#21 tartu
Tartu has serious claims to culture, as the seat of the first Estonian university, the originator of the Festival of Song, and the oldest city of the Baltics.
Member of the Hanseatic League, a long-standing centre of trade and learning, it retained its qualities whether under German, Swedish, Russian or Polish sway. Its historic cityscape and unique atmosphere are tinged with the playfulness and down-to-earth character of Estonians. Speaking of which, Tartu saw the first Festival of Song in 1869, at the time of, and expressing the beginnings of Estonian nationhood. Just how much singing and music is intertwined with Estonian identity becomes clear from the events of the Singing Revolution - a four-year wave of protests that swept the Baltics and ended Soviet rule. There’s a layer to the frolicky folk and fresh music arriving to Veszprém in Tartu’s two-week InterUrban turn.
