The restoration of Tartu St Mary’s Church already started more seven decades ago – more precisely, in 1942 after the church was destroyed in World War II. The congregation had the resources for the restoration of the church, but the regime did not approve it and the church building was expropriated instead.
After Estonia regained its independence in 1991, the congregation was full of hope to get the church building back and restore it. In 2003, Tartu Maarja Kiriku Sihtasutus (Tartu St Mary’s Church Foundation) was founded by the congregation and Tartu Deanery with the objective of managing the restoration. In 2009, the congregation became the owner of the church building again.
Since the first days of their operation the foundation has been collecting donations for the restoration project. Collected funds and special-purpose support has been used for preparatory work and starting the reconstruction.
In 2011, a contest for the preparation of the design project was held. The exterior of the church will be restored as it was, but the interior will be completely new because nothing has survived from it. The winner of the design contest was the work “Noa” by KOKO Architects. Thanks to the new two-storied solution, the church will have space not only for rooms necessary for everyday activities of the congregation, but also rooms for lease. The design was completed in 2016.
In 2016–2017, all necessary routes for water, drainage and heating systems were extended to the building. Also, a new main staircase was completed. The roof, which was not waterproof any more, was repaired during the year 2018.
In 2019, the first stage of the restoration, mostly repairs inside the church, was completed. The inside foundations and load-bearing structures were built, also part of the inserted ceilings. The overall cost of the work was almost 200,000 euro (plus value added tax).
The next step is the restoration of the tower demolished in the 1950s when the building was rebuilt into a gym. For that, the foundation has been collecting donations since the beginning of 2019.
200,000 building stones are needed for the tower (costing 1 million euros, as the price of one stone is 5 euros). The current information has been gathered and information on the amounts still needed can be found in the footer of the home page.
You can also be with us – become a church builder.
For that, we ask you to make a special-purpose donation to the foundation Tartu Maarja Kiriku SA on their bank account No. EE132200221021269201 in Swedbank.
The amount you can spare is yours to decide. A little becomes a lot and together we can do everything!
Donations can also be made by phone, calling at the following numbers (which only work within Estonia):
900 1842 – to donate 5 euros
900 1941 – to donate 10 euros
900 2019 – to donate 50 euros
History in brief
Tartu St. Mary’s Church has had a major role in the development of Estonia into an independent state and nation. In 1833, St Mary’s parish congregation and the Estonian speaking Lutheran congregation of the town joined to form Tartu St Mary’s Congregation, which was also the first congregation of Estonians. St Mary’s Church was completed and consecrated as the congregation’s church on 11 January 1842. The congregation became one the spiritual centres of Tartu – several great figures of the era known as the Estonian National Awakening were the members of the congregation, of whom Johann Voldemar Jannsen was the prime developer and organiser of the first Estonian Song Festival.
For this reason, St Mary’s Church has also been called the birthplace of Estonian song festivals – the Estonian Song Festival church. Adalbert Hugo Willigerode, the reverend of the congregation, became the leader of the song festival main committee, the rehearsal of massed choirs was held at the church and the festive trumpet calls from the tower of St Mary’s Church declared the First Song Festival open.
St Mary’s Church is also a parish church and the Mother Church for the congregations of St Paul’s and St Peter’s. From St Mary’s congregation, St Peter’s congregation emerged in 1869 and St Paul’s congregation in 1910. In the first years, until their own churches were built, both these congregations gathered to worship at St Mary’s Church. When initially St Mary’s was founded as a congregation joining members from the parish and the town, a need was felt for a separate congregation as the population of the town increased.
St Mary’s Church remained a major religious and spiritual centre for exactly 99 years and six months – it was destroyed in the attack of the retreating Soviet Red Army to Tartu on 12 July 1941. The whole town was in fire. The congregation lost not only their church, but also the museum, archives and other assets stored in the church. The members were utterly desolate because of the destruction of the church and started, without delay, to prepare for its restoration. Unfortunately, the new regime did not support their intentions and the ruins were given to the Estonian Academy of Agriculture for turning it into a gym, which operated there from 1961 to 2009. From this period, St Mary’s Church is known as the sports church.
After Estonia regained its independence, the congregation was full of hope to restore their church and has since then acted systematically with the aim of achieving their goal. In 2003, Tartu St Mary’s Church Foundation was started and in 2009, the church was returned to the congregation. The design was prepared in 2016.
We have been greatly blessed by God on that road and have found a lot of wonderful partners. The City of Tartu and the rural municipalities of the former Tartu St Mary’s parish – Ülenurme, Luunja, Tähtvere and Haaslava – are our permanent supporters. In addition, a number of companies and private persons wish to participate in the reconstruction of the church – God bless you all!
There are many reasons for participating in the restoration. Six good friends of ours have opened their heart and share their reasons for supporting us in the videos, which you will find on the Youtube channel Taastame Tartu Maarja kiriku.
If you have any questions and have not found the answers, please contact the congregation or the foundation here.