14.08.26 NEWS ... Around a dozen Swedish prisoners will arrive at Tartu Prison in mid-August. Preparations are nearing completion and the first cells are ready.

11.08.26 NEWS ... Artists Toomas Kuusing and Taavi Oolberg's joint exhibition "Vanishing Cities" has opened at Tartu's Jakobi Gallery, featuring guest street artist Edward von Lõngus.

10.08.26 NEWS ... Several bars in Tartu's Old Town are concerned about apartments due to be completed in the heart of the city in a few years and potential conflicts with the new residents who will move into them.

09.08.26 NEWS ... The PÖFF Love Film Festival Tartuff kicked off Saturday evening in Tartu's Town Hall Square. The opening film was the Thai movie "Gohan — The White Dog," which drew a capacity audience of just over 1,200 people.

07.08.26 NEWS ... Tartu Song Festival Grounds hosted Moby on Thursday, as the U.S. musician and producer brought his 25th anniversary "Play" tour to Estonia.

05.08.26 NEWS ... Japanese artist Narihiro Matsumoto's newly opened solo exhibition in Tartu debuts a photo series which is the culmination of a decade-long creative journey.

05.08.26 NEWS ... Officials from Estonia and Sweden signed a prison rental agreement that will see several hundred Swedish inmates transferred to southern Estonia to serve part of their sentences.

05.08.26 NEWS ... A comprehensive plan for the Ilmatsalu area envisions a golf village, two artificial lakes and a neighborhood of single-family homes on the site of former fish farming ponds.

05.08.26 NEWS ... Recruitment is on schedule and the first officers have already been hired, the prison service has said, as it prepares for the arrival of several hundred prisoners from Sweden.

05.08.26 NEWS ... Students moving to Tartu to begin their studies are increasingly choosing rental apartments over university dormitories.

04.08.26 NEWS ... A new exhibition at Tartu's Kett Gallery explores Finnish artist Bad to the Boner's adult comic "The Perfect Being" and its absurd parallel universe.

03.08.26 NEWS ... The Estonian National Adventure Playground is back for its second summer in Tartu, giving kids a place to create, build and explore through loose scraps and free play.

02.08.26 NEWS ... More than 19,000 passengers traveled on Elron's Baltic routes in the first half of 2026, as the new Tallinn-Tartu-Riga rail link fueled growing demand.

30.07.26 NEWS ... It is not realistic to fully restore Tartu Cathedral with the University of Tartu's budget. Given current financial constraints, a feasible solution would be to stop the walls from deteriorating.

29.07.26 NEWS ... This Saturday, August 1, sees the start of the "Tartu Sumin" fortnight-long Old Town summer festival in Estonia's second city.

27.07.26 NEWS ... The Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra's summer concert took place in Kassitoome Valley in Tartu on Sunday, drawing thousands of spectators.

24.07.26 NEWS ... Work on the Käsukonna–Imavere 2+2 road section on the national Tallinn–Tartu–Võru–Luhamaa highway will begin in September and is expected to take approximately 2.5 years.

24.07.26 NEWS ... Since spring, hospitals have been allowed to send patients with milder health problems back home after an initial assessment in the emergency department. The first to start doing this was the North Estonia Medical Centre, which also issues an invoice for the work done in some cases of minor health concerns.

22.07.26 NEWS ... Colorful hats and masks have appeared on prominent Tartu statues, heralding the opening of British artist Monster Chetwynd's first show at the Estonian National Museum (ERM).

21.07.26 NEWS ... A historic market in Tartu is outgrowing demand as fewer small growers and shoppers visit, reflecting broader changes in how Estonians buy and sell local produce.

21.07.26 NEWS ... Improperly discarded e-cigarettes which have ended up in battery collection boxes at supermarkets and other stores can sometimes be accessible to minors.

19.07.26 NEWS ... Finland's Sami Pajari (Toyota) won Rally Estonia, marking his maiden World Rally Championship (WRC) win on the roads of South Estonia. Estonia's Robert Virves pushed himself to the limit to win the second-tier WRC2 class.

18.07.26 NEWS ... A new exhibition in Tartu traces the 90-year history of a beloved Estonian lemonade, showcasing evolving bottle and label designs through some turbulent times.

16.07.26 NEWS ... Aviation history was made at Tartu Airport on Wednesday when the Elektra Trainer, a fully certified electric airplane, landed after a flight from Helsinki.

