Opening Week Programme

The Upside Down House welcomes visitors of all ages with great pleasure! Come with family, friends, or colleagues to explore a crazy world where everything is upside down.

The house is also slightly tilted, which tests your sense of balance. During the tour, we will visit the Upside Down House, take fun photos, and play a simple game with a quirky twist, typical to the Upside Down House.

Please arrive 10 minutes before the tour begins. This provides additional time for purchasing tickets. We’ll gather and start the tour on the terrace, situated in front of the checkout.

Tickets can be purchased on-site.

The Upside Down House is located at Roosi 86, Tartu. You can reach us:

By bus – line 7 – get off at the ERM stop;
By bus – line 25 – get off at the Eesti Rahva Muuseum stop;
By car – parking is free.

The tour is in English.

Estonian National Museum, with its more than 6,000 square metres of exhibition space, is the biggest museum in Estonia. Most of it is dedicated to the permanent exhibition “Encounters” about Estonian cultural history, which stretches out on a timeline from the present day to the Ice Age. It is accompanied by 11 thematic exhibitions.

The permanent exhibition highlights  ordinary Estonian people. We look at the everyday activities and home life of Estonians, coping in the natural and urban environment, as well as with societal norms, being under various rules, and in the middle of major world-historical processes. You can see the languages, folklore, and skills of the people living here.

Max number of people: 25

Information about participation:

• the tour is 90 minutes long;
• to participate in the tour, buy a ticket from the information desk by entrance A (€9/€7);
• it is necessary to pre-register for the tour! We ask you to register each participant separately.

Please note! Public tours are not intended for large groups. If you wish to come with a group, please write to [email protected]. If the registration form does not accept new responses, it means the places are full.

All the houses, trees, and paths in Annelinn today are largely the same as they were in the 1980s and 1990s. Yet, in a way, the content, meanings, or names of many places have changed.

Come and wander through the distant yesterdays, along the paths that have been trodden for at least thirty years. We’ll talk about all sorts of fascinating things and phenomena.

How are scraps of muslin cloth, a nuclear attack, and an underground garage related to each other? Where was the infamous (even across Estonia) cellar nightclub ‘Satelliit’ located, and how did it acquire its reputation? What became of Kalda Café? What happened in a building with a façade inspired by Ado Vabbe’s art, and is the letter ‘Farewell, Ene!’ connected to this story? Are there any fish in the pond near Saare’s shop, and where exactly is the pond located? Who among Estonia’s renowned radio voices organised legendary Wednesday night discos at the Tartu 12th High School, and what happened during those parties?

Naturally, you’ll also get a glimpse of what life is like today in the largest district of Tartu.

See you in Annelinn!

Prior registration is necessary for participation. The participation fee is 12 euros and includes a book written by Lauri Räpp: “Linn on minu. Tartu tahavaatepeeglis.”

Duration: 1 hour
Group size: 20 people

The tour is in English.

Come to ski and have fun on the slopes of Kütioru. DJ Lauri Kütt spins the records and there is an open cafe and bar.

The special price for a three-hour ski pass is 15 euros, equipment rental is also 15 euros.

Tickets at a discount price will be available for sale soon on Kütioru website.

Transport to Kütioru and back is not provided.

Joel Ostrat and Truffe’s chef Freddi present the Tartu 2024 special menu. The event is free, welcome drink on the spot.

Truffe on Facebook

The movie trivia taking place as part of the festive opening week of Tartu 2024 is a bit special. We focus on films from Estonia as well as from the wider world, in which survival is central (the main theme of Tartu 2024 is “Arts of Survival”). In the films in question, survival can be complicated by difficult environmental conditions, zombies, sharks, evil fellow citizens or other mysterious characters. Anyway – bring your friends and test your (survival) movie knowledge.

The team can have a maximum of 6 members. In addition to honour and fame, the best teams will be awarded bar credit and cinema tickets from our sponsor Tartu Elektriteater!

Participation is free of charge.

Photo: Filming of Cast Away (2000).

Barlova’s favourite DJ is coming back to celebrate the beginning of the most exciting year our beloved city Tartu has ever experienced.

Rhythm Doctor’s long-time experience behind the turntable will be the best way to set off the official beginning of Tartu 2024!

Kintsugi combines Japanese craftsmanship and philosophy through the fixing broken pottery.  The concept of Kintsugi revolves around the understanding that cracks and imperfections come with use, which creates history and value. These imperfections should not be shunned but accepted. Perhaps we should also embrace our own imperfections, experiences, and past?

If you’re interested in participating, register for the workshop where we’ll practice modern Kintsugi using epoxy adhesive and gold powder. You may bring a broken vessel, although we recommend choosing one you’re willing to experiment on. Make the first Kintsugi for the enemy, the second for a friend, and the third for yourself, as they say.

