The Leaning House of Tartu

Nestled on Raekoja Plats, Tartu’s central square, stands a most curious structure: the Leaning House, home to the Tartu Art Museum. Subtle yet unmistakable, its 5.8° tilt makes it lean more than the Tower of Pisa  .

Constructed in 1793, the building sits on two very different foundations — one side supported by sturdy old city wall remains, the other perched atop wooden poles driven into the marshy banks of the River Emajõgi. As groundwater levels dropped over centuries, the timbered side gradually sank, tilting the house sideways  .

In 1819 it became known as the Barclay House after Countess Auguste Helene Barclay de Tolly acquired it. Later, from 1879, a pharmacy occupied the ground floor—Oskar Luts, one of Estonia’s beloved writers, even worked there as an apprentice pharmacist  . In the mid‑20th century, the upper floors served as a student dormitory where noted artists lived, adding layers of artistic memory to its walls  .

By the 1980s, the lean had become so pronounced that structural collapse seemed possible. Polish specialists intervened with extensive restoration, stabilising the foundations—crucially, without straightening it—allowing the tilt to remain as the house’s defining character  .

Since 1988, this charming oddity has housed the Tartu Art Museum. Inside, its three floors—including a vaulted cellar—host ever-changing exhibitions from Estonian and international artists, with creative layout choices even leveraging its askew geometry  .

For off‑beat travellers, the Leaning House is a delightful secret: a quietly dramatic visual moment in Tartu’s photogenic square, with art inside that echoes the building’s unpredictable spirit. It’s the perfect place to peel back the layers of local history—from marshy ground and shifting politics to literary apprenticeships and contemporary exhibitions.

Under the shadow of Tartu Town Hall, the Leaning House invites you in: to linger, marvel, and muse in a space shaped by architecture, art—and gravity.