The University of Tartu library's exhibition "Kant 300 in Tartu: From Manuscripts to Heaven" features original manuscripts and first editions that illustrate Estonia's earliest reception of Kant's philosophy in the early 19th century.

Immanuel Kant spent his entire life in Königsberg, East Prussia. Despite being a loyal subject of the Prussian King, Kant's moral and ethical convictions best describe him as a cosmopolitan from Königsberg. He could also be considered a philosopher from the Baltic region. Kant's hometown, Königsberg, had strong cultural, educational, and economic ties to the Baltic regions.

Many of his friends and relatives lived in Courland and Livonia. Königsberg, a lively trading town, was well-connected to other Baltic ports. At the time, the University of Königsberg was the closest university in the Baltic region, so young men from the region flocked to study there.

Johann Friedrich Hartknoch published Kant's books in Riga, Latvia. One of Kant's students, Gottlob Benjamin Jäsche, held the position of Professor of Theoretical and Practical Philosophy at the reopened University of Tartu for 37 years.

Jäsche was also the one who transported part of the Kant archive to Tartu. The University of Tartu also purchased Kant's death mask from Franz Joseph Gall's collection.

Thanks to the efforts of Jäsche and University of Tartu professor and library founder Karl Morgenstern, the University of Tartu is now the proud guardian of many Kant manuscripts. Kant's philosophy had a much wider influence on Baltic German and thus, Estonian thought than is usually recognized.

The three-day conference "Archives of Autonomy: Immanuel Kant and the Baltic Region" held in Tartu the first week of May marked Kant's 300th anniversary. The conference focused on self-determination, a fundamental concept in Kant's practical philosophy, while also discussing the sources, significance, and reception of many other Kantian themes in the Baltic context.

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