City of Tartu

Most anticipated street sports event – Simple Session returns to its hometown City of Tartu! 🛹 Tartu Kammivabrik is set to host this year's best street sports event from August 22-25. This festival brings together over 100 of the world's top BMX riders and skateboarders. The historic comb factory will transform into a vibrant hub, featuring a newly designed 800m² skatepark, special competitions, and lively events throughout Tartu. What's Happening? 🌍100+ of the world's best BMX riders and skateboarders 🛠️Two days of thrilling competitions in a brand-new 800m² skatepark designed by Nate Wessel 🤩 Best Trick contests 🎉🎶Four days of parties and concerts (Aug 22-25) 📅Special events in Tartu on Thursday and Friday (Aug 22-23) 🎯Open sessions and mini-events at Kammivabrik after the main event There are definitely excitement and cool vibes in town. ✨ #CityofTartu #SimpleSession #Tartu2024 #StreetSports

20 Days of Car Free Avenue! 🌞 It's been 20 days since the City of Tartu transformed one of its main thoroughfares into a vibrant, car-free space. Now in its 5th year, Car Free Avenue has become a dynamic hub for pedestrians and cyclists, fostering a healthier, more sustainable, and community-focused urban environment. This year, the initiative will continue until August 12th, offering a rich cultural program that includes pop-up markets, street performances, concerts, open-air cafés, and green spaces. Car Free Avenue is not only reducing traffic congestion and pollution but also enhancing the quality of life by creating a safe and welcoming area for families, tourists, and local businesses. 💚 Summertime in Tartu is truly amazing! There is still time to visit Car Free Avenue and support this initiative. #CityofTartu #Tartu2024 #UrbanLifestyle

Engaging the Tartu Way – How to Bring the Development Plan Closer to the Citizens? The development plan is a daily management tool that provides guidelines and instructions for organizing the functioning of various sectors in City of Tartu. To create a comprehensive and effective document for the next ten years, it is crucial to involve experts, employees, and city residents. But how do we make the people of Tartu interested in reviewing and contributing to such a document? To achieve this, Tartu organized an introductory day! We set up five themed meeting points across the city: 🌟 Well-being and Community 🏙️ Urban Space 🌿 Environment 🎓 Education and Culture 💡 Innovation and Entrepreneurship At these points, people could learn about the directions of the development plan, ask questions, and make suggestions. Additionally, there were three lively performances titled "Visions in the Spotlight" 🎭, which provided an informative and entertaining interpretation of Tartu's new development plan. These events were organized in cooperation with Must Kast (Black Box) actors and actresses 🎬. The development plan will also be presented to the citizens in July 📅 and will be confirmed in the autumn 🍂. #CityofTartu #DevelopmentPlan #EngagingCommunity

Did you know that the first ever Song Celebration in Estonia was held in Tartu in 1869? In the year of the Capital of Culture, we returned to our roots and even more – it was the first time the song and dance celebrations merged into one week-long celebration in Tartu. This offered an opportunity for dancers, singers, and musicians alike to share a common experience. The celebration week included dance performances, various concerts at different venues, a procession, and song celebrations. Additionally, we had:  10,000 singers and musicians  2,300 dancers  300 choirs  150 dance groups from Tartu County  17 foreign Estonian groups This was definitely a celebration to remember! #CityofTartu #Tartu2024 #SongandDanceCelebration

Innovation + Culture + Cooperation = Self-Driving Shuttle 🚐 Yesterday the Mayor of Tartu Urmas Klaas officially opened the Culture Shuttle. Starting June 25, the Culture Shuttle, a self-driving shuttle, will connect the Tartu City Museum and the Estonian National Museum until October 31, 2024. This innovative pilot project, part of the European Capital of Culture, is a collaboration between Yazaki Innovations, Avanti R&D, Auve Tech and the City of Tartu. The shuttle uses cutting-edge technology to ensure a safe and informative ride. Don't miss the chance to experience this futuristic transport solution! 🚌 Runs: Tues-Sat (excluding Mon & Sun) 🕚 Estonian National Museum: 11:00-15:00 (every 30 min) 🕚 Tartu City Museum: 11:15-15:15 (every 30 min) Join us in Tartu for this unique opportunity! #CityofTartu #Innovation #Tartu2024 #CultureShuttle

