Võru County
Võru County is a county in southern Estonia. It is bordered by Valga and Põlva counties, Latvia's Alūksne and Ape municipalities, and Russia's Pskov Oblast.
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 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 of Võro people was added to the UNESCO 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 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 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, 38% of enterprises work in tertiary sector and 15% of enterprises are involved in secondary sector. The biggest foreign owned companies based in Võru County are AS Toftan, AS Barrus, AS Antsla Inno, AS Rauameister, AS Võru Juust and Danpower GmbH.The county enjoys an advantageous location due to its relative proximity to Pskov in Russia and Riga in Latvia. 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 are, Võrumaa Central library,, the and the .
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 festival, of traditional Seto and modern pop music, food fair UMA MEKK, unique Lindora fair,,,, and many more.
History
Võru County was established in 1784.Võrumaa in its historical borders included eight parishes: Karula, Hargla, Urvaste, Rõuge, Kanepi, Põlva, Räpina and Vastseliina.
These parishes are currently centered in Võru and Põlva Counties with parts extending into Valga and Tartu Counties.
In April 1917, Võru County, which had previously been part of Livonia Governorate, was merged with the autonomous Estonian Governorate.
In 1920, when the northern areas of Valga County inhabited by Estonians were included in Estonia and the new Valga County was formed in the Estonian territories, part of the Karula and Hargla parishes was merged with Valga County. In 1925, part of the Räpina parish was transferred to Tartu County. In 1944, Petseri County was abolished and its part that remained in the Estonian SSR was merged with Võru County.
In 1950, counties were abolished and the Võru, Räpina, Põlva, Antsla and Vastseliina districts were formed in the area of former Võru County.
From 1944 to 1953, the Estonian Forest Brothers were most active in Võru County.
Võru District received its final borders during the administrative reform of the 1960s.
On 1 January 1990, Võru County was formed within the borders of Võru District.
The county's borders were last changed as a result of the 2017 administrative reform. In 2017, the number of municipalities within the county also decreased due to their merger.
County government
Until 2017 the Võru County Government was a regional government agency, directed by the County Governor, 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 to 2017 the Governor was Andres Kõiv.Municipalities
Today Võru County consists 5 municipalities that work together to facilitate the county's balanced and sustainable development. 5 municipalities are divided for one urban - Võru - and 4 rural municipalities - Antsla, Rõuge, Setomaa, Võru. In Võru County there are two towns, small boroughs and approximately 570 villages.| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population | Area km2 | Density |
| 1 | Antsla Parish | Rural | 4,606 | 410 | 11.2 |
| 2 | Rõuge Parish | Rural | 5,551 | 934 | 5.9 |
| 3 | Setomaa Parish | Rural | 3,556 | 461 | 7.7 |
| 4 | Võru Parish | Rural | 10,942 | 954 | 11.5 |
| 5 | Võru | Urban | 12,242 | 14 | 874.4 |