Hurry, as the workshop can accommodate ten people!

Let’s start getting ready. El Chapo is putting on their best evening attire. The canteen will be filled with music played by educated Tartu specialists. It is more likely that not that there will also be musical surprises and dancing. Refined liquids will flow in the bar. The kitchen will serve delicious bites to those who want them.

NB! Table reservation by phone 77 200 41.

In Ash White, Grib once again delves into deep and enthralling topics such as life, death and yearning for the unattainable. This production in cooperation with dramaturge and librettist Siret Campbell is inspired by the short story The Sandman (Der Sandmann) written by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1815.

Protagonist Aale’s father died in a fire when she was a child. Years later, when her boyfriend dies the same way, loneliness and horrific memories draw Aale further and further from the external world. The events unravel in an enchanting black-and-white place where the world of the living and the world beyond intertwine. One cannot be sure where reality ends and imagination starts. The audience is confronted with the question: is it possible to let go of fear? Or will our childhood memories haunt us even as adults?

Tartu music trivias take place every Thursday at 8 pm, this time in Gutenberg.

Prizes from the bar and a table reservation for the next week for the best teams. Come alone or with a friend, maximum 6 people in a team.

Free of charge.

Singer, musician and lifelong music lover, who, regardless of her background in classical music, currently feels most comfortable making pop music with R&B influences, steps into Kivi bar for one powerful concert.

Maria Kallastu feels like a breath of fresh air on the Estonian pop scene. Her silky R&B vocals are flavoured with dreamy sounds and harmonies, accompanied by a hard-stepping groove. Kallastu has been surrounded by very diverse music since childhood, which has shaped her path as a composer and producer. Maria feels that singing and producing songs are equally important to her as an artist. By combining these skills, she expresses himself without limitations and authentically.

On October 4, Maria Kallastu’s 𝐄𝐏 “𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄” was released, which made it to the lists of the best albums of the year on ERR’s cultural portal and Areen. “maria kallastu is currently the It Artist in the Estonian music industry. A new talent who has turned into the centre of attention and from whom a lot is expected and hoped for. Although she could have been at the centre of it since her first excellent single “Curtains”, which was released in 2021,” praised Siim Nestor.

An evening of swing dances before the start of the capital of culture in Tartu!

At 8 p.m. we will also show those interested the first steps of lindy hop. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it so much that you plan to join our swing dance beginner’s course?
There’ll be music for lindy hop, balboa, shag and blues dancing and also a bar for refreshing quenched dancers.

If possible, please bring a change of shoes for dancing.

Entrance free of charge.

Did you know that the Gunpowder Cellar is a current beer restaurant and a former gunpowder warehouse?

The Gunpowder Cellar was built between 1768 and 1778 and has a ceiling height of 10,3 meters. The bricks used for construction were obtained from the ruins of the medieval St. Mary’s Church.

Arts of Life and Ice: at 6.00 AM, 7.00 AM, 8.00 AM, 9.00 AM

Start the opening day of Tartu 2024 like a true champion!

From six in the morning until ten, you are invited each full hour to join the winter swimming instructor Margus Ruusmaa, who will conduct a quick workshop on how to enter ice holes and what rules to follow when going winter swimming. You can also enjoy a warm sauna, hot tea, and a superb feeling!

Price: 8 euros per person (includes the sauna and hot tea).
No pre-registration required, payment on-site (please bring cash).

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The tour takes you along the vegetable-named streets of Soup Town and leads you to the colourful locations of this cosy slum. During the journey you will hear stories of one of Tartu’s oldest neighbourhoods and experience a delicious spoonful of street art.

The tour starts on the 26t January at 1 pm in front of the culture club Genialistide Klubi, address Magasini 5.
The tour finishes at the café/bar Käkk / Mülä, address Kroonuaia 76.

Information for registering: choose the tour “Tartu: Street art tour: Colours and Tales of Soup Town” and in the message add the codeword Tartu2024 ENG.

Price per person: 15 €
Duration 1,5 h.

Tartu is a city steeped in rich scientific history, having been a fertile ground for discoveries that have significantly contributed to global advancements in science throughout the ages.

Feodor Klement’s research has aided in creating energy-efficient LED lamps, Wilhelm Struve’s studies have helped to create accurate topographic maps, and the contributions of Nikolai Pirogov, Ernst von Bergmann, and Werner Zoege von Manteuffel have substantially improved the quality of healthcare and advanced hygiene in surgery.

Several scientists who have worked in Tartu have shattered myths with their discoveries, such as the notion that the universe is not eternal but merely a few billion years old or the misconception that mammoths originated from the inner parts of Asia and that they perished in the Great Flood.

These and many other stories are showcased in the exhibition “Tartu – Rich in Research”. The exhibition presents 24 success stories from Tartu’s rich scientific heritage and their impact. Each of these is linked to an event within the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture program.

