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
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Town | |
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Võru Location in Estonia | |
Coordinates: 57°50′55″N 26°59′34″E | |
Country | Estonia |
County | Võru County |
Founded | 21 August 1784 |
Government | |
• Mayor | Anti Allas[1] |
Area | |
• Total | 13.24 km2 (5.11 sq mi) |
Elevation | 84 m (276 ft) |
Population (2017) | |
• Total | 12,367 |
• Rank | 12th |
• Density | 1,099.2/km2 (2,847/sq mi) |
Ethnicity | |
• Estonians | 92% |
• Russians | 6% |
• other | 2% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
ISO 3166 code | EE-919 |
Website | www |
Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, according to the wish 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.
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, which is the highest temperature ever recorded in the country and - 43.4 °C, which is very close to the coldest temperature ever recorded in the country (after Jõgeva) are recorded here. [2] 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) | |||||||||||||
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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) |
Average high °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) |
Average low °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)[3][4][5][6][7][8] |
The Võru Folklore Festival is held annually in Võru in July since 1995.[9]
Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, the author of the Estonian national epic "Kalevipoeg", lived in Võru from 1833 to 1877.
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.[10]
Võru is home to Võru Stadium, the home ground of II liiga football team Võru JK.
Võru is twinned with:[11]
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)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.
Cities and towns of Estonia | ||
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Jaanilinn (Ivangorod) and Petseri (Pechory) were annexed by the Soviet Union in 1945 and are currently part of Russia. |
Municipalities of Võru County | ||
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Urban municipality | ||
Rural municipalities |
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National libraries | |
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