The Raadi cemetery, ( et, Raadi kalmistu) is the oldest and largest burial ground in Tartu,

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

, dating back to 1773. Many prominent historical figures are buried there. It is also the largest

Baltic German Baltic Germans (german: Deutsch-Balten or , later ) were ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since their coerced resettlement in 1939, Baltic Germans have markedly declined ...

cemetery in Estonia after the destruction of

Kopli cemetery The Kopli cemetery (german: Friedhof von Ziegelskoppel or ; et, Kopli kalmistu) was Estonia's largest Lutheran Baltic German cemetery, located in the suburb of Kopli in Tallinn. It contained thousands of graves of prominent citizens of Tallinn ...

Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju ' ...

. Until 1841, it was the only cemetery in the town. The cemetery currently includes several smaller graveyard sections, the oldest of which date back to 1773. Telleri kabel

Origins, 1771–1773

Between 1771 and 1772, Russian empress

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

, issued an

edict An edict is a decree or announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism, but it can be under any official authority. Synonyms include "dictum" and "pronouncement". ''Edict'' derives from the Latin edictum. Notable edicts * Telepinu Pro ...

which decreed that from that point on no-one who died (regardless of their social standing or class origins) was to be buried in a church crypt or churchyard; all burials were to take place in the new cemeteries to be built throughout the entire Russian empire, which were to be located outside town boundaries. These measures were intended to overcome the congestion of urban church crypts and graveyards, and were prompted by a number of outbreaks of highly contagious diseases linked to inadequate burial practices in urban areas, especially the black plague which had led to the Plague Riot in Moscow in 1771. The burial ground was officially opened on 5 November 1773 as the St. John's (town) parish cemetery. It also served as the

University of Tartu The University of Tartu (UT; et, Tartu Ülikool; la, Universitas Tartuensis) is a university in the city of Tartu in Estonia. It is the national university of Estonia. It is the only classical university in the country, and also its biggest ...

's burial ground. The St. Mary's (country) parish and

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

Dormition The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

congregation cemeteries were established north-west of the St. John's in the same year. It served as the only cemetery in the town until 1841.

Decline in burials, 1939–1944

Burials at the cemetery were drastically reduced after the transfer of Baltic German population over to western

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in late 1939. Burials at the cemetery continued on a much smaller scale until 1944, principally among those Baltic Germans who had refused Hitler's call to leave the region.

Present state

By the beginning of the 21st century, the expansion of the town has passed beyond the borders of the cemetery and alternative burial grounds are established elsewhere in the town. A

Pseudotsuga ''Pseudotsuga'' is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Pinaceae (subfamily Laricoideae). Common names for species in the genus include Douglas fir, Douglas-fir, Douglas tree, Oregon pine and Bigcone spruce. '' Pseudotsuga menz ...

parkway located at the cemetery is under protection.

Notable interments

Franz Ulrich Theodor Aepinus Franz Ulrich Theodor Aepinus (13 December 172410 August 1802) was a German mathematician, scientist, and natural philosopher residing in the Russian Empire. Aepinus is best known for his researches, theoretical and experimental, in electricity an ...

(1724–1802), physicist *

Betti Alver Elisabet "Betti" Alver ( in Jõgeva – 19 June 1989 in Tartu), was one of Estonia's most notable poets. She was among the first generation to be educated in schools of an independent Estonia. She went to grammar school in Tartu. Writing S ...

(1906–1989), poet *

Paul Ariste Paul Ariste (3 February 1905 – 2 February 1990) was an Estonian linguist renowned for his studies of the Finno-Ugric languages (especially Estonian and Votic), Yiddish and Baltic Romani language. He was born as Paul Berg, in Rääbise, V� ...

(1905–1990), linguist * Kalev Arro (1915–1974), Forest Brother partisan * Lauri Aus (1970–2003), cyclist *

Karl Ernst von Baer Karl Ernst Ritter von Baer Edler von Huthorn ( – ) was a Baltic German scientist and explorer. Baer was a naturalist, biologist, geologist, meteorologist, geographer, and is considered a, or the, founding father of embryology. He was ...

