Jüri Kivimäe


Jüri Kivimäe is an Estonian historian and archivist.

Early life and education

Kivimäe was born in Pärnu and grew up in Tootsi. After graduating from primary school in Tootsi, he studied at from 1962 to 1965, and then at Tartu State University from 1965 to 1970, where he graduated as a historian and history teacher. His thesis dealt with the history of the Tartu Jesuit College in the 16th century.

Career

After graduating from the university, Kivimäe worked in Tallinn from 1970 to 1975 as the history and philosophy editor for the Estonian Soviet Encyclopedia at the Valgus publishing house. From 1975 to 1990, he was a research fellow at the of the Estonian Academy of Sciences.
In 1981, he defended his thesis on the history of Narva trade and trade policy in the 16th century, which he completed under the supervision of Enn Tarvel. In 1996, Kivimäe became a full professor of general history at the University of Tartu. Since 1999, he has been a professor of history at the University of Toronto and the head of the Elmar Tampõld Chair of Estonian Studies, mainly teaching the history of the Baltics, including the Hanseatic League, and the old Livonian chronicles.
In addition to the University of Tartu and University of Toronto, Kivimäe has taught at Tallinn University, the University of Tampere, the University of Turku, and the University of Latvia, and he has been a research fellow in Sweden and Germany.
His main field of research is the ancient history of Livonia. He has also dealt with issues of 20th-century Estonian history such as the resettlement of Baltic Germans, the March 1944 bombing of Tallinn, the history of historiography, and the events of 1905.

Family

Jüri Kivimäe's wife is the historian Sirje Kivimäe and his brother is the historical philosopher.

Awards

Publications

  • 1974: "Teated eestikeelsest trükisest 1525". Keel ja Kirjandus 4: 197–207.
  • 1980: "Была ли Нарва городом-филиалом Таллина в средние века?". Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Toimetised. Ühiskonnateaduste seeria 29: 115–130.
  • 1981: "Narva küsimus Liivi Ordu poliitikas aastail: 1494–1535". Eesti NSV TA Toimetised. Ühiskonnateaduste seeria 30: 29–42.
  • 1987: Religiooni ja ateismi ajaloost Eestis. Tallinn: Eesti Raamat. 304 pages.
  • 1993: Uusaeg 1. Tallinn: Avita. 110 pages.
  • 1997: Tallinn tules. Dokumente ja materjale Tallinna pommitamisest 9./10. märtsil 1944, = Tallinna Linnaarhiivi toimetised 2. Tallinn: Tallinna Linnaarhiiv. 240 pages.
  • 1998: Merelinn Pärnu. Pärnu: Pärnu Linnavalitsus. 174 pages.
  • 2006: Paul Johansen. Kaugete aegade sära, = Eesti mõttelugu 65. Compiled, foreword, and afterword by Jüri Kivimäe. Translated by Jüri Kivimäe, Sirje Kivimäe, and Eerik-Niiles Kross. Tartu: Ilmamaa. 528 pages.
  • 2018: Eesti kiriku- ja religioonilugu. Tartu: Tartu Ülikooli Kirjastus. 390 pages.
  • 2022: Balthasar Russow. Liivimaa provintsi kroonika. Translated by Jüri Kivimäe, edited by and Siiri Rebane. Tallinn: Tänapäev. 472 pages.
  • 2023: Eesti merenduse ajalugu. 1: Eesti randade asustamisest kuni Teise maailmasõja alguseni. Tallinn: Varrak. 672 pages.