Tartu Hanseatic Days July 19 – 21, 2013
Tartu gets back in touch with its roots as a Hanseatic trading city with an upcoming and all-encompassing Medieval festival. Expect the town to fill with people wearing historic costumes, and the Old Town to turn into a gigantic marketplace.

Each year, organizers set up different theme ‘towns.’ A Science Town, Art Town, Iron Town, Children’s Town and more will all help to set the stage for this year’s festival, as will the theme “Aromatic Hanseatic Days.”
Tartu Hanseatic Days have become one of the main events in town; townspeople consider the event to be a natural part of the year and wait for it as anxiously as they do for the migratory birds or the first snow.
And so, the name for the festivities became Tartu Aromatic Hanseatic Days.
Hanseatic Days will not take place only because of the yearning for the Middle Ages: they combine together the past, present and the future of Tartu. The town, soon to be 1,000 years old, is full of a rich and exciting life.
Hundreds of traders will find their way to Tartu as well – they will sell unique handicrafts made up of traditional or natural materials, interesting goods and foods and introduce medieval handicraft skills. Designer jewelry, archaic jewelry, toys with folk patterns, entwined hat baskets and handicrafts in muhu embroidery are offered.
Everybody can enjoy different cuisines at numerous places. Here you will find various dishes from different national cuisines, potato chips and grilled fished baked on spot, as well as smoked meat and fish.
If you fancy something sweet, you can find different kinds of ice-cream, candy floss, various iced and juice drinks, confectioneries and pastries. Also, if you feel like having a snack, you can have almonds, dried fish, freshly fermented cucumbers or berries.
At the Farmer’s Market  you can buy fresh home-made honey, home-grown vegetables and berries, peas, organic products, medicinal herbs and cooking herbs, sea buckthorn products, elk sausage, different kinds of cheeses and home-made cosmetics.
Other highlights of the event include a Hanseatic wedding and lots of theatrical figures, the Rural Town on Pirogov Square, Science Town on Toome Hill, Iron Town near Tasku Center, Art Town on Emajogi riverbanks, and the Children’s Town next to Tartu Toy Museum in Lutsu Street. In other words, there will be something to see and to do for every age and every taste.

baltictimes.com