St John's Lutheran Church


Dating to at least 1323, this imposing red-brick church is unique for the rare terracotta sculptures placed in niches around its exterior and interior (look up). Shattered by a Soviet bombing raid in 1944, it long lay derelict, and wasn't fully restored until 2005. Climb the 135 steps of the 30m steeple for a bird’s-eye view of Tartu.


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