TARTU [DORPAT], a town of Estonia, situated on the Embach, in 58° 23' N. and 26° 23' E. Pop. 58,876. Until the formation of the Estonian State in 1918 the town was called Dorpat. The name Tartu means lowland of Tar or Taara, a god of Estonian mythology probably related to the Scandinavian Thor. The principal part of the town lies south of the river, and the more important buildings are clustered round the two emi nences known as the Domberg (cathedral hill) and the Schloss berg (castle hill), which in the middle ages were occupied by the citadel, the cathedral and the episcopal palace. Owing to a great fire in 1777, the town is almost entirely modern; and its fortifications have been transformed into tree-lined promenades. Besides a good picture gallery in the Ratshof, and the 13th-cen tury church of St. John, Tartu possesses a university, with an observatory, an art museum, a botanical garden and a library of 250,000 volumes, which are housed in a restored portion of the cathedral, burned down in 1624. A National Museum of Estonia was founded in 1892 and contains a fine ethnographic section.
The university was founded by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden in 1632; but in 1699 teachers and students removed to Pernau on the advance of the Russians, and on the occupation of the country by Peter the Great again took flight to Sweden. In spite of the treaty of 1710 and the efforts of the Livonian nobles, it was not till 1802 that its restoration was effected under the patronage of Alexander I. Down to 1895, in which year it was thoroughly
Russified, the university was German in spirit and in sentiment. It is now attended by some 4,500 students. The astronomical department is famous, owing partly to the labours of F. G. W. von Struve (182o-39), and partly to Fraunhofer's great refract ing telescope, presented by the emperor Alexander I.
The foundation of Dorpat is ascribed to Yaroslav, prince of Kiev, and is dated 1030. In 1224 the town was seized by the Teutonic Knights, and in the following year Bishop Hermann erected a cathedral on the Domberg. From that date till about 1558 the town enjoyed great prosperity, and the population reached 5o,000. In 1558 it was captured by the Russians, but in 1582 was yielded to Stephen Bathori, king of Poland. In 1600 it fell into the hands of the Swedes, in 1603 reverted to the Poles, and in 1625 was seized by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The Russians again obtained temporary possession in 1666, but did not effect a permanent occupation till 1704. In 1708 the bulk of the population were removed to the interior of Russia. The town passed from Russian to Estonian rule in 1918, but suf fered much both during the German occupation and during the later struggle with the Bolshevists.