Metadata: The Imperial University of Tartu
Collection
- Country:
- Estonia
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archives of Estonia
- Holding institution (official language):
- Eesti Ajalooarhiiv
- Postal address:
- Tartu, J. Liivi 4, 50409
- Phone number:
- (+372) 738 7500
- Web address:
- https://www.ra.ee/et/kes-me-oleme-2/
- Email:
- rahvusarhiiv@ra.ee
- Reference number:
- f. 402
- Title:
- The Imperial University of Tartu
- Title (official language):
- Tartu Keiserlik Ülikool
- Creator/accumulator:
- Imperial University of Tartu
- Date(s):
- 1799/1918
- Language:
- German
- Estonian
- Russian
- Extent:
- 72,316 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Photographic images
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The archive contains the materials of the University of Tartu (called Derpt for most of the 19th century and Yuryev from 1893 to 1919) during the period of Tsarist Russia. It includes a broad range of materials documenting both educational and administrative activities, along with an extensive collection of students' personal files.
The Jewish-related materials in the university's archive originate mostly from the second half of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th, a period that saw a dramatic rise in the number of Jewish students at the university. Mentions of Jewish students and Jewish student organisations can be found in different parts of the archive. For instance, the materials of the rector's office include files on the enrolment of Jewish students from the 1890s, 1900s and 1910s. The files of the university's disciplinary bodies include records referring to cases of fraud, violence (such as an 1893 file referring to a fight between members of a Jewish university student society and students of the local veterinary institute) and illicit political activities (such as files from the 1890s and 1900s referring to the political activities of Jewish students from Tartu).
A substantial corpus of Jewish-related material can be found in the students’ personal files, which include more than 2000 files belonging to Jewish students. These files contain various personal documents: birth certificates and passports; certificates of matriculation; documents relating to military service; and photographs. The files also include papers related to university studies: correspondence with the university administration on examinations and re-examinations; minutes of examinations (in some cases, the files include written papers); lists of grades, certificates and diplomas; requests to transfer to other institutions or to pause or restart university studies. In some cases, letters and telegrams of family members and other private documents – such as documents on the work and education of the students' parents – are included in the files.
- Archival history:
- The archive of the University of Tartu is kept in the Historical Archives of Estonia, Tartu.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- A university was firstly established in Tartu (then called Derpt) under Swedish rule in the early 1630s. Its activity was interrupted by a Russian occupation in the 1650s and was completely suspended after the Russian acquisition of the area during the Great Northern War of the early 18th century. A new, modern German-speaking university was founded in Tartu in 1802 with the approval of Tsar Alexander I. In the late 19th century the university was Russified and renamed Yuryev along with the town. In the interwar period, after the evacuation of part of the Russian staff and students during 1918, the university of Tartu was re-established as an Estonian-speaking institution.
- Access points: locations:
- Tartu
- Access, restrictions:
- The collection is open for reference at the ERA in Tallinn. In certain cases, online access might be available.
- Finding aids:
- Basic information and inventories in Estonian and Russian are available at the Estonian Archives. Online access is available but registration may be required.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://ais.ra.ee
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Alex Valdman, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2015
