Historic events in the Assembly Hall

1842 
Pianist and composer Ferenc Liszt gave two concerts on his tour to St Petersburg.

1883 
The 100th anniversary of the birth of the Russian poet Vassily Zhukovsky, who wrote the words to the imperial anthem, among other things, was celebrated in the magnificently decorated hall.

1905 
The Assembly Hall became one of the epicentres of the revolution that had begun in Russia, with revolutionary-minded students regularly gathering to voice their demands. A national meeting of elected representatives was also held in the hall, which split into two separate meetings on the opening day. The more radical wing of representatives of the Estonian people stayed in the hall.

1919 
The opening ceremony of the Estonian-language university was held, which paved the way for today's national university.

1939 
A memorial to students who died in the War of Independence was opened.

1964 
Speech by the President of Finland, Urho Kaleva Kekkonen, in Estonian, which emphasised the importance of the university in preserving Estonian national culture and language.

1965 
The hall was completely destroyed in a fire in the main building.

1967 
After two years of restoration work, the hall was reopened in its original form.

1987 
A Komsomol meeting of the History Department and the Faculty of Law protested against the decision of the Estonian SSR leaders to start large-scale phosphorite mining in Virumaa. Nationalist sentiments were ignited by Hando Runnel, who addressed the students as a representative of the Writers' Union.

1991 
The Dalai Lama XIV, who visited the university and gave a lecture here ten years later, spoke in the Assembly Hall.

1994 
On the initiative of Rector Peeter Tulviste, the memorial to the students who fell in the War of Independence was returned to its original location. The accompanying bronze inscriptions were restored 25 years later for the 100th anniversary of the national university.