The Gunpowder Cellar (Estonian: Püssirohukelder) is a historic building in Tartu, Estonia which now functions as a beer restaurant.
The name is derived from the restaurant's location: it is situated in an 18th-century gunpowder cellar constructed in 1768 - 1778 by order of Catherine II of Russia on the site of an earlier fort, making use of the natural valley and pre-existing very thick brick walls for added safety. The building served as a gunpowder cellar until 1809 when it was converted to a beer storage room.[1] At the end of the 19th century the building began to be used by the University of Tartu[1] which meant that lectures and scientific work were often conducted on top of gunpowder barrels.[2] In the 1990s it functioned as a large medieval restaurant before reopening in 2001 as a pub and disco though retaining a wine cellar.[3]
Its unique structure also lends it a unique distinction: it is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the highest pub ceiling in the world, at 11m (36feet).[4]
The restaurant is a popular meeting place among Tartu's student population. It boasts a regular cultural programme, including a number of plays by the Vanemuine theatre. This programme includes regular live music events.[3]