In November, the bells of Tartu Town Hall will play new songs

Text Timo Huttunen
Photo Andrei Chertkov

Located in the middle of Tartu’s Old Town, the neoclassical, Baroque-influenced Tartu Town Hall is one of the city’s most important symbols. 

When the town hall was built in 1789it had many purposes, including a prison on the first floor. On the upper floors was the city council. Today, the Tartu City Government operates in the town hall.

The bells in the town hall tower ring five times a day. In November, the bells will play the following songs: 9:00 am “Tartu Bells” (Olav Ehala), 12:00 pm waltz from the ballet Coppelia (Léo Delibes), 3 pm Indian guest song from the opera Sadko (Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov), 6 pm “Melody” (Anton Rubinstein), and at 9 pm “Wiegenlied” (Johannes Brahms).

King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden died on November 6, at the Battle of Lützen in 1632. The event was commemorated in Tartu on Thursday, November 4, when the bells of the town hall played the choral song “Bereden väg för Herran”, which is based on an old Swedish folk tune.

To learn more about this and similar topics
Anton Rubinstein City Government Johannes Brahms Tartu Tartu Prison Tartu Town Hall Town Hall Town Hall Clocks