The fourth Baltic Congress ofLaboratory
Medicine,
Tartu, Estonia, 1998-08-27/29
ANDERS KALLNER
Dept Clin Chemistry, Karolinska Hospital SE 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden
Tartu as the venue of the 4
1
h
Baltic congress
'Tartu ist eine sehr schöne und wohlbefestigte
Stadt, und daselbst befindet sich ein SchloB, an
drei Strpmen ge1egen, und ist dort ein unabhängi–
ges Bistum, das nicht den Herre von Livland ge–
hört'. This descriptionofDorpat originates from a
report by de Lannon, aDutch nobleman travelling
in the area on behalf of the League of Hansa in
1413.
lt
is known that there was an early settle–
ment at the present site, with the name ofTarbatu
a1ready in 1030.
Tartu, previouslyDorpat, suitab1y1ocatedwhere
the north-south roads cross the east-west water–
ways of the river Emajögi. It was an important
marketplace and hub in the trade between Russia
(Novgorod) and the rest ofEurope under 'protec–
tion' ofthe strong and exceptionallyJong-lived tra–
de monopo1y, the Hansa league whichmade Dor–
pat one of its outposts to the east. Dorpat played a
leading role as evident from a document of 1363,
mentioning the threeHansacities ofLivland,Dor–
pat (Tartu), Rev
al
(Tallinn) andRiga.Dorpat remai–
ned an important and flourishing trade center and
control ofNovgorod, and its homeland, financial–
ly for centuries. The Metropolite !sidor of Mos–
cow, on his way to Florence, wrote in 1463: 'Die
StadtDorpatwar ausSteinen erbaut und groB. Die
Häuser in ihrwaren sehr kunstvoll, so daBwir, die
dergleichen nie gesehen hatten, uns verunderten.
Auch Kirchen gab es viele, und groBe Klöster.
Berge waren da, Felder und schöne Gärten... ' .
Dorpat thus thrived 1ong after the fall of the
Hansa league. In those days, as still today, mili–
tary conquests were followed by strategic efforts
to pacify and eventually make the conquered ter–
ritories an organic part of the homeland.
lt
was
therefore natural or at least rationalwhen the Swe–
dishkingGustavus IlAdolphusWasa founded the
28
University ofDorpat in 1632, only a few months
before he died in the battle ofLiitzen, November
6.
There are not manymemories of the medieval
times left in Tartu today. One, however, is the ru–
ins of the St Paul 's and Peter's Cathedra!, once
used as the university library but now serving as
University Museum and a beautiful facility for
representations. Another is the St John's church in
Jaani street, not far from the impressiveUniversi–
tyHall. St John's church, narned aEuropeanCul–
tura] Heritage, is presently undergoing extensive
restoration.Amajor fire in 1777 destroyed much
ofDorpat. In fact, the oldest wooden house, from
about 1765, that survived the fire, was theUppsa–
la maja (house), neighbour to St John's church,
nicely restored in 1994/96 by Uppsala City and
University in Sweden to become a guest house.
'Twin cities' ofTartu areUppsala,Tampere inFin–
land and Liineburg in Germany which have all
St John 's Church and the Uppsala House
contributed to restoration ofbuildings and cultural
exchanges since the reestablishment of theRepu–
hlic of Estonia.
Tartu is located about 180km SEof theEstoni–
an capita! Tallinn. Frequent, modern busses take
Klinisk Kemi
i
Norden 1-2, 1999