(1792–1876), biologist *

Friedrich Bidder Georg Friedrich Karl Heinrich Bidder ( – ) was a Baltic German physiologist and anatomist from what was then the Governorate of Livonia in the Russian Empire. In 1834 he received his doctorate from the University of Dorpat, where he became a ...

(1810–1894), physiologist *

Alexander Bunge Alexander Georg von Bunge (russian: Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Бу́нге; – ) was a Russian botanist. He is best remembered for scientific expeditions into Asia and especially Siberia. Early life and education Bunge was bo ...

(1803–1890), botanist *

Karl Ernst Claus Karl Ernst Claus (also Karl Klaus or Carl Claus, russian: Карл Ка́рлович Кла́ус, 22 January 1796 – 24 March 1864) was a German-Russian chemist and naturalist of Baltic German origin. Claus was a professor at Kazan State Un ...

(1796–1864), chemist and naturalist * Karl Gottfried Konstantin Dehio (1851–1927), internist *

Jaan Eilart Jaan Eilart (24 June 1933 – 18 May 2006) was an Estonian phytogeographer, landscape ecologist, cultural historian and conservationist. Eilart was born in Pala, Kirna Parish, Järva County. In 1957 he started teaching conservation as a sub ...

(1933–2006), phytogeographer and conservationist *

Friedrich Robert Faehlmann Friedrich Robert Faehlmann (Fählmann) (31 December 1798 in Ao Manor, Kreis Jerwen – 22 April 1850 in Tartu) was an Estonian writer, medical doctor and philologist active in Livonia, Russian Empire. He was a co-founder of the Learned Eston ...

(1798–1850), philologist *

Anna Haava Anna Haava (born Anna Rosalie Haavakivi; 15 October 1864 – 13 March 1957) was an Estonian poet, writer and translator in the late 19th and 20th centuries. She was one of the founding members of the Estonian Writers' Union in 1922. She was honour ...

(1864–1957), poet and translator *

Miina Härma Miina Härma (born Miina Hermann; 9 February 1864 – 16 November 1941) was an Estonian composer. She was the second Estonian musician with higher education. Her greatest contribution is perhaps the fact that she took organ music to the c ...

(1864–1941), composer * Gregor von Helmersen (1803–1885), geologist * Samuel Gottlieb Rudolph Henzi (1794–1829), orientalist and theologist *

Johann Voldemar Jannsen Johann Voldemar Jannsen ( in Vändra, Kreis Pernau, Livonia, Russian Empire – , in Tartu) was an Estonian journalist and poet active in Livonia. He wrote the words of the patriotic song "Mu isamaa, mu õnn ja rõõm", which later became the ...

(1819–1890), journalist and poet *

Harald Keres Harald Keres (, in Pärnu – 26 June 2010) was an Estonian physicist considered to be the father of the Estonian school of relativistic gravitation theory. In 1961 Keres became a member of the Estonian Academy of Sciences in the field of theoret ...

(1912–2010), physicist *

Amalie Konsa Amalie Konsa (also known as Brigitta; 10 March 1873 – 19 July 1949), was an Estonian stage and actress and singer usually based in Tartu. She was known as the "grandmother of the Estonian theatre" Life Konsa was born Amalie-Luise Konts in Ra ...

(1873–1949), actress *

Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald ( – ) was an Estonian writer who is considered to be the father of the national literature for the country. He is the author of Estonian national epic ''Kalevipoeg''. Life Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald's pare ...

(1803–1882), writer *

Olevi Kull Olevi Kull (22 June 1955, in Rakvere – 31 January 2007, in Tartu) was an Estonian professor at the University of Tartu known for his contribution to ecology. Following his death, a memorial fund was established by donations in his memory, whic ...

(1955–2007), ecologist *

Eerik Kumari Eerik Kumari born Erik Mathias Sits (7 March 1912 – 8 January 1984) was a biologist, and pioneer of ornithology and nature conservation in Estonia. He was born in Kirbla, Lihula Parish. He was a director of the Institute of Zoology and Botan ...

