A cooperation agreement was signed between the cities of Tartu and Lüneburg on 22 August 1993.
Lüneburg has been funding the restoration of St John's Church in Tartu for a number of years and has also contributed funds and experience to help create the Domus Dorpantensis foundation.
The cities are both members of the Hanseatic League.
Lüneburg is home to an active German-Estonian Society, which was established with the approval and participation of Ulrich Mädge, the Mayor of Lüneburg, to promote formal contacts via personal initiatives. The society has repeatedly contributed to the restoration of St John's Church and funded Tartu Nursing Home, the Estonian-Russian kindergarten Sirel and Tartu Käopesa Family Home.
Lüneburg also has an active Tartu-Lüneburg Society, which was established in January 2014 on the initiative of Ants Tooming, the priest at St Peter’s Church in Tartu.
It is worth mentioning the good relations and cooperation that have lasted for nearly two decades between the St Peter’s congregation in Tartu and the St Michael’s congregation in Lüneburg, as well as the partnership between Tartu Tamme Lions Club and Lüneburg Lions Club, one of the outcomes of which has been visits by children from Tartu Christian Adolescents’ Home to Lüneburg.
The twin cities have worked closely on cultural exchanges, including food culture, and cooperation between young people and schools (e.g. at Jaan Poska Gymnasium, Mart Reinik School, Raatuse School and Hugo Treffner Gymnasium in Tartu).
There have been training events to allow vocational students in Tartu to acquire skills and experiences in Lüneburg. Employees of both city governments have also participated in exchange programmes to share their experience.
The recipient of the Star of Tartu from Lüneburg is:
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Karl-Heinz Hebrok, who was the Chairman of the German-Estonian Society in Lüneburg from 1999-2014.
The recipients of the Medal of Tartu from Lüneburg are:
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Ulrich Mädge, who is the Mayor of Lüneburg.
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Wolfgang Koch, who is the priest at St Michael’s Church in Lüneburg. He was the first person to promote friendship between the congregations of St Michael’s Church in Lüneburg and St Peter's Church in Tartu.
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