Tartu - Toomkirik

Tartu (German Dorpat) is the second-largest city in Estonia, after Tallinn.

In the early 11th century Yaroslav I the Wise, Prince of Kiev, invaded the region and after a victorious battle with the locals built his own fort there, Tartu probably remained under Kievan control until 1061, when the fort was burned down by an Estonian tribe. Soon afterwards the fort was rebuilt.
During the Northern Crusades in the beginning of the 13th century, the fort was captured by the crusading Brothers of the Sword — and recaptured by Estonians. In 1224 the fort was besieged and conquered for one last time by the Teutonic crusaders. Subsequently, Dorpat became a commercial centre of considerable importance during the later Middle Ages and the capital of the semi-independent Bishopric of Dorpat.

German merchants and artisans settled alongside the bishop's fortress. In the 1280s Dorpat joined the Hanseatic League.

In 1558, tsar Ivan the Terrible invaded Tartu beginning the Livonian War. His forces encircled the town. After a heavy bombardment, the town surrendered. In 1582, the city became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1598. A Jesuit grammar school "Gymnasium Dorpatense" was established in 1583.

In the effect of the Polish-Swedish War, in 1625 Tartu was captured by Sweden. The city became part of the Dominions of Sweden, which led to the foundation of the University of Tartu in 1632 by king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. So the University of Tartu is Estonia´s oldest and still most renowned university

In 1704 the town was taken by the Russians army. In 1708 the fortifications and houses, including the remains of bishops castle, were blown up, all movable property was looted and the citizens deported to Russia. In 1721, the city became part of the Russian Empire and was known as Derpt. A great fire in 1775 destroyed most of the buildings in the centre. The city was rebuilt along Late Baroque and Neoclassical lines.

During the second half of the 19th century, Tartu was the cultural centre for Estonians in the era of Romantic nationalism. The city hosted Estonia's first song festival in 1869.

The construction of the cathedral, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, was begun in the second half of the 13th century. It was the seat of the Bishopric of Dorpat.

The choir and nave were already in use by 1299. About 1470 the high quire with its pillars and arches was completed in Brick Gothic style. The cathedral was completed at the end of the 15th century with the building of the two massive fortress-like towers, originally 66 meters high. A wall separated the cathedral grounds and the bishop's fortified residence from the lower town.

After the Reformation had reached Tartu in the 1520s the cathedral was badly damaged by Protestant iconoclasts, after which it fell increasingly into decay. After the deportation to Russia of the last Bishop of Dorpat, the cathedral church was abandoned.

In 1629 new (now Swedish) rulers showed little interest in the derelict building, which fell further into ruin and neglect. The main part of the church served as a barn. In the 1760s the two towers were reduced from 66 meters to 22 meters, the level of the nave roof, and made into a platform for a cannon. The main portal was walled up at this time.

With the re-founding of the (German-speaking) university by Tsar Alexander I in 1802, an architect was commissioned to build among the cathedral ruins the university library. So within the ruined choir, a three-story building was erected between 1804 and 1807.

When the library was replaced in 1981 by a new university library building, the old library became the home of the historical museum of the University of Tartu.