Võru County

Võru County
County of Estonia
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Estonia
Capital	Võru
Government
• Governor	Andres Kõiv
Area
• Total	2,305.44 km2 (890.14 sq mi)
Population (Jan 2013[1])
• Total	32,806
• Density	14/km2 (37/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	EE-86
Vehicle registration	V
Website	www.vorumaa.ee

Võrumaa or Võru maakond (English: Võru County, Võro: Võro maakund, German: Kreis Werro) officially, 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. 32,806 people live in Võru County – constituting 2.5% of the total population in Estonia (as of January 2013).^[1]

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

The County Government (Maavalitsus) is led by Governor (maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 2010 the Governor position is taken by Andres Kõiv. Estonian: 95.3%. Russian: 3.4%

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is 1 urban municipality (linn – town) and 12 rural municipalities (vallad – parishes) in Võru County.

Urban municipality:

• Võru

Municipalities of Võru County

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

Twin towns

• Halsua, Finland
• Kaavi, Finland
• Kaustinen, Finland
• Nilsiä, Finland
• Perho, Finland
• Rautavaara, Finland
• Ullava, Finland
• Vehmaa, Finland
• Veteli, Finland^[2]

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

• Võrumaa – Official site
• Võru Maavalitsus – Võru County Government site
• Võro Institute
• Võrumaa Kutsehariduskeskus – Võru County Vocational Training Centre

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Võru County.

Geographic locale v t e Municipalities of Võru County Urban municipality Võru Rural municipalities Antsla Haanja Lasva Meremäe Misso Mõniste Rõuge Sõmerpalu Urvaste Varstu Vastseliina Võru v t e Counties of Estonia Harjumaa Hiiumaa Ida-Virumaa Järvamaa Jõgevamaa Läänemaa Lääne-Virumaa Pärnumaa Põlvamaa Raplamaa Saaremaa Tartumaa Valgamaa Viljandimaa Võrumaa v t e Cities and towns (Linnad) of Estonia Abja-Paluoja Antsla Elva Haapsalu Jõgeva Jõhvi Kallaste Kärdla Karksi-Nuia Kehra Keila Kilingi-Nõmme Kiviõli Kohtla-Järve Kunda Kuressaare Lihula Loksa Maardu Mõisaküla Mustvee Narva Narva-Jõesuu Otepää Paide Paldiski Pärnu Põltsamaa Põlva Püssi Rakvere Räpina Rapla Saue Sillamäe Sindi Suure-Jaani Tallinn Tamsalu Tapa Tartu Tõrva Türi Valga Viljandi Võhma Võru Jaanilinn (Ivangorod) and Petseri (Pechory) were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and are currently part of Russia.

Coordinates: 57°45′N 26°55′E / 57.750°N 26.917°E / 57.750; 26.917