In this article we are going to address the topic of Võru from different perspectives with the aim of providing a broad and complete vision of this matter. Along these lines we will explore the different facets of Võru, analyzing its impact in various areas and offering a deep reflection on its meaning and relevance in the current context. From its origin to its evolution, through its influence on society and its relationship with other relevant topics, this article seeks to contribute to the knowledge and understanding of Võru in a comprehensive and enriching way.
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Võru
Võro (Võro) | |
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Coordinates: 57°50′55″N 26°59′34″E / 57.848611111111°N 26.992777777778°E | |
Country | Estonia |
County | Võru County |
Founded | 21 August 1784 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Kalvi Kõva |
Area | |
• Total | 14.01 km2 (5.41 sq mi) |
Elevation | 84 m (276 ft) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 11,865 |
• Rank | 12th |
• Density | 8,467/km2 (21,930/sq mi) |
Ethnicity | |
• Estonians | 93% |
• Russians | 5% |
• other | 2% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
ISO 3166 code | EE-919 |
Website | www |
Võru (Estonian: [ˈʋɤru]; Võro: Võro; German: Werro) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish.
Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, at the request of the Empress Catherine II of Russia, by the order of Riga Governor general count George Browne, on the site of the former Võru estate as the center of the new county.
From 1797 until today, Võru has been the administrative center of the surrounding region.
In 1827, the Võru Town Hospital was opened and Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, who lived and worked as a doctor in Võru from 1833 to 1877, also wrote the Estonian national epic "Kalevipoeg" in Võru. The development of the town was facilitated by the Pskov-Riga railway completed in 1889, which enabled Võru to have a direct connection with Riga and St. Petersburg. As a result, trade was developed, a flour mill, a sawmill and a distillery were built. Võru became the center of the surrounding rural area.
The town is situated on the shore of Lake Tamula.
Võru has a humid continental climate (Dfb according to the Köppen climate classification) with warm summers and cold winters. Võru has one of the most continental climates in Estonia: both the temperatures of 35.6 °C (96.1 °F), which is the highest temperature ever recorded in the country and −43.4 °C (−46.1 °F), which is very close to the coldest temperature ever recorded in the country (after Jõgeva) are recorded here. Precipitation is usually higher in early summer to late autumn, and lower in late winter to early spring.
Climate data for Võru (normals 1991–2020, extremes 1868–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 9.6 (49.3) |
12.9 (55.2) |
18.2 (64.8) |
26.9 (80.4) |
31.1 (88.0) |
33.8 (92.8) |
35.2 (95.4) |
35.6 (96.1) |
29.9 (85.8) |
22.2 (72.0) |
14.2 (57.6) |
11.7 (53.1) |
35.6 (96.1) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −1.8 (28.8) |
−1.3 (29.7) |
3.7 (38.7) |
11.4 (52.5) |
17.6 (63.7) |
21.1 (70.0) |
23.6 (74.5) |
22.1 (71.8) |
16.5 (61.7) |
9.4 (48.9) |
3.4 (38.1) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
10.5 (50.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | −4.2 (24.4) |
−4.5 (23.9) |
−0.4 (31.3) |
6.1 (43.0) |
11.9 (53.4) |
15.9 (60.6) |
18.4 (65.1) |
16.9 (62.4) |
11.9 (53.4) |
6.2 (43.2) |
1.3 (34.3) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
6.5 (43.7) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.7 (19.9) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−4.2 (24.4) |
1.2 (34.2) |
6.0 (42.8) |
10.7 (51.3) |
13.3 (55.9) |
12.1 (53.8) |
8.0 (46.4) |
3.3 (37.9) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
−4.3 (24.3) |
2.6 (36.7) |
