Tartu Plans to Ban Sale of Bottled Alcohol After 10 p.m.

Tartu has unveiled a preliminary nightlife strategy through 2035 aimed at making the city's nightlife safer. The plan calls for restricting the sale of bottled alcohol after 10 p.m. and increasing the nighttime presence of police officers and security personnel.

Although restaurants, clubs and bars may sell alcohol after 10 p.m. only for on-site consumption, it is still common to see people drinking from bottles on the streets of the university city late at night. Tartu hopes its new nightlife strategy will reduce public drinking.

"For example, business owners themselves have suggested that it would be fair if no establishment sold bottled alcoholic beverages to customers for takeaway during nighttime hours. After 10 p.m., alcohol should be consumed on the premises, not purchased in a bottle and taken elsewhere in the city to drink," said Tartu Deputy Mayor Kertu Vuks.

According to Genialistide Club Executive Director Jaan Kroon, the venue has already begun limiting takeaway alcohol sales. "There have been problems. We recognized the issue and have tried to address it. We use deposit cups and have staff at the door checking them on busier nights, but the bigger problem is the empty containers people bring with them into the city," Kroon said.

Asser Jõgar, owner of Vein ja Vine, said the biggest concerns are related to takeaway sales of spirits in bottles. Although police have increased nighttime foot patrols since this spring and private security companies are also present, Jõgar said the changes have had little effect in the city's trouble spots.

"When Vein ja Vine closes at 2 a.m. and we head home, we still know exactly where people urinate in public in the Old Town and where someone has smashed a bottle. Walking home at night, you don't see much changing, but the visible presence of the Police and Border Guard Board and security guards at least keeps the situation from getting worse. There should be a visible authority figure in problem areas starting at certain hours," Jõgar said.

At the same time, several clubs and bars connected to Tartu's nightlife have closed in recent years. This month, Shooters, a nightclub that had been part of Tartu's nightlife for 14 years, also announced it would shut down.

"One question that has come up repeatedly during the preparation of the strategy is why nightclub culture has changed the way it has. From the feedback we've received, one reason is certainly that young people today would rather spend time in places where they can eat, talk and perhaps dance afterward. That landscape is changing as well," Vuks said.

According to Vuks, the strategy aims to make Tartu's nighttime economy more vibrant while ensuring it remains safe. The city will accept public feedback on the draft strategy through August 31, after which it will prepare a more detailed action plan.