Toomemägi means "Dome Mountain" in Estonian. However, this hill is not a mountain in the literal sense of the word. It's a spit that was formed from post-glacial deposits of sand and gravel. The height of the hill above sea level is 66 metres above sea level.
Many centuries ago, Toomemägi hill was the centre of an ancient settlement. Later on The castle was the residence of the Bishop of Tartu. After the Great Northern War, the bastions of the castle lost their defence value. Some of the ruins were buried and some of the remaining materials were used to build houses. So, the landscape of Toomemägi has gradually evolved over a long history - by nature, and then, over the centuries, by people. At that time, the hill was used by the locals as a pasture.
Toomemägi Hill, which in the 19th century came to be called by the German name of Domberg, was a gift to the university from Emperor Paul I. The first rector of the university, G. Parrott, the director of the scientific library, K. Morgenstern, and the university architect I. Krause decided to build a park on the hill, open to all comers and, in addition, to place some university buildings.
According to the plan, the park was to be laid out in the English style, with plantings, close to the natural landscape. Of the buildings, the first to be built was the university's rotunda, then the main building of the university and the observatory. In the surviving part of the of the ruins that remained of the Dome Cathedral, the university library was built. Under the direction of the architect I. Krause, the first trees were planted here in 1850. It is most likely from this time that the oldest trees in the park - the oldest trees in the park - hardwoods and pines, which are over 200 years old.
On the territory of the park there are many monuments and buildings, of architectural and historical value: the Museum of History of the University of Tartu, housed in the former Dome Cathedral; the Angel Bridge and the Devil's Bridge, the old Anatomian Devil's Bridge, the old Anatomikum, and the observatory. On the Angel Bridge, which The Angel Bridge, which is the Domberg Gate, has an inscription which, translated from Latin, means: "Rest revitalises".
In the park is the Sacrificial Stone, which is believed to have been preserved from ancient times when there was a sacred oak grove on Toomemägi. In it Estonians apparently organised various cult ceremonies. The sacrificial stone is located on the site of a former pond with a grotto, which was there before the beginning of the last century. The Bridge of Sighs, which leads to the Kissing Hill, reminds you of this. The grotto and the slide were made from the ruins of the corner tower of the city wall. Kissing Hill is one of the favourite walking places for young people. There is a custom about this place there is a custom that has survived to this day from the pre-war history. According to this custom, the graduation balls of students ended with a walk on the Hill of Kisses.
The park includes Kassitoome, a former sand quarry, which has been landscaped and now is green. Together with Kassitoome, the park covers an area of 15.6 hectares, making it the largest park in Tartu.
