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27-574: The territory of Võrumaa covers 2,305 km (890 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. In 2022, Võru County had a population of 34,182, 2.6% of the total population in Estonia. The county is subdivided into 12 rural municipalities and one urban municipality, the county capital, Võru . In Võru County, there are 95.3% Estonians, 3.3% Russians, and 1.4% other nationalities. Two indigenous ethnic groups live in Võru County –

54-939: A 5-year term, on the proposal of the Minister of Regional Affairs. Since 2010 the Governor position is taken by Andres Kõiv. Today Võru County consists 5 municipalities that work together to facilitate the county's balanced and sustainable development. 5 municipalities are divided for one urban - Võru - and 4 rural municipalities ( vallad - parishes) - Antsla , Rõuge , Setomaa , Võru . In Võru County there are two towns ( linnad - Võru and Antsla) and approximately 570 villages. Former rural municipalities: 57°45′N 26°55′E  /  57.750°N 26.917°E  / 57.750; 26.917 Setos Setos ( Seto : setokõsõq , setoq , Estonian : setukesed , setud ) are an indigenous Finnic peoples and linguistic minority that have historically lived in

81-1104: A special local variant of the Baltic-Finnic runo song tradition. Religion in Võru County (2021) [1] The county's main economic sectors are forestry and wood processing , furniture and food industry and also tourism. According to statistics of 2011, there are 1852 SMEs in Võru County. 47% of enterprises in the county belong to primary sector (agriculture, forestry), 38% of enterprises work in tertiary sector (trade, services) and 15% of enterprises are involved in secondary sector (processing industry). The biggest foreign owned companies based in Võru County are AS Toftan (wood processing), AS Barrus (wood processing), AS Antsla Inno (furniture production), AS Rauameister (metal processing), AS Võru Juust (food processing) and Danpower GmbH (energy production). The county enjoys an advantageous location due to its relative proximity to Pskov in Russia (100 km) and Riga in Latvia (220 km). Accessibility

108-583: Is a distinctive region bearing the culture of Võro and Seto. Smaller sub-areas are tightly covered with community centres, libraries, museums and sport centres. Larger cultural and sport facilities are Võru Culture Center Kannel , Võrumaa Central library, Võro Institute , the Vana-Võromaa Culture House and the Võrumaa Sport Centre . There are many traditional and non-traditional cultural and sport events taking place in

135-671: Is provided by several transport corridors running through the county. One of the most important transit routes in Estonia, Tallinn-Tartu-Pskov, passes the county. The South-East corner of the county is crossed by the Riga-Pskov-St Petersburg major road. The county is strategically placed on trade routes between the East and West. The county has 23 schools with approximately 1500 pupils. One vocational school, Võru County Vocational Training Center, offers 33 different practical curriculums in various levels for 600 students. Võrumaa

162-895: Is unknown to researchers, only that they first emerged in Setomaa around the Piusa River . This was an area that was an intersection between the Finnic peoples and the Balts . During the 13th century, the majority of Estonians along the coasts were converted to Catholicism during the Livonian Crusade led by the Teutonic Order . During this time, the majority of Setos lived under the Novgorod Republic and remained followers of their native Finnic religion . Over

189-579: Is widely practiced by the Seto peoples. The ancestral homes of many Setos can be found to the south of Lake Peipus , in the Setomaa region. After 1991 however, this territory was divided between the newly independent Estonia ( Põlva and Võro counties) and the north-western sections of the Russian Federation ( Pechorsky District of Pskov Oblast ). The definitive origin of the Seto people

216-592: The Estonian government in 1995. The institute is engaged in a wide range of activities, including establishing school programs, conducting linguistic and regional research, preserving place-names and their corresponding stories, publishing Võro-language scholarship and school textbooks, and organizing annual language conferences etc. The aim of these activities is to encourage the Võro people to speak their own language and to preserve their characteristic life-style. In 2014,

243-507: The Võro people and the Setos . Both ethnic groups have their own language ( Võro , Seto ) and cultural heritage in traditions. The Võro Institute is established for the preservation and promotion of the Võro language and culture, which are tightly connected with its historic centre, the rural and mostly agricultural South-Eastern Estonian county of Võromaa. The Võro Institute was founded by

270-623: The Estonian Forest Brothers (anti-Soviet partisans) were most active in Võru County. Võru County Government ( Maavalitsus ) is a regional government agency, directed by the County Governor ( maavanem ), who represents the national interests in the county and is responsible for the balanced and comprehensive development of the county. The County Governor is appointed to the office by the Government of Estonia for

297-742: The Republic of Estonia was restored in the borders of the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, and a national border was established soon afterwards. In 2009, the Setos' polyphonic style of folk singing, called leelo , was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage . Seto leelo is usually performed by women, dressed in traditional clothing. During the Seto Kingdom Day celebration,

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324-492: The Seto peoples. Since medieval times the monastery has owned much of the land and the Seto Churches in the region leading many Seto peasants to view the monastery as the economic and theological center of their community. In 1920 with the independence of the Republic of Estonia from Soviet Russia , the border was drawn to include the monastery on the Estonia side. This prevented it from being desecrated or demolished by

