University of Tartu celebrates its 391st anniversary

On 25 October, the 391st anniversary of the founding of the University of Tartu is celebrated. There will be two lectures, flowers will be laid at memorials and a concert held to mark this occasion.

The day starts at 14:15 with a seminar at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies. The seminar is in English and consists of two lectures and a discussion. Tomas Jermalavičius, the Head of Studies at the International Centre for Defence and Security, will deliver a lecture “Defence Minilateralism in the Nordic-Baltic Region: How Much is Enough?”, and Carolina Vendil, the Deputy Head of Research of the Swedish Defence Research Agency, gives a talk on “Russia’s Confrontation with the West: Consequences in the Nordic-Baltic Region”. The conversation will be conducted by Swedish Ambassador Ingrid Tersman. The seminar will take place in Lossi 36, room 305.

Note: Instead of Carolina Vendil Pallin, the Deputy Research Director of the Swedish Defence Research Agency, Brigadier General Vahur Karus, the Commandant of Estonian Military Academy, will participate in the seminar.

At 15:40, flowers are placed at the monument to Johan Skytte, the founder of the idea of the university and the first chancellor of the University of Tartu, and at the monument to King Gustavus II Adolphus.

At 17:00, there is a concert “Flores de Música” in the university assembly hall, where Anna-Liisa Eller and Taavi Kerikmäe perform music from the 14th to 18th centuries. Among other works, they play pieces by David Kellner and Johann Valentin Meder, baroque composers who also worked in Estonia. The audience can enjoy the sounds of historical plucked-string and keyboard instruments and the theremin. The concert is free.

The University of Tartu was founded in 1632 when King Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden signed the deed founding the Academia Gustaviana. The opening ceremony took place on 15 October 1632, that is on 25 October according to the currently used Gregorian calendar.

All interested are welcome!