Author of the historical texts on research: Erki Tammiksaar
Consultants: Marco Kirm, Karl Pajusalu, Kalevi Kull, Kristiina Tambets, Andres Metspalu, Urmas Kõljalg, Martin Zobel, Tõnu Viik, Ken Kalling, Toomas Asser, Marika Mikelsaar, Jaak Vilo, Jüri Allik, Jaanus Harro, and Mihhail Lotman.
Author of the texts for the Tartu 2024 program: Hele Priimets, in collaboration with project leaders
Design: Creative Agency Pult

The creation of the exhibition has been co-funded by the European Union.

The evening continues with a parade to the after-party in the Estonian National Museum, which is accompanied by boisterous music and dance.

The trek takes about 45 minutes to complete: just enough time to warm up for the forthcoming dance marathon.

The celebration will continu until the early hours of the morning. The official Tartu 2024 after-party consists of two events both outside and inside the Estonian National Museum. We invite everyone to experience an unprecedented open-air rave under the roof of ERM entrance A and to discover the party zone inside the museum as well. The outdoor rave is free for everyone, and indoor activities are priced at €15 (discount ticket €10). The revitalization of Tartu’s nightlife begins right here and now!

21.00-02.00 ÖÖ24
Estonian National Museum,all halls, A-entrance, tickets €15/€10 on sale at the ERM info desk and Piletilevi

Inside, guests are greeted by a timeline of DJs, where different decades are represented by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Peeter Volkonski, Jüri Makarov, Heivi Saaremets, Paul Oja, Hannaliisa Uusma and Michaela S. A poetic atmosphere is created by a special lighting design. All exhibitions are open, and you can get a first look at the installations of the exhibition “Who Owns the Night?”, which opens in February.

21.00-03.00 Tartu 2024 open-air rave
Estonian National Museum, under the A-entrance. Free for everyone!

Live performance by Emily Makis (UK) and record spinning by Heidy Purga, Estonia’s Minister of Culture, Sound in Noise (Eero Muiste) and OLIVAR (Rene Oliver Muiste).

We invite everyone to gather at the restaurant Kolm Tilli to enjoy the Cultural Hangover together. Cultural Hangover in Kolm Tilli is not just a place to eat and drink – it’s a day club where delicious food and cheerful company come together with pleasant music.

Guests are greeted by attentive waiters, culture floats in the air and there is time to exchange lively thoughts about the previous evening’s experiences. Cultural Hangover quickly turns into a real daytime party, where Tartu’s residents and guests can have fun together – just as the new European Capital of Culture deserves!

Tartu Toy Museum’s hands-on exhibition ‘Europe Plays’ is a confirmation of the fact that the old and dignified Europe has always found and continues to find a childlike joy in playing.

Be it Scandinavians or Balkans, Brits or Slavs, speakers of Baltic or Roman languages, everyone will find a toy of their nation at the exhibition. It is worth coming with the whole family, as there are fun things for everyone: children can play being vampires, rose growers, fish merchants and carnival characters, while adults are welcome to play along and discover new ground. Those who have walked through the exhibition will definitely notice that playing put them in a good mood and made their eyes shine!

The exhibition ‘Europe Plays’ is a part of the European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 side programme.

Olgu tegemist skandinaavlase või balkanlase, briti või slaavlasega, baltlase või romaani keele kõnelejaga, igaüks leiab näituselt üles oma rahva mänguasja. Uudistama tasub tulla terve perega, sest lusti jätkub kõigile: lapsed saavad mängult olla nii vampiirid, roosikasvatajad, kalakaupmehed kui ka karnevalitegelased, täiskasvanud on oodatud kaasa mängima ja enda jaoks uusi maid avastama.
Näituselt läbijalutanu märkab kindlasti, et mängimine tegi tal tuju heaks ja pani silmad särama!

Näitus „Euroopa mängib” on osa Euroopa kultuuripealinn Tartu 2024 lisaprogrammist.

Tickets are available on-site for 3 – 25 €.

The exhibition “My Fair Sander” tells the story of Georg Sander, a long-time costume and stage designer of Vanemuine Theatre. You are very welcome to join a guided tour about the life and creation of Sander on 27 January at 14:00. The exhibition celebrates 100 years from Georg Sander’s birth.

Sander was a theatre artist with an outstandingly long career in the creative field. He worked in Vanemuine Theatre from 1947 to 1996. The exhibition is a cooperation between Vanemuine Theatre and Tartu City Museum and presents Sander’s super-detailed and colour-sensitive sketches, some stage costumes, models and a screening of “The New Devil Of The Hells Bottom”.

Maximum number of people: 20

Ticket price: 7 eur.

