20.03.26 NEWS ... Falling birth rates are prompting Tartu to cut kindergarten enrollment by 260 this fall and lay off about 40 teachers, with Annelinn the hardest hit.

15.03.26 NEWS ... Families across Estonia will start applying for first-grade school places for their children this month, but data from Estonia's two biggest cities show that the number of new starters will be considerably smaller this year.

12.03.26 NEWS ... Tartu is testing new electric bikes from two companies to replace aging models in its bike-share system as the city plans further purchases and upgrades this season.

10.03.26 NEWS ... "Oh! ma waene Tardo Liin," a landmark 18th-century lament by Puhja teacher and clergyman Käsu Hans, was recently set to music and performed in a Tartu church.

10.03.26 NEWS ... "Hungry again, just like in the old days", Estonian naïve artist Kairo is back with a brand-new exhibition in Tartu. Kairo told ERR News about "Black Butterfly Bread" and what it means to be an artist two years on from her hometown's year as European Capital of Culture.

10.03.26 NEWS ... An opposition politician in Tartu has hit out at the city's planned €16 million road construction projects for this year, particularly regarding the deprioritizing of cycle lanes and pedestrian walkways.

09.03.26 NEWS ... On Sunday, two students decided to don wetsuits and ride an ice "raft" down the Emajõgi River, reports Tartu Postimees. The Rescue Center warned of the danger of such "stunts," highlighting the risk of drowning and hypothermia, as well as the bad example they set for children.

09.03.26 NEWS ... With the arrival of the spring weather, Tartu's electric bikes have also returned to the city's streets. The first set of bikes was brought out on Monday morning.

09.03.26 NEWS ... While Iranians do not want war, if it changes the regime in Iran, they are ready to face it, an expat Iranian couple in Estonia told ERR.

05.03.26 NEWS ... A large-scale archaeological dig is due to start by May at the latest, at the site of a major cultural center planned for central Tartu.

04.03.26 NEWS ... As winter comes to an end and warmer weather begins to arrive in Tartu, the ice rink on Town Hall Square (Raekoja Plats) has closed for the season.

03.03.26 NEWS ... This summer, Tartu Song Festival Grounds (Laululava) will host the first ever "Tartu Punch," a new pop music festival from the same organizers as the nomadic Võnge festival.

03.03.26 NEWS ... A Tartu-based academic and modeling enthusiast has created a collective farm in miniature, which is now open to the viewing public at the national agricultural museum.

28.02.26 NEWS ... The perils of going out on the ice now the spring thaw has arrived were vividly demonstrated Friday when a Rescue Board official checking ice conditions took a cold plunge in Tartu's Emajõgi River.

27.02.26 NEWS ... Tartu has launched a new online advertising campaign in Latvia, highlighting places in the city to visit with children, and the convenience of the recently launched train connection to Riga.

27.02.26 NEWS ... Tartu city council chair Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) has rejoined Isamaa's Tartu faction.

27.02.26 NEWS ... An apartment block in Tartu dogged by subsidence issues was knocked down, only to be rebuilt to exactly the same specifications.

26.02.26 NEWS ... An 'ice carousel' was set up in Tartu earlier this week to mark Estonian Independence Day.

25.02.26 NEWS ... Tartu Elektriteater is celebrating its 15th anniversary on March 1. To mark the occasion, the favorite films of Elektriteater's employees will be shown as part of a year-long film festival.

25.02.26 NEWS ... At 86 years old, Heino Jaanus has spent a lifetime working with buses. Heino still spends his days restoring old vehicles in Tartu and says he loves buses as much now as he always has.

25.02.26 NEWS ... The Rescue Board is urging Tartu residents to stay off the Emajõgi River ice as the spring thaw is just around the corner and the surface is prone to breaking.

23.02.26 NEWS ... The only intestinal simulator in Estonia has arrived at the Estonian University of Life Sciences and researchers plan to use it to test health-beneficial compounds from food by-products.

21.02.26 NEWS ... Tartu has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the City of Sherbrooke in Québec. The agreement establishes a structured framework for long-term cooperation in entrepreneurship, education, science and innovation between the two cities.

19.02.26 NEWS ... Corner stores are fading from the Tartu cityscape, as high energy bills and dwindling customer numbers force even longtime neighborhood fixtures to close.

19.02.26 NEWS ... Estonian schools are on break next week, and despite fewer special programs this year, tourism and lodging providers across the south still expect an influx of visitors.

