Võru County
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Võru County ( or ''Võrumaa''; ) is a county in southern
Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...
. It is bordered by Valga and Põlva counties, Latvia's Alūksne and Ape municipalities, and Russia's Pskov Oblast (making it the only Estonian county to border two countries). The territory of Võrumaa covers and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. In 2022, Võru County had a population of 34,182, 2.6% of the total population in Estonia. The county is subdivided into 12 rural municipalities and one urban municipality, the county capital, Võru.


Ethnic division and culture

In Võru County, there are 95.3% Estonians, 3.3% Russians, and 1.4% other nationalities. Two indigenous ethnic groups live in Võru County – the Võro people and the Setos. Both ethnic groups have their own language ( Võro, Seto) and cultural heritage in traditions.


Võro people

The Võro Institute is established for the preservation and promotion of the Võro language and culture, which are tightly connected with its historic centre, the rural and mostly agricultural South-Eastern Estonian county of Võromaa. The Võro Institute was founded by the Estonian government in 1995. The institute is engaged in a wide range of activities, including establishing school programs, conducting linguistic and regional research, preserving place-names and their corresponding stories, publishing Võro-language scholarship and school textbooks, and organizing annual language conferences etc. The aim of these activities is to encourage the Võro people to speak their own language and to preserve their characteristic life-style. In 2014, the smoke sauna tradition in Võrumaa was added to the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
list of intangible cultural heritage. Smoke saunas along with sauna rituals are a part of traditional life and cultural heritage of the Võro people. A smoke sauna is an old-fashioned rural sauna, which has no chimney.


Setos

The purpose of the Seto Institute is to coordinate and promote research in the field of the Seto region and the Seto culture and to introduce the results of the research to the public. The Seto Institute publishes papers, organizes events and organizes education in the field of Seto culture in cooperation with other organizations in the Seto region. In 2009, the Setos’ polyphonic style of folk singing, called leelo, was added to the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
list of intangible cultural heritage. Believed to be at least 1,000 years old, leelo is considered a special local variant of the Baltic-Finnic runo song tradition.


Religion

The Lutheran congregations in the county are under the Võru Deanery of the South Estonian Diocese of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church: in Võru, Pindi, Roosa, Rõuge, Urvaste and Vastseliina.
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
congregations in the county are under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. Several congregations of Baptists, and other Christian churches operate in the county.


Economy

The county's main economic sectors are forestry and wood processing, furniture and food industry and also tourism. According to statistics of 2011, there are 1852 SMEs in Võru County. 47% of enterprises in the county belong to primary sector (agriculture, forestry), 38% of enterprises work in tertiary sector (trade, services) and 15% of enterprises are involved in secondary sector (processing industry). The biggest foreign owned companies based in Võru County are AS Toftan (wood processing), AS Barrus (wood processing), AS Antsla Inno (furniture production), AS Rauameister (metal processing), AS Võru Juust (food processing) and Danpower GmbH (energy production). The county enjoys an advantageous location due to its relative proximity to Pskov in Russia (100 km) and Riga in Latvia (220 km). Accessibility is provided by several transport corridors running through the county. One of the most important transit routes in Estonia, Tallinn-Tartu-Pskov, passes the county. The South-East corner of the county is crossed by the Riga-Pskov-St Petersburg major road. The county is strategically placed on trade routes between the East and West.


Education

The county has 23 schools with approximately 1500 pupils. One vocational school, Võru County Vocational Training Center, offers 33 different practical curriculums in various levels for 600 students.


Culture and events

Võrumaa is a distinctive region bearing the culture of Võro and Seto. Smaller sub-areas are tightly covered with community centres, libraries, museums and sport centres. Larger cultural and sport facilities ar
Võru Culture Center Kannel
Võrumaa Central library
Võro Institute
th
Vana-Võromaa Culture House
and th
Võrumaa Sport Centre
There are many traditional and non-traditional cultural and sport events taking place in the county, which are organized by different associations and non-profit organizations. The cultural landscape is shaped by events such as Võru Folk Festival, song festiva
Uma PidoOstrova Festival
of traditional Seto and modern pop music, food fair UMA MEKK, unique Lindora fair
Võhandu International Canoeing MarathonHaanja Ski MarathonRõuge Boar Race
and many more.


History

Võrumaa in its historical borders ( Võro: ''Vana Võromaa'') included eight parishes: Karula, Hargla, Urvaste, Rõuge, Kanepi, Põlva, Räpina and Vastseliina. These parishes are currently centered (due to redistricting) in Võru and Põlva Counties with parts extending into Valga and Tartu Counties. From 1944 to 1953, the Estonian Forest Brothers (anti-Soviet partisans) were most active in Võru County.


County government

Until 2017 the Võru County Government (''maavalitsus'') was a regional government agency, directed by the County Governor (''maavanem''), who represented the national interests in the county and was responsible for the balanced and comprehensive development of the county. The County Governor was appointed to the office by the Government of Estonia for a 5-year term, on the proposal of the Minister of Regional Affairs. Since 2010 the Governor position was taken by Andres Kõiv.


Municipalities

Today Võru County consists 5
municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...
that work together to facilitate the county's balanced and sustainable development. 5 municipalities are divided for one urban - Võru - and 4 rural municipalities (''vallad'' - parishes) - Antsla, Rõuge, Setomaa, Võru. In Võru County there are two towns (''linnad'' - Võru and Antsla) and approximately 570 villages. Former rural municipalities: * Antsla Parish (''includes the town of Antsla'') * Haanja Parish * Lasva Parish * Meremäe Parish * Misso Parish * Mõniste Parish * Rõuge Parish * Sõmerpalu Parish * Urvaste Parish * Varstu Parish * Vastseliina Parish * Võru Parish


Gallery

Kreutzwaldi monument Võrus 2013 09.jpg, Monument to writer Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald in Võru Võru Katariina kirik 2014.JPG, St. Catherine's church in Võru Vastseliina Castle 01.jpg, The ruins of Vastseliina Castle Hurmav Haanjamaa puhkepaik.jpg, Lake Palujüri in Haanja Parish Väimela mõisa peahoone eestvaade 2013-09.jpg, Väimela manor Väike Kõrbjärv Haanjas.JPG, Väike Kõrbjärv lake in Haanja Parish Suur-Munamäe vaatetorn.jpg, Suur Munamägi observation tower Võru Suurkannataja Ekaterina kirik 2013.JPG, St. Catherine's orthodox church in Võru Rõuge Vabadussõja monument 2.JPG, Monument to the Estonian War of Independence in Rõuge Loosi ja Puutli küla kääpad nr 13713-13742..JPG, Forested area standing on burial mounds near Puutli Rõuge-ratasjärv.JPG, Countryside near Rõuge on Ratasjärv lake File:Sänna mõisa park.jpg, A wooded trail through Sänna Park


References

*Hella Keem (1997): Võru keel. Eesti teaduste akadeemia Emakeele selts. Tallinn. *Aune Valk (2000): Võrokeste identiteedist. Kadri Koreinik, Jan Rahman (toim.) A kiilt rahvas kynõlõs.. Võrokeste keelest, kommetest, identiteedist (lk. 39–56). Võro Instituut'. Võro.


External links


Võru County Tourist Information

Võru County Development Agency
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