15.07.26 NEWS ... Squirrel bridges were constructed near the Tähtvere and Kassitoome parks in Tartu. If they prove effective, similar ones could appear across Estonia.

13.07.26 NEWS ... The City of Tartu has begun covering windows in educational institutions' emergency shelters with plastic film to stop them from shattering during a potential attack and injuring staff or pupils.

10.07.26 NEWS ... The final of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America is now here, with kickoff at 10 p.m. Estonian time today, Sunday, July 19.

09.07.26 NEWS ... Twelve-time Grammy winner John Legend was in concert at the Tartu Song Festival Grounds on Wednesday.

09.07.26 NEWS ... The City of Tartu has filed an appeal with the Tallinn Circuit Court, asking the court to order the state to pay approximately €1.6 million to reimburse Tartu for the cost of general care services provided in 2024.

08.07.26 NEWS ... A Tartu venue has spent nearly €30,000 crowdfunded for renovations on keeping itself operating.

06.07.26 NEWS ... A new recreational area has been completed in Tartu's Karlova district and will open to the public once a permit for public use has been granted.

01.07.26 NEWS ... Tartu has unveiled a preliminary nightlife strategy through 2035 aimed at making the city's nightlife safer. The plan calls for restricting the sale of bottled alcohol after 10 p.m. and increasing the nighttime presence of police officers and security personnel.

28.06.26 NEWS ... A protest against the multi-million euro prison rental agreement between Estonia and Sweden took place in Tartu at noon on Sunday.

26.06.26 NEWS ... Bus and bikeshare fares in Tartu will be going up on July 1, with prices across categories increasing around 15–20 percent as costs continue to outpace fare revenue.

23.06.26 NEWS ... Tartu's Shooters nightclub will close its doors next month after 14 years of operations.

20.06.26 NEWS ... What looks like ruins in Tartu's Annelinn is actually a new space for locals to relax, designed and built by architecture students from the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA).

19.06.26 NEWS ... The large power outage that hit Tartu and its surrounding areas on June 9 resulted from maintenance work, a technical malfunction and human error, Elering said Thursday.

16.06.26 NEWS ... Local residents alerted the Estonian Environmental Board to four bear cubs wandering around on their own over the weekend. The animals were taken back to the forest, but experts say their chances of survival are slim.

12.06.26 NEWS ... A hazardous waste incineration plant in Tartu has expanded its capacity up to tenfold, aiming to handle up to 20,000 tons annually and address a national shortfall in disposal options.

12.06.26 NEWS ... City officials have drafted a strategy to shape Tartu's evening and nighttime economy through 2035, aiming to balance vibrant urban life with business interests and residents' quality of life.

10.06.26 NEWS ... Officials warn that higher pay for staff hired to guard incoming Swedish inmates in Tartu is risking deeper staff shortages across the country's internal security services.

10.06.26 NEWS ... Large parts of Estonia's second-largest city were left without electricity, bringing traffic to a standstill and leaving a major hospital without power.

09.06.26 NEWS ... The traditional construction workshop of first-year architecture and urban planning students from the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) began next to the Annelinn Library in Tartu. This year's shelter, titled "Varem" ("Before"), focuses on the life cycle of buildings and reuse, offering the local community a new type of meeting place.

09.06.26 NEWS ... Ukraine will open two new honorary consuls in Narva and Tartu after signing a bilateral agreement with Estonia on Tuesday.

08.06.26 NEWS ... Passenger numbers on Finnair flights between Tartu and Helsinki have increased significantly this year due to improved stability, prompting preparations for a new public procurement process to secure the route's future.

08.06.26 NEWS ... Polish cyclist Marceli Bogusławski won the Tour of Estonia race over the weekend.

08.06.26 NEWS ... A paragliding dog threatened to upstage the best of NATO fast jet pilots at a Tartu County airshow over the weekend.

08.06.26 NEWS ... Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant Toko will be demolished to make way for the new Tartu culture center, Siuru, before summer 2028.

07.06.26 NEWS ... Tartu's official Midsummer celebration returns June 23, once again offering a daylong festival outside the Estonian National Museum headlined by zombie folk stars Puuluup.

06.06.26 NEWS ... Tallinn's Pirita District expects to spend up to €20,000 this spring and summer fighting invasive Spanish slugs as local governments step up efforts to slow the pest's spread.