| The first town in this area was founded in the 11th century by Prince Yaroslav the Wise of Kyiv, during Kyivan Rus. Yuryev, as it was called, was repeatedly burned and captured over the next 200 years until it was conquered by German knights, as were other cities in the region. With the new German name of Dorpat (Derpt), the city existed later as part of Sweden and Russia until 1920 when, during the war of liberation, the Estonian army managed to defeat the Red Army and establish the independence of the country. Since then, the city has been called Tartu and is currently the second most populous in Estonia, read more... |