19.02.26 NEWS ... Tartu police plan to begin using a drone this spring to catch drivers who run red lights, as statistics show several of the country's worst intersections for such violations are located in the city.

18.02.26 NEWS ... Officials received warnings for more than a decade that the building register contains freely accessible data and documents that should not be public.

17.02.26 NEWS ... On Tuesday, February 24, Estonia celebrates the 108th anniversary of its independence. To mark the occasion, a number of ceremonial events will take place in Tartu throughout the day.

16.02.26 NEWS ... Isamaa's Tartu city council faction announced it has expelled a council deputy who said if he had a child, that child would have "unfortunately missed out on the Holocaust."

14.02.26 NEWS ... Additional morning buses will operate between Valga and Tartu until June to make up for the reduction in transport links since the direct train service from Tartu to Riga opened.

12.02.26 NEWS ... Latvian artist Sabīne Vernere's new solo exhibition at Tartu's Kogo Gallery imagines empowering forms of women's self-realization that are rarely visible in recent Baltic history.

11.02.26 NEWS ... The alternative music and club culture festival Kauge, which was first held as part of the Tartu 2024 European Capital of Culture's main program, is to take place for the third time this May.

11.02.26 NEWS ... U.S. singer, composer and pianist John Legend is set to bring his live show "An Evening of Songs & Stories" to Tartu Song Festival Grounds (Lauluväljak) on July 8.

11.02.26 NEWS ... The City of Tartu has initiated a detailed planning procedure for Turu tänav, which includes the demolition of the Zeppelin Center. A combination of commercial and residential buildings will be constructed in its place.

10.02.26 NEWS ... The organizing committee has confirmed that the 52nd Tartu Ski Marathon will go ahead this weekend on the route between Otepää and Elva as originally planned.

07.02.26 NEWS ... The Estonian Defense League (Kaitseliit) will hold a military training exercise next weekend (February 14 and 15) in and around a building belonging to Tartu University Hospital.

07.02.26 NEWS ... The layer of ice on Tartu's Emajõgi River has grown to nearly 30 centimeters in places, with locals using the river for walking and cycling. While thinner ice may make it dangerous to walk on in places, there are no plans to establish an official ice road or conduct regular checks.

06.02.26 NEWS ... The new Tartu-Riga train schedule left many Estonians dissatisfied, but for southern residents who rely on the train, the change has thrown a wrench in daily logistics.

03.02.26 NEWS ... Estonia's new nationwide school admissions system, SAIS3, is behind schedule, forcing 9th graders to apply to vocational and high schools this spring using older platforms.

02.02.26 NEWS ... On the 106th anniversary of the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty, high school students in Tartu said they really value what the treaty stands for, especially nowadays with so much uncertainty in the world.

30.01.26 NEWS ... The 106th anniversary of the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty will be commemorated on Monday (February 2) across Estonia.

23.01.26 NEWS ... This year, Hermon the Estonian draft horse is spending his third winter in downtown Tartu. Hermon helps arborists haul logs out of the city's parks and is also getting used to recreational walks through Tartu's streets.

23.01.26 NEWS ... Tartu City Council rejected a proposed amendment that would have introduced a new fee for children and youth to visit Tartu University Hospital's emergency department.

21.01.26 NEWS ... This Friday (January 23), the first section of Tartu's Sõpruse Bridge is set to open again for traffic following renovation work.

21.01.26 NEWS ... The first Swedish prisoners will arrive at Tartu Prison in the second half of this year under the new rental agreement between the two countries. The facility is planning to hire more staff.

19.01.26 NEWS ... Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said Estonia is no longer merging its first-tier district courts, changing tack in its broader court reform.

19.01.26 NEWS ... A new exhibition at the Estonian National Museum (ERM) explores the history of natural dyes and the dye trade through contemporary scientific research.

19.01.26 NEWS ... Tartu's proposed €330 million budget again centers on Siuru Cultural Center and Sõpruse Bridge, as critics warn the city has nearly maxed out its borrowing capacity.

16.01.26 NEWS ... U.S. filmmaker Parker Watt's documentary about Ukrainian artists in Estonia is being shown in a special one-off free screening in Tartu this January.

16.01.26 NEWS ... Starting in January, children and young people will be required to pay a €5 visit fee for emergency care at Tartu University Hospital (Tartu Ülikooli kliinikum) after changes to the city's healthcare reimbursement policy.