Tartu is the second largest city of Estonia. In contrast to Estonia's political and financial capital Tallinn, Tartu is often considered the intellectual and cultural hub, especially since it is home to Estonia's oldest and most renowned university. Situated 186 km southeast of Tallinn, the city is the centre of southern Estonia. The Emajõgi river, which connects the two largest lakes of Estonia, crosses Tartu. The city is served by Tartu Airport.

Historical names of the town include Tarbatu, an Estonian fortress founded in the 5th century,Yuryev (Юрьев) named c. 1030 by Yaroslav I the Wise, and Dorpat as first known by the German crusaders in the 13th century.

As Tartu has been under control of various rulers throughout its history, there are various names for the city in different languages. Most of them derive from the earliest attested form, the Estonian Tarbatu. In German, Swedish and Polish the town has been and sometimes still is known as  Dorpat (help·info), a variant of Tarbatu. In Russian, the city has been known as Юрьев (Yuryev) after Yaroslav I the Wise and Дерпт (Derpt), a variant of Dorpat (however, since 1917 the Estonian name Tartu is used). Similarly, the city has been known as Tērbata in Latvian.

Johannes Pääsuke (30 March 1892– 8 January 1918) was an Estonian photographer and filmmaker.

Very little is known of the youth of Johannes Pääsuke, the fourth of six children to a comfortably-off couple living in Tartu, Livonia, Russian Empire. Johannes's siblings were well educated, but all that is known about Johannes's own education is that he studied photography. On his own account, he started photography at fifteen, in 1907, and it is likely that he contacted the Estonian National Museum (ERM) in 1912, having already taken photographs in various places in Estonia.

In 1913, Pääsuke began a project for the ERM to document Estonia's lands, trades and architecture through photography and the collection of artifacts.

A major part of this project was a tour Pääsuke made with an assistant, H. Volter, to the Estonian coast, from 10 June to 29 July 1913. The two traveled most of the way by foot, carrying the normal luggage and also cameras, a tripod, plates and so forth. Three hundred and seventeen photographs remain from this trip, many of Saaremaa and Muhu. Pääsuke's work was highly appreciated by ERM, which opened an exhibition of the photographs on 2 August 1913.

Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English film and stage actor. He is best known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr. Chips for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Donat was born in Withington, Manchester, Lancashire, to Ernst Emil Donat and his wife Rose Alice (née Green) who were married at Withington's St Paul's Church, in 1895. He was of English, Polish, German and French descent and was educated at Manchester’s Central High School for Boys.

Donat had a brother, John Donat, who was a trapper in Canada and later moved to Shelton, Connecticut, USA. John Donat's children were Jean, Jay and Peter. He was the owner of Lake George Camp for Girls in Gull Bay, New York, which catered to old New York families.

Donat made his first stage appearance in 1921, at the age of 16, with Henry Baynton's company at the Prince of Wales Theatre, Birmingham, playing Lucius in Julius Caesar. His real break came in 1924 when he joined the company of Shakespearean actor Sir Frank Benson, where he stayed for four years. Donat made his film debut in 1932 in Men of Tomorrow. His first great screen success came with The Private Life of Henry VIII, playing Thomas Culpeper.