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www.visittartu.com 11 Now is the time to head towards the largest lake inside Estonia: Lake Võrtsjärv. It is situated in the centre of Estonia and is bigger than all the other lakes in Estonia combined. Holidaymakers and hobby fishermen can take advantage of its many offers. The best way to get to know Lake Võrtsjärv is by beginning with different visiting centres called the Gates of Võrtsjärv. One such gate is the Lake Museum belonging to the Centre for Limnology of the Estonian University of Life Sciences. This is a nature education centre where you can observe freshwater fish and other freshwater inhabitants living in tanks or see prehistoric fish and fishing equipment. 15
With a favourable wind and by booking in advance, you can go sailing with the ancient wooden kaleboat (kale – a large-meshed trawl) that is peculiar to the Lake Võrtsjärv area. In the olden times, the kaleboat trawled a bag net to catch fish. Nowadays you can just enjoy the wind, the sun and the stories of sailors.
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12 If you are interested in nature, you can go on the hiking trail of Tamme exposure. This trail is roughly two kilometres long and a great way to get to know the Devonian red sandstone exposure and the local fauna, for example the wetland birds.
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During spring migration, the best place to observe birds near Lake Võrtsjärv is in the fields and meadows of Sangla polder with its roughly twenty thousand white-fronted geese and bean geese and numerous flocks of ducks and Charadriiformes.
Travel Routes in Tartu County 13 The eastern coast of Lake Võrtsjärv boasts of the most fertile fields in Tartu County. The Rannu church is like a landmark to be seen from behind the cultivated fields. The medieval brick walls are home to several historic gems, such as the renaissance pulpit from the 16th century and the chandelier dating from 1699, given as a gift by Charles XII of Sweden, at least according to a legend. As you walk in the surroundings, it is a perfect time to reminisce the tough laws and life of medieval times that have also served as an inspiration for Aino Kallas, a prominent Finnish-Estonian author. Her story about Barbara von Tisenhusen, a noblewoman of Rannu, takes us back to the year 1553, when the Tisenhusen family council decided to have young Barbara drowned in Lake Võrtsjärv because she had fallen in love with a common man; her brothers carried out the decision.
14 The hamlet of Puhja, situated in the middle of bogs, is nowadays known for its peat briquette factory. This has actually been a safe place to live for a long time. The church dedicated to St. Dionysius is evidence of the settlement existing already in medieval times. The road goes on towards Ilmatsalu through Kavilda prehistoric valley. 15 On the Ilmatsalu-Kärevere bird route starting from Ilmatsalu you can find the most exciting places for birdwatching. There is also a picnic spot where you can rest, should you get tired during your long walk.
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After the bird-watching tour and picnic, you can head back to Tartu. Your tour in Tartu County is over. You have seen and experienced Tartu County from many different aspects, but there is still much to discover. We hope to see you again! Tartu Visitor Centre Raekoda / Town Hall, Tartu ESTONIA Ph/fax +372 744 2111 info@visittartu.com www.visittartu.com
Hunter’s lodge; scenic view
Natural features; archaeological place of interest
Hotel; accommodation
Tenting site; camp fre site
Museum; manor house
Filling station; beach
Hiking trail; lookout tower
Church; monument
Caravan stop; internet
Horseback riding; protection area visitor centre
Historical place of interest
Tourist information centre; tourist information Text: Annereet Paatsi Layout: Triinu Sarv Print: Paar Photoes: Tartu County public photostock
The tour of Southern Tartu County
Travel Routes in Tartu County About two-thirds of the 147,000 inhabitants of Tartu County live in the city of Tartu. The rest live in rural areas and towns. It hasn't always been the case. For a long period of time, Estonians were a people of land and forest. In order to get to know the inhabitants of Tartu County and grasp the earnestness and profoundness of Estonians, it is necessary to take a glance at the landscape and people around Tartu. The versatile landscapes of Tartu County have much to offer, whether you prefer to enjoy nature and scenery or are more interested in the place's history. You can rest in the tranquillity of marshes and forests, enjoy the sun sparkling on lakes, or go sightseeing in places that have played a significant role in the different stages of the intricate history of Estonia, the border area between East and West.
Hill forts, burial mounds, sacred groves and the legends of our giant hero Kalevipoeg are signs of an ancient era of freedom in Estonia. Stone forts and fortified churches along with manors in green parks stand as silent witnesses of the long German rule. Orthodox churches and projectwise identical community centres and railway stations reminisce of the Russian Tsarist period. The Old Believers living on the western shore of Lake Peipus remind us of a fraction of the complex history of the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire. The huge multi-storey kolkhoz (Soviet collective farm) centres and abandoned state farms surrounded with fields that are left of the Soviet times may cause controversial and perplexed feelings. During your tours, you can rest your weary feet in the cool shade of medieval churches or recreation areas alongside the hiking trails. This might give you an idea why there are still quite a few Estonians who prefer to live among the woods and fields, far away from other people. The Emajõgi River divides Tartu County into northern and southern parts. This river flowing from east to west is also an important waterway and trade route. The oldest settlements of Tartu County were situated on its shores, and in medieval times, the river was an important Hanseatic trading route. Furthermore, the Emajõgi is the reason that the city of Tartu came into existence as a trading post where the river and land routes met. Tartu lies in the place where the otherwise wide floodplain on each bank of the river is narrow, thus offering an easier possibility to cross the river. The Emajõgi River is the symbol of Tartu County and has greatly shaped its settlements. Because of the Emajõgi, we shall divide the county tour into two parts.
