Tartu
This is a series of postcards from my journeys in Tartu, Estonia.
Tartu University, Tartu, Estonia. Just a few decades ago central Tartu was like an extended campus, making Tartu a true university town. Many of its newer facilities have been built in the outskirts of the town though. Hopefully this ill-advised trend has peaked — otherwise it would be just another small town without the academia.
Tähtvere, Tartu, Estonia. An unexpected piece of Paris in the backyard of a hillside apartment building. The short summers here are so intense that it’s easy to forget that most of the year all the cute outdoor habitats stay dormant, wet and cold.
Supilinn, Tartu, Estonia. A scene from a fading world — clothes drying outdoors and wood ready for heating the house in the winter. Much of such economic space — as well as the gardens — has been converted into parking spaces as there would otherwise be no way to own a car and keep it next to one’s home.
Kastani, Tartu, Estonia. The famous masterpieces of wooden architecture on Kastani (‘Chestnut’) street. Beautiful, but apparently not entirely practical in this climate.
Raekoja plats, Tartu, Estonia. Tartu has become Estonia’s capital of urbanism and architecture where a tightly-knit community of architects, landscape architects, and the municipality’s urban development officials have consistently won awards for the comprehensive and integral work they are doing in transforming Tartu into one of the nicest towns to live and work in the Nordics. This is an installation of tiny glass houses in the town hall square at Christmas.
Old town, Tartu, Estonia. The Mediterranean vibes on Tartu’s main Street — Rüütli (‘Knight Street’). Each house is unlike the others and people fill up most of the streets on summer evenings — both in the outdoor cafeterias and around them.
Jaani kirik, Tartu, Estonia. Tartu was almost destroyed during World War II. There are still a lot of houses missing in the city centre, but things are improving. Good new architecture is gradually making the town whole again.
Supilinn, Tartu, Estonia. A house that was intentionally destroyed by its owners so that they could build a modern house in its place. Through a bizarre chain of events the modern house never got built and new owners reconstructed the old one.
Supilinn, Tartu, Estonia. Supilinn or Soup Town is the old wooden district rich with gardens and weird architectural choices just next to the oldest part of town. This is my home, a new take of the classic Supilinn garden.
University library, Tartu, Estonia. A rare piece of grandiose Soviet brutalism that has lately been revived and made human-friendly with delicate work on the surrounding landscape.
