After seeing several Struve monuments or geodetic points in Norway, Lithuania and Latvia (there are several points which have not been inscribed!), I made an effort to get a better understanding of this WHS by visiting the old Tartu Observatory in Estonia in September 2016. Some pointers to keep in mind if you intend to visit: opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00 and if your very keen and have enough time you can also try your luck by booking at least 3 days in advance for a night visit including an observation from the old observatory’s main telescope, a Carl Zeiss Refractor from 1911. The old observatory is situated in the middle of Tartu on a hill full of trees. This means you'll most likely not be able to see it while driving around in circles to find a parking spot. There are stairs leading up to the observatory from different points around the hill. Make sure to bring a mosquito repellent in summer, you won't regret it. There is a Struve Monument just in front of the old observatory and a metal sheet/Unesco plaque just next to the entrance. Once you enter the old observatory, make sure to look where you're standing while paying the entrance ticket. Most probably you'll be standing on the observatory's Struve Geodetic point, the first point of the geodetic arc (centre of my photo collage). Next to the point, there is an information board on Struve and a huge one storey map showing the geodetic points. Although the old observatory interior is mainly geared towards astronomy, there is a special cabinet with several Struve instruments used for the geodetic arc (photo). Finally I could try to understand and appreciate why most of the sites in this transnational inscription had a small point. These instruments were placed on top of this metal point and all sorts of complex mathemical measurements and calculations were made (although I guess the manhole cover in Meskonys, Lithuania was added afterwards!). From the top of the observatory I could see some of the steeples of Tartu but not much because of the tall trees. To celebrate my visit I bought a 1000 piece UNESCO puzzle of the geodetic struve points as well as a very good book on the Struve geodetic arc and the different instruments displayed in the old Tartu observatory. This is definitely one of the strangest WHS on the list but if you manage to fit in a visit to the old Tartu observatory you will get more out of this weird inscription and in my opinion you can safely tick this one off the list. If you're still unimpressed, head to a fine nearby cafe/restaurant called Vilde (Wilde) Health Cafe for a superb dinner and a pint of A. Le Coq!