A local history museum covering the development of Tartu from its origins as a medieval trading settlement through the 19th-century university boom, the independence periods, and the Soviet era. The collection is more personal and less polished than the Estonian National Museum — photographs, everyday objects, furniture, documents — which gives it a different kind of intimacy.
Located in the old town, a few minutes' walk from Raekoja plats. A good option for filling in the details of Tartu's specific history after you've covered the broad strokes at the national museum. Small admission fee; typically quiet.