(1912–1984), naturalist and conservationist * Julius Kuperjanov (1894–1919), military commander * Raine Loo (1945–2020), actress *

Oskar Loorits Oskar Loorits ( – 12 December 1961) was an Estonian folklorist.Felix J. Oinas, ''Loorits, Oskar'', Encyclopedia of the fairy tale Vol 8 (1996), pages 1193-1195. Life Loorits was born in Suure-Kõpu Parish, Viljandi County. He initially studie ...

(1900–1961), folklorist *

Juri Lotman Juri Lotman (russian: Ю́рий Миха́йлович Ло́тман; 28 February 1922 – 28 October 1993) was a prominent Russian-Estonian literary scholar, semiotician, and historian of Russian culture, who worked at the University of Tart ...

(1922–1993), semiotician and culturologist *

Juhan Luiga Juhan Luiga (31 March 1873 – 19 October 1927) was an Estonian psychiatrist, physician, author, publicist, and politician. He was a member of I Riigikogu. Career Juhan Luiga was born in Ropka in 1873. He attended primary and secondary schools i ...

(1873–1927), psychiatrist, physician, author, publicist and politician *

Leonhard Merzin Leonhard Merzin (10 February 1934 in Aruküla, Kudina Parish (now Maardla, Mustvee Parish) – 2 January 1990 in Tartu) was an Estonian theatre and film actor, one of the Estonian actors active in the Soviet Union and abroad. He played in mo ...

(1934–1990), actor *

Otto Wilhelm Masing Otto Wilhelm Masing ( in Lohusuu, Kreis Dorpat, Livland Governorate – in Äksi, Livland Governorate) was an early Baltic German Estophile and a major advocate of peasant rights, especially regarding education. Life He received schooling ...

(1763–1832), writer * Uku Masing (1909–1985), philosopher and folklorist * Viktor Masing (1925–2001), ecologist *

Zara Mints Zara Grigoryevna Mints (russian: Зара Григорьевна Минц; July 24, 1927 – October 25, 1990) was a Slavic literary scientist active in the University of Tartu. She was the wife of Juri Lotman. Mints was born in Pskov, but th ...

(1927–1990), literary scientist *

Friedrich Parrot Johann Jacob Friedrich Wilhelm Parrot (14 October 1791) was a Baltic German naturalist, explorer, and mountaineer, who lived and worked in Dorpat (today Tartu, Estonia) in what was then the Governorate of Livonia of the Russian Empire. A pio ...

(1791–1841), naturalist and traveller * Ludvig Puusepp (1875–1942), surgeon * Edmund Russow (1841–1897), biologist *

August Sabbe August Sabbe (1 September 1909 – 27 or 28 September 1978) was one of the last surviving Estonian members of the Forest Brothers, a group of citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania who resisted and fought against the Soviet occupation of thei ...

(1909–1978), Forest Brother * Hermann Guido von Samson-Himmelstjerna (1809–1868), physician * Carl Schmidt (1822–1894), chemist *

Gustav Teichmüller Gustav Teichmüller (November 19, 1832 – May 22, 1888) was a German philosopher. His works, particularly his notion of perspectivism, influenced Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophy. Biography Teichmüller was born in Braunschweig in the Duchy ...

(1832–1888), philosopher *

Hugo Treffner Hugo Hermann Fürchtegott Treffner (17 July 1845 – 13 March 1912) was the founder and first director of the Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu, and an important figure in the Estonian national awakening. Biography Hugo Treffner was born ...

(1845–1912), pedagogue *

Mihkel Veske Mihkel Veske ( – ) was an Estonian poet and linguist.Henno Jänes, ''Geschichte der estnischen Literatur'', p48. Life Mihkel Veske was born in Veske farm, Holstre Parish (now in Metsla village, Viljandi Parish), Viljandi County in norther ...

(1843–1890), poet and linguist

References

External links