Tartu () is an urban

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, in

Tartu County Tartu County ( or ''Tartumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in eastern Estonia bordering Põlva County, Valga County, Viljandi County and Jõgeva County. The area of Tartu County is , which covers 6.9% of the territory of E ...

. It consists of the city of

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

, as well as the former Tähtvere Parish bordering the city in the north-west. Prior to the 2017 administrative reform, Tartu held negotiations with all neighbouring parishes, with Tähtvere Parish eventually being the only one to agree to the merge. The municipality is thus separate from the neighbouring Tartu Parish.

Settlements

;City

;Boroughs Ilmatsalu and Märja ;Villages Haage, Ilmatsalu, Kandiküla, Kardla, Pihva, Rahinge, Rõhu, Tähtvere, Tüki, and Vorbuse.

Government

There are 49 members on the city council, elected by residents every four years using a proportional system of representation. The executive branch of the city government consists of a mayor and five deputy mayors. The current mayor is Urmas Klaas. Andrus Ansip,

Prime Minister of Estonia The prime minister of Estonia () is the head of government of the Estonia, Republic of Estonia. The prime minister is nominated by the President of Estonia, president after appropriate consultations with the parliamentary factions and confirmed ...

from 2005 to 2014, was mayor of Tartu from 1998 to 2004. The position was later served by other politicians who eventually became ministers of government, Laine Jänes and Urmas Kruuse. All of them are members of the

Estonian Reform Party The Estonian Reform Party () is a liberal political party in Estonia. The party has been led by Kristen Michal since 2024. It is colloquially known as the "Squirrel Party" () or as "the Squirrels" (), referencing its logo. It was founded in ...

, which has dominated in Tartu since 1998.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Tartu is twinned with:

Demographics

References

External links

* Tartu County Municipalities of Estonia {{Tartu-geo-stub