Võru (Est. Võru, German Werro, until 1917 Russian. Verro) is a city in Estonia, the administrative center of Võru County and Võru parish.
Võru is located on the plateau of an ancient valley in the
extreme southeast of Estonia, on the northeastern shore of Lake
Tamula. Distance to Tallinn is 215 kilometers, to Tartu - 57
kilometers. The area of the city is 14.01 km2.
Number of
inhabitants
According to the Department of Statistics, 12,022
people lived in Võru as of January 1, 2018, and 11,859 as of January
1, 2019.
Monument to Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald and a park named after him
on the shore of Lake Tamula. This Estonian writer, educator, doctor and
public figure is considered the founder of Estonian literature. It was
he who brought together the Estonian folk tales, which, after artistic
processing, made up the national epic "Kalevipoeg" ("Son of Kalev").
A suspension bridge in the northern part of Lake Tamula, connecting Vyra
with the island of Roozisaar.
The site of an ancient Stone Age
parking lot in the area of the suspension bridge to the island of
Roozisaar.
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald Museum.
On the northern
outskirts of the town of Vyru, on the high bank of the river, there are
the ruins of the Kirumpya stone castle.
St. Catherine's Church is a
Lutheran church, consecrated on July 24, 1793 and built with funds (28
thousand rubles) donated by Empress Catherine II. It was built in
1788-1793. It has a single-nave structure in the style of early
classicism with large arched windows designed, presumably, by architect
Christoph Haberland. During the reconstruction in 1879, the spire
received a new shako and a clock on four sides of the tower. The only
decoration of the interior of the church is the altar painting "Christ
on the Cross" (1855).
The Church of St. Catherine the Great Martyr of
the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church, built in 1804 by architect
Matthias Schons (M. Schons). The carpentry work was supervised by local
resident Johann Karl Otto. The building has a simple rectangular layout,
inside there are many icons and an iconostasis from the beginning of the
XIX century.
In 1996, a monument was erected next to the Lutheran
Church in memory of the residents of the city who died in the shipwreck
of the ferry "Estonia" on September 28, 1994, on their way to the
Swedish sister city of Landskrona. The author of the monument is Mati
Karmin.
In 2014, a monument to Empress Catherine II was erected on
Catherine Alley (est.Katariina allee)
The official date of the founding
of Võru is considered to be August 21, 1784, when the Governor
General of Livonia signed a decree on the formation of a new city
with the message that the location of the city being built will be
the Verro Manor and the city will bear the name of the Manor.
Catherine II personally approved the coat of arms of the new city
and issued a number of orders about it.
The oldest
archaeological find on the present territory of Võru is a randomly
found female skull from the Middle Stone Age (dating from around
4000 BC).
In 1943, on the site of the ancient settlement of
Tamula, the oldest treasure was found, which contained interesting
amber pendants and bone objects. In a half-hour walk from the city
center, through the park on a beautiful suspension bridge, you can
reach the historical site of Tamula.
The first mention of the
Kirumpäe castle mound, which was built to protect the eastern border
of the Dorpat bishopric, dates back to 1322. A large settlement of
traders and artisans, Kirumpää, arose around the stone castle. The
modern city of Võru is located a kilometer south of the ruins of the
Kirumpäe settlement, which was finally destroyed during the next
Russian-Swedish war in 1656.
Kirumpää was a land trampled by
wars, the castle mound and the adjacent lands belonged to the
Livonian Order, then Russia, then Poland. Under the rule of Poland,
namely since 1590, the first mentions of the neighboring property -
the estate (manor) Verro (Veremoyza) - appear. After the Northern
War, when the so-called. Russian time, then Queen Elizabeth Petrovna
presented part of the fortress estates to Count A.P.
Bestuzhev-Ryumin. Kirumpäe lands were sold and bought, during the
ownership of the Müller family, one of the Müller daughters received
the Verro estate. Müller sold the estate to von Mengden, from whom,
in turn, the Verro estate was bought for the newly founded county
center.
From that time on, the history of Võru itself begins,
since neither the historical settlement of Tamula, nor the fort of
Kirumpäe can be considered the direct predecessors of the modern
city. In 1783, by order of Tsarina Catherine II, a new district was
created from the southern and southeastern parts of the Derpt
district, the center was to become the state estate of Vana-Koyola
(Kirumpyah-Koikul). After some time, Catherine II gave permission to
Governor-General Georg von Braun to buy a private estate of Verro
for the construction of the city. The main building of the manor has
survived to this day in a rebuilt state.
Võru was founded by
order. In 1785, the city plan was approved, which provided for an
orderly, full-angle network of intersecting streets. In the same
year, the first ten families settled in the city, a pharmacy was
opened. The historical network of streets has been preserved;
single-storey wooden houses dominate in the old buildings. The
network of streets and wooden architecture, interesting from the
point of view of construction, are of unique value and originality.
Lutheran (1793) and Orthodox (1804) churches resemble the early
years of the city, both are dedicated to Empress Catherine II.
During the Second World War, several neighborhoods burned down
in the center of Võru, and about 90 houses were destroyed. The first
general plan of the city was ready in 1945 (architect J. Kuvasto).
The second master plan was drawn up in 1971 (not approved) and the
third, as a proofreading of the first, in 1974 (architect R.
Riitsaar).
From 16 to 17 September, a session of the Supreme
Council of the Estonian SSR was held in the city of Võru.
In
1950-1991 it was the center of the Võru region.
Vyru is located on the plateau of an ancient valley in the extreme southeast of Estonia, on the northeastern shore of Lake Tamula. The distance to Tallinn is 215 kilometers, to Tartu — 57 kilometers. The area of the city is 14.01 km2.
The most important sectors of the city's economy are industry,
agriculture and tourism.
The volume of industrial production (at
enterprises with more than 20 employees) in 2005 amounted to 1.8 billion
kronor.
The main industry is the woodworking and furniture
industry. Turnover of large enterprises in the industry in 2005-2006
(million kronor):
Toftan AS (lumber production) — 358-436
GM
Panels OY (production of chipboard and fiberboard) — 115-124
Wermo AS
(furniture manufacturing) — 108-85
Antsla-Inno AS (furniture
manufacturing) — 232-230
In 2020 (million euros):
Toftan AS —
72,084
Wermo AS — 4,195
Antsla-Inno AS — 16,841
The GM Panels
OY company was liquidated in 2012.
The longest highway in Estonia, connecting the capital with the Luhamaa border crossing point, the international corridors Via Estica, the Riga— Pskov highway and the Riga—St. Petersburg railway pass through Vyru County. The distance to Tartu Airport is 63 km.
The Vyrus Vocational Education Center provides education in the fields of engineering, tourism and hospitality, catering, hotel management, trade and entrepreneurship.