Innovative Design Recognized: Vaksali Project Wins EUmies Award We are pleased to announce that the Vaksali pedestrian bridge and underpasses, known as "Son of a Shingle," have been awarded the EUmies Award. This recognition highlights the innovative design and positive community impact of the project. To celebrate this achievement, we hosted an open lecture and tour, providing attendees with an opportunity to explore the project and learn about the efforts behind its development. It was an informative event that emphasized the importance of thoughtful urban design. Thanks to the authors Sille Pihlak and Siim Tuksam for holding an interesting lecture. Thanks to those who joined us for the celebration. Let’s continue to create spaces that enhance our communities. #CityofTartu #EUmiesAward #UrbanDesign #Architecture

🎤 Sting in Tartu: An Unforgettable Night 🎶 Last night, Sting delivered an exceptional performance in Tartu, enchanting the audience with his timeless hits like "Englishman in New York" and "Every Breath You Take." His powerful presence and evocative music created an unforgettable experience. A special thank you to the organizers European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 and Live Nation Entertainment for bringing such a world-class event to Tartu, further establishing the city as a cultural hub. #CityofTartu #Tartu2024 #LiveMusic

Tartu recently hosted the Nordic meeting 2024, welcoming youth groups and official delegations from Hämeenlinna, Uppsala, Bærum, Frederiksberg, and Hafnarfjörður. The event's central theme was food culture. Youth groups arrived early in the week to join workshops at Tartu Nature House, explore Tartu's food sharing practices, and engage in hands-on cooking at Tartu Vocational College's food school. Official delegations enjoyed a city tour led by Deputy Mayor Raimond Tamm, discussions on Tartu's recent developments, and network coordinator meetings. They also attended the Culture Compass forum, "How to Navigate Food Culture?", featuring speakers like Ürg restaurant's head chef Kaspar Karjus and representatives from the e-Governance Academy and National Institute for Health Development. Evening festivities included a dinner at the Tartu market hall. The Town Hall bells played a special program celebrating the friendship cities. Established in 1947, the Nordic friendship cities network includes Tartu, which joined in 1991. The cities meet biennially, with Tartu having hosted previously in 1999 and 2011. 

The people of Tartu joyfully welcomed the President of the Republic of Finland, Alexander Stubb, and Mrs. Suzanne Innes-Stubb, who came here together with the President of the Republic of Estonia, Alar Karis, and Mrs. Sirje Karis. The guests were received by the Mayor of Tartu, Urmas Klaas, together with his wife, Maris Klaas. A couple of hundred people awaited the greeting of the new head of state of our good neighbors in the Town Hall Square. A bouquet of flowers, along with numerous greetings and good wishes, was presented. Due to the hot weather, the President also picked up a refreshing ice cream from Rüütli Street. 📷 Heikki Leis #CityofTartu #Finland #Estonia

City of Tartu has outstanding young scientists! President Alar Karis recently gave out Young Scientist Awards. In all three categories scientists from Tartu were awarded. The laureate for Young Scientist is Hedvig Tamman, an associate professor of genetics at the University of Tartu. The award for Young IT Scientist also goes to Liisa Rätsep, who is involved in speech synthesis research at the University of Tartu, and the prize for Young Environmental Scientist was awarded to Reimo Lutter, who studies forestry at the Estonian University of Life Sciences. Hedvig Tamman has dedicated her research to bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. "More specifically, I'm interested in the balance in the battle between bacteria and viruses; how bacteria change to defend themselves and how, at the same time, phages adapt to overcome bacteria," explained Hedvig Tamman regarding the direction of her research. Such research is important for understanding the micro-level dynamics between predator and prey and the resulting evolutionary development. Forestry scientist Reimo Lutter explores various aspects of forestry, such as seeking alternatives to clear-cutting. "One direction is again related to shaping mixed forests so that they are better equipped to withstand climate change in the future," said Reimo Lutter. The award for Young IT Scientist went to Liisa Rätsep, who is researching the development of Estonian-speaking speech robots. Estonian tends to be left out as a scientific language from international models, and in order to be considered in international datasets, stronger robots capable of understanding Estonian are needed. "Additionally, the speech robot should be able to speak in beautiful, melodious Estonian, not mechanically," noted Liisa Rätsep, who is also one of the creators of the speech robot Neurokõne.   The Young Scientist Prize from the President's Cultural Foundation is intended for scientists up to 35 years old conducting research at a research institution or university in Estonia or abroad.    #CityofTartu #YoungScientists #Science