Tartu - Jaani kirik

Tartu - Jaani kirik


Tartu (German Dorpat) is the second-largest city in Estonia, after Tallinn.

In the early 11th century Yaroslav I the Wise, Prince of Kiev, invaded the region and after a victorious battle with the locals built his own fort there, Tartu probably remained under Kievan control until 1061, when the fort was burned down by an Estonian tribe. Soon afterwards the fort was rebuilt.
During the Northern Crusades at the beginning of the 13th century, the fort was captured by the crusading Brothers of the Sword — and recaptured by Estonians. In 1224 the fort was besieged and conquered for one last time by the Teutonic crusaders. Subsequently, Dorpat became a commercial centre of considerable importance during the later Middle Ages and the capital of the semi-independent Bishopric of Dorpat.

German merchants and artisans settled alongside the bishop's fortress. In the 1280s Dorpat joined the Hanseatic League.

In 1558, tsar Ivan the Terrible invaded Tartu beginning the Livonian War. His forces encircled the town. After a heavy bombardment, the town surrendered. In 1582, the city became part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1598. A Jesuit grammar school "Gymnasium Dorpatense" was established in 1583.

In the effect of the Polish-Swedish War, in 1625 Tartu was captured by Sweden. The city became part of the Dominions of Sweden, which led to the foundation of the University of Tartu in 1632 by king Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. So the University of Tartu is Estonia´s oldest and still most renowned university

In 1704 the town was taken by the Russian army. In 1708 the fortifications and houses, including the remains of the bishop's castle, were blown up, all movable property was looted and the citizens were deported to Russia. In 1721, the city became part of the Russian Empire and was known as Derpt. A great fire in 1775 destroyed most of the buildings in the centre. The city was rebuilt along Late Baroque and Neoclassical lines.

Shortly after the conquest and Christianisation of the Brothers of the Sword, a presumably wooden church was built on the site of today's St. John's Church. The oldest parts of the present church building date from the 14th century.

Century. The church survived the iconoclasm of 1524/26 largely unscathed. During the Livonian War (1558-1583) the church was badly damaged but later rebuilt. The Great Northern War also left traces of destruction. In 1704, Russian troops occupied the Swedish city of Tartu. In 1708, the troops systematically destroyed the city. The upper part of the tower was destroyed, as well as the nave and the presbytery. Reconstruction of the destroyed church began in 1737 and it was rebuilt as a three-nave basilica. In 1944, during the Second World War, the church was set on fire and largely destroyed by bombing. In 1952, the north wall of the nave collapsed.

Reconstruction work did not begin until 1989.

The most outstanding feature of the church is its wealth of terracotta figures. According to today's estimates, there were about 2,000 different sculptural elements in Jaani kirik in the Middle Ages, of which only about a third have survived to this day. They are located both inside the church and on the exterior walls. The figures are unique in Europe in their number, size, and artistic design. The oldest are over 700 years old. The original figures are now kept in the neighbouring museum, which has made copies for the church.

Originally, the sculptures were painted - but both the polychromy and the texts carved in clay have been almost completely destroyed.