Skip to content
Locrawl

Museums and galleries in Tartu

7 museums and galleries in Tartu, from the big collections to small independent spaces.

Ranked with the travel guide's picks and well-known places first.

Museums and galleries in Tartu

  1. See

    Cathedral ruins

    From the 13th century and were dedicated to apostles St. Peter and Paul. Today the choir part houses the Tartu University History Museum, and the towers are reconstructed to sightseeing platforms.

  2. See

    Estonian National Museum

    Eesti Rahva Muuseum, ERM

    The new building of the Estonian National Museum features a permanent exhibition on Estonian and Finno-Ugric culture, language, and traditions, as well as various temporary installations. Definitely worth visiting. The museum can be easily reached from the city center on foot by following the newly constructed walkway along Roosi street (ca. 2 km total distance).

    Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Monadults €16, concessions €12

  3. See

    Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum

    The Baltics' biggest museum designated to sports, with several interactive exhibits.

    Daily 10:00-18:00€12, concession 8€, family 28€

  4. See

    KGB Museum

    the Gray House

    This nondescript building was the headquarters of the Estonian KGB. It tells the story of how the prisoners were treated there, and some stories about the Estonian resistance heroes, the Forest Brothers. The museum is small and does not have a very big sign, so look carefully.

  5. See

    Tartu City Museum

    Classicist style structure was built as a town palace in 1790. The building is popularly called Catherine's House. The legend has it that Empress Catherine II made a short stay there. It is not true, though. The permanent exhibition provides a good insight into Tartu's long history up to 1920.

  6. See

    Tartu Art Museum

    In the "leaning house", mainly displaying 20th century art.

    Wed Fri–Sun 11:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–21:00

  7. Do

    Toy Museum and Theater House

    Lutsu 2

    Wed-Sun 11:00-18:00

Listings from the Wikivoyage guide to Tartu (CC BY-SA 4.0).