Record low °C (°F) | −43.4 (−46.1) |
−37.9 (−36.2) |
−30.2 (−22.4) |
−18.8 (−1.8) |
−9.4 (15.1) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
1.7 (35.1) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−5 (23) |
−14.4 (6.1) |
−21.9 (−7.4) |
−40.5 (−40.9) |
−43.4 (−46.1) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 45 (1.8) |
36 (1.4) |
34 (1.3) |
35 (1.4) |
53 (2.1) |
83 (3.3) |
75 (3.0) |
79 (3.1) |
57 (2.2) |
64 (2.5) |
51 (2.0) |
45 (1.8) |
658 (25.9) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 119 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 88 | 85 | 77 | 69 | 67 | 71 | 74 | 77 | 82 | 86 | 89 | 89 | 79 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 29.3 | 60.5 | 136.6 | 194.8 | 271.8 | 261.1 | 276.1 | 237.4 | 150.8 | 75.2 | 27.3 | 17.3 | 1,738.2 |
Source: Estonian Weather Service (precipitation days 1971–2000) |
Ethnicity | 1922 | 1934 | 1941 | 1959 | 1970 | 1979 | 1989 | 2000 | 2011 | 2021 | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | amount | % | |
Estonians | 4480 | 88.3 | 4855 | 91.1 | 5250 | 97.1 | 8604 | 80.4 | 12307 | 79.9 | 13783 | 82.2 | 14985 | 85.6 | 13414 | 90.2 | 11651 | 92.0 | 11042 | 93.1 |
Russians | 163 | 3.21 | 171 | 3.21 | 87 | 1.61 | - | - | 2277 | 14.8 | 2378 | 14.2 | 1934 | 11.1 | 1112 | 7.47 | 804 | 6.35 | 599 | 5.05 |
Ukrainians | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | - | - | 312 | 2.03 | 261 | 1.56 | 249 | 1.42 | 99 | 0.67 | 64 | 0.51 | 51 | 0.43 |
Belarusians | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 112 | 0.73 | 96 | 0.57 | 90 | 0.51 | 44 | 0.30 | 30 | 0.24 | 22 | 0.19 |
Finns | - | - | 3 | 0.06 | 1 | 0.02 | - | - | 91 | 0.59 | 77 | 0.46 | 81 | 0.46 | 61 | 0.41 | 40 | 0.32 | 27 | 0.23 |
Jews | 118 | 2.33 | 96 | 1.80 | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | 20 | 0.13 | 10 | 0.06 | 12 | 0.07 | 6 | 0.04 | 4 | 0.03 | 4 | 0.03 |
Latvians | - | - | 37 | 0.69 | 21 | 0.39 | - | - | 30 | 0.19 | 30 | 0.18 | 35 | 0.20 | 23 | 0.15 | 14 | 0.11 | 23 | 0.19 |
Germans | 188 | 3.71 | 145 | 2.72 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 33 | 0.20 | 17 | 0.10 | 7 | 0.05 | 5 | 0.04 | 8 | 0.07 |
Tatars | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 19 | 0.11 | 12 | 0.07 | 6 | 0.04 | 1 | 0.01 | 0 | 0.00 |
Poles | - | - | 11 | 0.21 | 9 | 0.17 | - | - | - | - | 18 | 0.11 | 22 | 0.13 | 8 | 0.05 | 6 | 0.05 | 3 | 0.03 |
Lithuanians | - | - | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | - | - | 30 | 0.19 | 4 | 0.02 | 4 | 0.02 | 3 | 0.02 | 3 | 0.02 | 0 | 0.00 |
unknown | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 0.02 | 6 | 0.11 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | 44 | 0.30 | 9 | 0.07 | 40 | 0.34 |
other | 122 | 2.41 | 13 | 0.24 | 33 | 0.61 | 2096 | 19.6 | 219 | 1.42 | 58 | 0.35 | 55 | 0.31 | 52 | 0.35 | 36 | 0.28 | 43 | 0.36 |
Total | 5071 | 100 | 5332 | 100 | 5407 | 100 | 10700 | 100 | 15398 | 100 | 16767 | 100 | 17496 | 100 | 14879 | 100 | 12667 | 100 | 11865 | 99.9 |
The Võru Folklore Festival is held annually in Võru in July since 1995.
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, the author of the Estonian national epic "Kalevipoeg", lived in Võru from 1833 to 1877. Fr.R.Kreutzwald Memorial Museum and the Võro Institute are also located in Võru.
Võru is home to Võru Stadium, the home ground of II liiga football team Võru JK.
European route E263 is the main connection with the rest of Estonia. Other roads connect Võru with Põlva, Räpina, Antsla and Valga. The Valga–Pechory railway, which passes through Võru, is currently inactive. The Võru train station is unused as of 2014.
Võru is home to Taara Army Base, headquarters of the Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion.
Võru is twinned with:
To give one example, the garrison of the Estonian Kuperjanov Infantry Battalion located in Võru is just 50 miles away from the Russian base in Pskov. The range of 9M528 rockets fired from the BM-30 Smerch is 55 miles.