The main building of Tartu University is one of the most outstanding buildings of neo-classical architecture in Estonia. The Art Museum offers guided tours in the main building, which include the assembly hall, the 19th century lock-up for badly-behaved students and the Art Museum itself.

The Art Museum that was opened at the university in 1803 was intended to provide illustration to lectures and to refine the students’ taste in art. The museum walls are decorated with colourful murals in the style of ancient Pompeii, a fine example of 19th-century interior design, which is now rare. Although the Art Museums’s permanent exhibition focuses on the Antiquity, the museum also offers various special exhibitions, including those of prints, paintings, Russian orthodox icons and even modern art.