Võru County
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Võrumaa
Võru County
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Capital (and largest city) |
Võru |
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Official languages | Estonian1 | |||||
Demonym | Estonian | |||||
Government | County Government | |||||
- | County Governor | Ülo Tulik | ||||
- | Mayor of the capital | - (Linnapea) | ||||
Establishment | 1920 | |||||
- | 1st Soviet occupation | 1940-1941 | ||||
- | German occupation | 1941-1944 | ||||
- | 2nd Soviet occupation | 1944-1991 | ||||
- | Restored | 1990 | ||||
Area | ||||||
- | Total | 2,305 km² 1,150 sq mi |
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Population | ||||||
- | Jan. 01, 2008 estimate | ca. 40,000 | ||||
- | 2004 census | 39,696 | ||||
- | Density | 16,9/km² (7th) 9/sq mi |
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Currency | Estonian kroon (EEK ) |
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Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |||||
- | Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||||
Internet TLD | .ee | |||||
Calling code | +372 | |||||
1 | Võro and Seto are spoken in Võrumaa along with Estonian. |
Võrumaa (English: Võru County),(Võro: Võro maakund) officially, Võru maakond, is a county in Southern Estonia. It is bordered to the north by the Põlva County and the Lake Pihkva; to the west by Valga County; to the south by Latvia; and to the east by the Russian Federation. The territory of Võrumaa covers 2,305 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. 2.9% of the total population of Estonia lives in the county.
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[edit] History
Võrumaa in its historical borders included eight parishes: Karula, Hargla, Urvaste, Rõuge, Kanepi, Põlva, Räpinä and Vastseliina. These parishes are currently centered (due to redistricting) in Võru and Põlva Counties with parts extending into Valga and Tartu Counties.
[edit] County Government
The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2005 the Governor position is taken by Ülo Tulik.
[edit] Municipalities
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is 1 urban municipality (Estonian: linn - town) and 12 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad - parishes) in Võru County.
Urban municipality:
Rural municipalities:
- Antsla
- Haanja
- Lasva
- Meremäe
- Misso
- Mõniste
- Rõuge
- Sõmerpalu
- Urvaste
- Varstu
- Vastseliina
- Võru
[edit] Geography
[edit] Miscellaneous topics
The Võro language is the local autochthonous language spoken also in Põlva County and some parts of Valga and Tartu County. Linguistically it is a variety of South Estonian language but most local people consider it a separate language.
[edit] 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.
[edit] External links
- Võrumaa - Official site
- Võru Maavalitsus - Võru County Government site
- Võro Institute