Struve’s Geodetic Arch

Visit Estonia’s first observatory, one of two Estonian cultural objects on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Tartu Old Observatory is in the heart of the city of Tartu – on the eastern slope of Toome Hill. It was constructed between 1808 and 1810 to the designs of university architect Johann Wilhelm Krause on the site of a former medieval castle on Toome Hill. Restoration works were finished in April 2011, when it was reopened as a museum to mark its 200th anniversary. The exhibitions in the Tartu Old Observatory focus on the history of astronomy and the present day of the science. There is plenty to discover here, whatever your age! Tartu Old Observatory is one of the brunches of University of Tartu Museum.

The monument to the physician who studied and became a professor in Tartu was completed in 1952. The authors of the monument are J. Raudsepp, A. Mölder, P. Tarvas, A. Volberg. Nikolai Pirogov was the founder of experimental surgery, topographic anatomy, and field surgery. His work made the surgeries performed in Tartu famous all over Russia and also abroad.