Humour has been a tool for detecting the zeitgeist and exploring power relations for hundreds of years. Some artists have become masters of performing their trickster and sinister entertainer’s role so skilfully that their work makes you laugh and shiver simultaneously. By bringing together works by several artists known as explorers of irony and humorous mischief, the Octopus Rococo project sends up, gives social commentary and creates poetical metaphors to address what it is to be human in the contemporary world. The participating artists are Kateryna Berlova, Eike Eplik, Alexei Gordin, Ivars Grāvlejs, Krišs Salmanis, Sabīne Vernere and Elīna Vītola, the show is curated by Šelda Puķīte.

Octopus Rococo opens Kogo Gallery’s this year’s exhibition programme Performing Existence.

The snow bar, unique in Estonia, on Tartu Toome Hill, offers a wonderful winter experience that will you can talk about with your friends for many years to come.

Between the snowbanks, barrel fires, hot drinks and the company of good friends provide warmth. The bar is open in good snow conditions.

Every Burns dinner that takes place around the world is unique. But the main agenda is the same for everyone: to enjoy the work, music, good food and drink of Scotland’s most beloved folk singer Robert Burns. At the Burns dinner in Alatskivi Castle on 27 January, speeches, toasts, poetry, songs and bowling dances await guests. It’s an undeniably great evening!

The evening includes a three-course dinner with national Scottish dishes and entertainment.

Dinner is suitable for adults.

Price: 75 euros. Tickets are limited.

Tickets on sale at the venue or [email protected]

A traditional song festival that takes place in the middle of the snowy winter capital Otepää. There are about a thousand choir singers who sing beloved songs in an idyllic setting and are led by Estonia’s best solo artists.

The Otepää Winter Night Song Festival started to offer a nice change to winter sports events. Traditionally, the programme of the song festival includes 20 different beloved songs, which vary thematically every year. The singers are accompanied by a live band. In recent years, people have also been able to enjoy the song festival at home on TV. The winter night song festival always takes place in the evening, which gives the organisers the opportunity to make the setting especially magical, using bonfires and lighting technology.

The event is free of charge.

Miljardid ehk Marten Kuningas (laul), Raul Ojamaa (kitarr), Peedu Kass (bass), Kristjan Kallas (trummid) tulid kokku aastal 2014, kui salvestati „Tagurpidi vaal“, mis ilmus samal aastal Kuninga teisel plaadil „Praktiline mees“. Pärast kolme aastat ja kahte singlit („Allan“ ning ingliskeelne „Mister Please“), ilmus Universal Musicu alt bändi esimene album „Kunagi läänes“, mis pälvis kiiresti avalikkuse tunnustuse ning tõi Miljarditele Eesti Muusikaauhindadel kolm tiitlit. 2019. andis bänd välja lühialbumi „Imeline“, mille üheks kandvaks looks on Jaak Joala ja Laineri esitatud kaver laulust „Vari“. Aastal 2020 andis bänd välja oma teise albumi „Ma luban, et ma muutun“ – Marten Kuninga sõnul romantiline kommentaar pandeemia- ja liikidehävitamisajastule. Mullu väljastas bänd loo kokkuhoidmisest ja talisuplusest („Külm“) ning nautis oma suviste kontsertide menu.

https://www.facebook.com/miljardid
https://www.instagram.com/miljardidband/
https://www.youtube.com/@Miljardid
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WOLFREDT on Tallinnas tegutsev instrumentaalset post-rocki pakkuv kollektiiv, kellelt ilmus sel aastal neljas kauamängiv

Koosseis:
Margus Voolpriit (kitarr)
Andres Soosaar (kitarr)
Pertti Johanson (bass)
Kallervo Karu (trummid)

https://www.facebook.com/wolfredt
https://wolfredt.bandcamp.com
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KAVA:
20:00 uksed
21:00 Wolfredt
22:30 Miljardid
00:00 Indiedisko

Pippi Longstocking is coming to the Estonian Road Museum where she will share her colourful tales of travel, talk about all the essentials one needs to pack when going on an adventure, and provide tips on exciting games to play while travelling with the family. That is not all, as you can also bake waffles with Pippi.

In the museum’s traffic education centre, you can craft a reflector from recycled materials. As the dark time of the year continues, a shining aide always comes in handy.

Moms and dads can take part in a special guided tour, where they’ll hear stories about how taxis were ordered 100 years ago and find out which machine is the museum’s very own movie star. The tour starts at noon.

Entrance with a ticket, no prior registration needed. Pippi can speak English.

On Sunday, 28 January, from 12 to 1 PM, a delightful atmosphere will be created alongside lunch by the musical trio of Vanemuine’s artists: Aivar Eimra (double bass), Alla Sulitšenko (oboe), and Margus Kits (piano and harmonica). You can enjoy Estonian popular music as well as world classics.

To secure your seats, please reserve a table on our website or come by and place a 10-euro order from the menu.

Registering begins in January.