The Open House Tartu architecture and urban space festival on 19–20 September offers free guided tours of 21 buildings and four streets. Around 90 volunteer guides will lead more than 220 tours across Tartu, giving residents and visitors a closer look at cultural and heritage buildings, former industrial buildings, churches, educational and office buildings, homes and one hotel. Most tours are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Most tours that require advance registration are already fully booked due to high demand.
The guided tours during the open house weekend focus on architecture and urban space and their links with the people who have lived and still live in Tartu. The buildings across the city were selected and the tours prepared by curators Mari-Liis Hindre-Merilind, Piibe Piirma and Urmo Mets. The festival is part of the Tallinn Architecture Biennale, and almost every building also has a tour in English.
According to producer Marie Valgre, this Saturday and Sunday visitors can explore not only Tartu landmarks such as Tartu Town Hall and the Estonian National Museum, but also less well-known notable buildings, including the cultural gem at Struve 2 in the city centre. “Organising Open House for the first time, I have tried to treat this global format with respect and to build on the experience of the first festival in 2024. For example, we created the street tours in response to visitor feedback, and some buildings are returning to the programme, including the Supreme Court Building,” said Valgre.
Among the industrial heritage sites are the Yeast factory quarter, which is preparing for redevelopment, and a former garage on Filosoofi Street. Both are being given a new residential use. The former psychiatric hospital on Staadioni Street is also being converted into apartments. The poet Juhan Liiv was once treated there. The Wooden office building: RMK Tartu office highlights the possibilities of using timber in architecture. Villa Tammekann, the only building in the Baltic countries designed by Alvar Aalto, now houses the Granö Centre, jointly run by the University of Tartu and the University of Turku.
Among the educational and research buildings are notable examples of contemporary architecture: Tartu Applied Health Sciences University, the University of Tartu Physicum, the University of Tartu Delta building and Raadi kindergarden. The programme also includes the University of Tartu main building, which attracted strong interest at the previous festival. Visitors interested in sacred architecture can explore the nearby St Paul’s Church, Tartu St. Luke’s Methodist Church and Tartu St. Mary’s Church, as well as Tartu Cathedral, the city’s oldest building, where separate guided tours take place in the ruins and indoors.
With a guide, visitors can look behind the scenes and into attics, and enter buildings that are usually closed to the public. While most festival guides are volunteers with an interest in architecture and urban space, staff members lead the tours at the Estonian National Museum, the University of Tartu Museum and the National Archives, introducing their buildings and their hidden stories. The four street tours are also led by professionals in their fields, while tours of the house on Filosoofi Street are led by the architects who live there.
Most tours do not require registration. Only the street tours and three building tours need to be booked in advance. The level of interest in architecture among Tartu audiences is clear: by the morning of 16 September, of the seven tours requiring advance registration, places were still available only at the Estonian National Museum.
We recommend exploring the full programme and its overview and planning your own schedule. Visitors who register in advance on the City of Tartu website can travel free of charge on city buses during the festival weekend as part of Tartu Mobility Week.
Open House Tartu takes place in close cooperation with the owners and managers of the buildings in the programme, and with the support of the City of Tartu, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Kvartal shopping centre, Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, SOHO Hotel and Nudist.
Open House Tartu is a satellite event of Open House Tallinn and both festivals are organised by the Estonian Centre for Architecture. The first Open House Tartu took place in 2024 and recorded more than 3,700 visits.
Open House is a global series of events that aims to bring architecture and urban space closer to everyone. The festival began in 1992 and now takes place in more than 50 cities, including Riga, Helsinki, Melbourne and New York.
Find out more:
press folder with photos of the programme buildings
Facebook: facebook.com/OpenHouseTartu
Instagram: instagram.com/openhousetartu
Further information:
Marie Valgre
Producer, Open House Tartu
marie@arhitektuurikeskus.ee
5340 5216
Kristel Ress
Communications Manager, Open House Tartu
kristel@openhousetartu.ee
5666 3876
