Tartu's cultural institutions and organisations

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National Museums
Tartu Toy Museum
Wed-Sun 11-18
phone +372 746 1777
Lutsu 8
www.mm.ee
The Toy Museum is located in the centre of Tartu’s
Old Town in an old wooden building and gives the
adults a chance to go back into their childhood,
and the children the chance to relate to dolls in a
different way. A permanent exhibition of dolls and
toys throughout the ages is complemented by the
playing and handicraft room; and also temporary
exhibitions, courses and children’s events.
Cinema and Theatre Puppet House
of the Tartu Toy Museum
Wed-Sun 11-18
phone +372 746 1778
Lutsu 8
www.mm.ee
The Cinema and Theatre Puppet House of the
Toy Museum displays the puppets and props of
the Estonian animated movies made in the last
half a century. There is also an introduction into
the puppet theatre history; a chance to see animated
cartoons; a view into the process of theatre
puppet production; an overview of the technical
predecessors to the current cinema; and the
chance to test some of the simpler optical tricks.
Tartu Art Museum
Wed-Sun 11-18
phone +372 744 1080, +372 744 1920
Raekoja plats 18
www.tartmus.ee
The Tartu Art Museum was opened in 1940 and today
has one of Estonia’s finest art collections of painted,
graphic, sculpted and multimedia works from mostly
Estonian, but also Russian and Western European artists.
The art fans can also peruse the art history archive,
film and photo collection, and library. The Leaning
House by the Town Hall Square hosts over 10 different
exhibition projects during a year and the accompanying
lectures and practical activities are organized by
the education centre. The traditional exhibition “The
Tales of Tartu’s Art”, already the eighth permanent exhibition,
introduces the city’s art development history
through the one and a half century of the artists and
groups who studied, taught or were active in Tartu.
Estonian Literary Museum
Mon-Thu 9-17, Fri 9-16.30
phone +372 737 7700
Vanemuise 42
www.kirmus.ee
The Estonian Literary Museum is a national scientific
and development institution administrated by the
Ministry of Education and Research, that also works
as the central archive of national literature and folklore,
and the national archive library. The main goal of
the Literary Museum is to guarantee the preservation
of national cultural source materials necessary for the
continuation of the national identity and the social
memory, intellectual freedom and the wholesome
cultural development; and also to conduct research
and communication according to the scientific community’s
and society’s needs and interests.
The Literary Museum has six subsections: the Archival
Library, the Estonian Folklore Archives, the Estonian
Cultural History Archives, the Department of Folklore,
the Department of Ethnomusicology, and the Administrative
Department. The three structural units manage
the large, unique folk cultural collections: the
national heritage collection, the cultural historical
source material collection, the folklore collection.