The tour of Southern Tartu County Tartu – Kambja – Luke mõis – Nõo – Tõravere – Peedu – Elva – Rõngu – Valguta – Vehendi – Rannu – Sangla – Puhja – Ilmatsalu - Tartu Head outside of Tartu taking Võru Road (road No. 2).
1 The Ülenurme manor in the outskirts of Tartu houses the Estonian Agricultural Museum. Its profound indoors and outdoors exhibitions provide a good overview of the history of agriculture and animal husbandry in Estonia. The museum also organises cattle breeding shows and celebrates days of Estonian national calendar. Workshops give you diverse hands-on information from baking bread to blacksmithing. When you drive from the Agricultural Museum towards Lange, you'll find the Estonian Aviation Museum, founded as a private museum, with a couple of helicopters and an array of training aircraft and fighters. The main building of the museum houses about 400 high-quality models of the aircraft that have played a significant role in aviation history.
2 Kambja is one of the oldest parishes in Tartu County. The history of the local church dates back to the beginning of the 14th century. The church with its slender steeple is a fine testimonial to the perseverance of the Estonian people. Having been destroyed many times in wars, the church has always been rebuilt. The memorials in the churchyard remind of the Swedish period, when the first full Estonian translation of the New Testament (1686) was completed and one of the first Estonian-language schools was established in Kambja. The new schoolhouse is situated right beside the church. There is a memorial dedicated to the soldiers who fell in the Estonian War of Independence and a new memorial erected in 2011 dedicated to Estonian families on the memorial hill in the nearby cemetery. 3
On your way to Luke you pass the Unipiha manor. The manor was once owned by the Russian poet Vassili Zhukovski (1783–1852). Many facilities have been destroyed. The only things left in the manor park are a granary with an interesting design and the remnants of a romantic grotto.
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The manor park of Luke awaits us in its full glory. Your senses will be filled by the sound of running water, clouds reflecting in the pond, velvety green grass, strange lime trees and romantic ruins. All this surrounds the dollhouselike gardener's cottage housing the information centre, cafeteria and a small exhibition about the history of the manor. The whole ensemble is open to the public and the gazebo in the shade of trees is the perfect place to have a picnic. Family days, concerts and theatre shows are organized here on weekends.
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Nõo hamlet is nowadays an important local centre. The Nõo St Lawrence Church has stood here since the second half of the 13th century and is the best-preserved medieval fortified church in Southern Estonia. It has archaic cross-shaped pillars, secret stairways and magnificent arches. The church is open to all wayfarers during summer.
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As you continue on Tartu–Valga road towards south, you'll see the domes of Tartu Observatory in Tõravere across the fields. Here you can view the largest telescope in the Baltics (the diameter or its reflector is 1.5 metres) and take a guided tour in the observatory, but you'll have to book your visit in advance. Groups can start visiting the observatory again in late summer of 2012 and visit the Stellarium, find out about the current achievements of Estonian scientists working in the field of astronomy and cosmology, and see the virtual planetarium.
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From the Tõravere hill you can see a relatively high forested hill against the skyline. This is Vapramägi (Brave Man's Hill), a preserved forest park with a rich cultural heritage and several nature and hiking trails with signposts and information boards. The Nature Centre of Vapramäe displays an exhibition on the topic of environmental education; you can also ask information about natural resources of the nature reserves situated in the area and book a guide to take you on a nature discovery tour.
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A curved road through the Vapramäe forest will take you to Peedu. On the precipice of the Elva River you'll find Kerikmägi – one of the smallest ancient fortresses in Estonia that was inhabited during the first millennium AD. On the opposite river bank there is a summer village with an interesting cultural history, old summerhouses under trees and the old Peedu watermill that gave the village its name.
9 Elva town owes its birth to the railway construction a bit more than a hundred years ago. Here, you can enjoy silence and clean air, beautiful wooden architecture, green gardens and cool lake water. Between 1960s and 1890s, summer guests came all the way from Moscow and St. Petersburg, the metropolises of the Soviet Union, to enjoy the idyllic Elva. The railway station built during Tsarist Russian times after a standard design has been renovated and now houses a hiking centre, where you can see an exhibition on the history of Elva and nearby sights or get useful tourist information. 10 As you drive south from Elva, you reach Rõngu hamlet, which was built on the crossing of old war and trading routes and is a typical Southern Estonian village with its church, school and shops. Rõngu also has a special sight – the crooked tavern (Kõver kõrts). The classicist central part of the building was built of yellow bricks in the 1820s. Initially it was a perfectly straight building. The architectural historians suggest that the decorations take directly after the main building of the University of Tartu. The wings added to the building several decades later gave the tavern its crooked appearance.