| Võru County | |
| Native Name: | |
| Settlement Type: | County |
| Flag Size: | 125px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Estonia |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Võru |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Andres Kõiv |
| Area Total Km2: | 2305.44 |
| Population Total: | 34182 |
| Population As Of: | 2022[1] |
| Population Rank: | 8th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type2: | GDP |
| Demographics2 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics2 Info1: | €584 million (2022) |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics2 Info2: | €17,041 (2022) |
| Registration Plate: | V |
| Iso Code: | EE-87 |
Võru County (Estonian: Võru maakond or Võrumaa; Võro maakund) 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 (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.
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.
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 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.
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 | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | ||
| 10,418 | 32.7 | 7,983 | 28.0 | 7,500 | 25.6 | ||
| —Orthodox Christians | 2,030 | 6.4 | 1,839 | 6.4 | 2,320 | 7.9 | |
| —Lutherans | 8,118 | 24.5 | 5,846 | 20.5 | 4,500 | 15.4 | |
| —Catholics | 40 | 0.1 | 25 | 0.09 | 220 | 0.7 | |
| —Baptists | 75 | 0.2 | 72 | 02. | 130 | 0.4 | |
| —Jehovah's Witnesses | 95 | 0.3 | 105 | 0.5 | 120 | 0.4 | |
| —Pentecostals | 27 | 0.09 | 11 | 0.03 | - | - | |
| —Old Believers | - | - | 1 | 0.003 | - | - | |
| —Methodists | 29 | 0.09 | 36 | 0.1 | 30 | 0.1 | |
| —Adventists | 4 | 0.01 | 3 | 0.01 | 30 | 0.1 | |
| —Other Christians | - | - | 45 | 0.1 | 150 | 0.5 | |
| 6 | 0.01 | 11 | 0.04 | - | |||
| Other religions** | 124 | 0.4 | 180 | 0.6 | 430 | 1.5 | |
| 10,958 | 34.4 | 16,460 | 57.8 | 16,930 | 57.9 | ||
| Not stated*** | 10,338 | 32.4 | 3,900 | 13.7 | 4,320 | 14.8 | |
| Total population* | 31,883 | 28,484 | 29,220 | ||||
| |||||||
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.
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.
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 Võru Culture Center Kannel, Võrumaa Central library, Võro Institute, the Vana-Võromaa Culture House and the 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 festival Uma Pido, Ostrova Festival of traditional Seto and modern pop music, food fair UMA MEKK, unique Lindora fair, Võhandu International Canoeing Marathon, Haanja Ski Marathon, Rõuge Boar Race, and many more.
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.
Võru County Government (Maavalitsus) is a regional government agency, directed by the County Governor (maavanem), who represents the national interests in the county and is responsible for the balanced and comprehensive development of the county. The County Governor is 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 is taken by Andres Kõiv.
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 (vallad - parishes) - Antsla, Rõuge, Setomaa, Võru. In Võru County there are two towns (linnad - Võru and Antsla) and approximately 570 villages.
| Rank | Municipality | Type | Population (2018)[4] | Area km2 | Density | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rural | 4,606 | 410 | 11.2 | ||
| 2 | Rural | 5,551 | 934 | 5.9 | ||
| 3 | Rural | 3,556 | 461 | 7.7 | ||
| 4 | Rural | 10,942 | 954 | 11.5 | ||
| 5 | Urban | 12,242 | 14 | 874.4 |
poly 61 57 4 56 13 18 51 7 96 30 76 53 72 70 61 70 Urvaste Parishpoly 83 21 97 35 77 70 89 101 147 70 150 50 149 23 Sõmerpalu Parishpoly 17 54 22 104 40 97 40 122 29 129 43 159 96 143 121 104 116 88 88 102 77 70 61 71 59 56 Antsla Parishpoly 33 162 71 155 91 215 112 214 113 221 85 233 78 250 51 250 35 221 Mõniste Parishpoly 72 151 91 214 149 211 153 186 141 173 124 178 119 121 103 123 97 147 Varstu Parishpoly 118 85 123 177 152 181 170 183 197 160 192 108 166 106 146 68 Rõuge Parishpoly 170 184 212 209 240 200 239 164 229 151 238 134 220 108 192 107 199 160 Haanja Parishpoly 237 161 272 148 302 157 308 171 306 192 287 206 297 235 216 211 239 200 Misso Parishpoly 220 109 245 94 244 73 286 64 305 141 291 160 271 147 235 163 229 152 241 134 Vastseliina Parishpoly 290 74 305 144 332 123 341 130 347 115 334 87 342 84 350 64 300 60 Meremäe Parishpoly 202 28 211 48 193 52 210 71 230 67 222 86 233 100 243 92 243 74 278 65 265 57 283 28 238 23 221 2 196 9 210 26 Lasva Parishpoly 177 50 172 67 185 72 186 84 196 76 195 60 Võrupoly 148 22 147 69 170 109 234 103 227 71 211 71 195 52 211 47 202 25 175 20 172 10 Võru Parish
desc bottom-leftFormer rural municipalities: