibition was last renewed in 2019, when “Minu elu ülikool” (My Life at the University) opened.

Today the museum is one of three visitor sites of the University of Tartu Museum, the others being the art museum in the university main building and the Tartu Tähetorn (Tartu Observatory). The exhibitions present the history of the university and of science, the history of the Tartu Cathedral and the history of the city. The museum features the Hullu Teadlase kabinet (Mad Scientist’s Cabinet), the physics cabinet of Georg Friedrich Parrot and the Toomkiriku saladuste kamber (Chamber of the Cathedral’s Secrets), and the cathedral towers and viewing platforms, which are open from May to September.

Highlights

• Permanent exhibition “Minu elu ülikool” (My Life at the University)
• Toomkiriku saladuste kamber (Chamber of the Cathedral’s Secrets)
• Georg Friedrich Parrot’s physics cabinet
• Hullu Teadlase kabinet (Mad Scientist’s Cabinet) for children
• Cathedral towers and viewing platforms (May–September)
• Free outdoor exhibitions open on Toome Hill

Permanent exhibitions

• Minu elu ülikool – The permanent exhibition in the historic library hall tells the story of students who studied at the University of Tartu. It offers texts as well as hands-on activities and models of former students’ living quarters.
• Toomkiriku saladuste kamber – The chamber brings together stories and legends linked to the cathedral; there you can watch an animation of how the church was built and build a medieval city wall.
• Mis on valgus? Professor Georg Friedrich Parroti füüsikakabinet – The permanent exhibition has two-hundred-year-old scientific instruments and experiments on the science of light, for example copies of the camera obscura and the camera lucida.

Founded

1803

Operated by

Tartu Ülikool

Admission & discounts

Full ticket €12 from May to September, €10 from October to April. The museum ticket gives access to all the museum’s exhibitions and to the cathedral viewing platforms. Free admission also for University of Tartu students and staff, staff of Estonian museums, holders of ICOM and Eesti Muuseumiühing (Estonian Museum Association) membership cards, victims of repression and journalists; the museum card is also accepted.

Accessibility

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

The entrance to the cathedral has a gentle slope; there are no stairs or high door thresholds. Several ramps lead up to Toome Hill. A historic lift serves the second, fourth and sixth floors, but not the third-floor exhibition “Nähtamatu Tartu” (Invisible Tartu) or the fifth-floor Chamber of the Cathedral’s Secrets. The accessible toilet and the children’s changing table are in the cloakroom on the ground floor.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Hands-on stations
• Stroller-friendly
• Baby changing facilities
• Kids’ birthday parties

In the Hullu Teadlase kabinet children can play with mechanical toys, and experiment mornings take place on Saturday mornings. In the exhibition “Minu elu ülikool” there is a secret children’s library and a hiding place for the seventh Book of Moses. There is a playground nearby; pushchairs can be left in the foyer.

Getting there & parking

Visitors are advised to come on foot, by bicycle or by public transport. Ramps lead up to Toome Hill from behind the Raekoda (Town Hall) along Lossi Street, from Vallikraavi Street and from behind the university main building; the bicycle parking is on the side of the cathedral facing the Supreme Court.

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop
• Coat check
• Lockers

The Toompood shop sells Tartu and university souvenirs; the museum shop also sells water and snacks. The cloakroom and lockers are on the ground floor.

Events & venue rental

• Spaces for rent

Events use, among other spaces, the white hall on the second floor.

Plan your visit