351-476: The Setos blossomed in the early 20th century when many national societies were organized. In 1905, the number of Setos reached its peak. After the proclamation of independence of Estonia, the authorities adopted a policy of Estonification of its population, which eventually led to decline of the Setos as a distinctive community within Estonia. In Russia, due to the influence of Estonian language schools, high rates of inter-community marriages, and emigration to Estonia,

378-696: The Soviet forces during the anti-religious campaign from 1921-1928. Following the occupation by the German and Soviet forces from 1940-1991, the restoration of Estonian independence led the border to be moved, dividing the ancestral Seto lands and placing the monastery on side of the Russian Federation. With the revival of Seto culture following the fall of the Soviet Union, elements of the pre-Christian religion that were preserved in private during

405-554: The bigger Seto villages. The office is largely ceremonial and has been held by local activists, politicians, entrepreneurs and scholars. The tradition was initiated by Paul Hagu  [ Wikidata ] , an ethnic Seto and a researcher of Seto folk songs and traditional vocal polyphony ( leelo ) at the University of Tartu . The Pskovo-Pechersky Monastery in Petseri has been an important religious and communal center for

432-567: The borderlands between modern day Estonia and Russia . Setos have historically spoken the Seto language and been Orthodox Christians . The Seto language (like Estonian and Finnish ) belongs to the Finnic group of the Uralic language family. Since the early 2000s, the Setos have sought greater recognition, rather than having their language considered a dialect of Estonian. Eastern Orthodox Christianity, with influences from local folk religions

459-558: The communes of Mikitämäe , Värska , Meremäe and Misso ) publishes the newspaper Setomaa , partly in the Seto language , partly in Estonian . Also, every year, the Seto choose a steward of King Peko ( sootska or ülebtsootska ) for the so-called Kingdom of Setomaa at the annual celebration of the Day of the Kingdom ( Seto Kuningriigi päiv ), a local festival that rotates among

486-779: The county, which are organized by different associations and non-profit organizations. The cultural landscape is shaped by events such as Võru Folk Festival, song festival Uma Pido , Ostrova Festival of traditional Seto and modern pop music, food fair UMA MEKK, unique Lindora fair, Võhandu International Canoeing Marathon , Haanja Ski Marathon , Rõuge Boar Race , and many more. 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,

513-424: The historically Seto regions. This resulted in two distinct communities of Setos to emerge according to research conducted by Pille Runnel, the first being the Seto who had migrated away from Setomaa and had to recreate a communal and religious identity. The second group being the Seto people who continued to live in older communities in Setomaa. In 1920, with the peace treaty of Tartu , the area Setomaa (Setoland)

540-814: The local community. Based on 56 samples, the most common mtDNA haplogroup for Setos is H , as 42.9 percent of them belong to it. 33.9 percent of Setos have the haplogroup U , and its most frequently found subclade is U5 . Less common mtDNA haplogroups include J , T and V . Karula Parish Karula Parish ( Estonian : Karula vald ) was a rural municipality in Valga County , Estonia . Kaagjärve - Käärikmäe - Karula - Kirbu - Koobassaare - Londi - Lüllemäe - Lusti - Pikkjärve - Pugritsa - Raavitsa - Rebasemõisa - Väheru - Valtina 57°45′19″N 26°18′01″E  /  57.75528°N 26.30028°E  / 57.75528; 26.30028 This Valga County location article

567-437: The next two hundred years, the Setos were converted to Orthodox Christianity due to the influence from the neighboring Slavic states, but incorporated elements of their earlier pre-Christian religion. An early prevailing belief of the origin of the Seto community was that they were ethnic Estonians who had migrated east and adopted Orthodox Christianity under the influence of the Novgorod Republic . The cultural development of

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594-491: The number of self-identifying Setos decreased as well. Setos are an officially protected ethnic minority in the Russian Pskov Oblast , and a linguistic minority within Estonia. In 2002, at the sixth Seto Congress the Setos declared their intent to identify as a separate people group. In a 2011 census, it was discovered that nearly two-thirds of the nearly 12,500 Seto speaking population in Estonia lived outside

621-480: The periods of Christianization and Sovietization began to reemerge. Since 2007, Jumalamägi, God's Hill, an ancient sacred grove that was dedicated to the God-King Peko , who would carry spirits to the afterlife in his horse wagon, has again become a center of communal activity. Recently, a sculpture by local sculptor R. Veeber was erected on the hill and has become an important location for offers to Peko by

648-454: The results of the research to the public. The Seto Institute publishes papers, organizes events and organizes education in the field of Seto culture in cooperation with other organizations in the Seto region. In 2009, the Setos’ polyphonic style of folk singing, called leelo, was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage. Believed to be at least 1,000 years old, leelo is considered

675-547: The smoke sauna tradition in Võrumaa was added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage . Smoke saunas along with sauna rituals are a part of traditional life and cultural heritage of the Võro people. A smoke sauna is an old-fashioned rural sauna, which has no chimney. The purpose of the Seto Institute is to coordinate and promote research in the field of the Seto region and the Seto culture and to introduce

702-509: The winning lead singer of a leelo group is awarded the title Mother of Song. The Seto Congress, a body comprising representatives of Seto villages and organizations, is regularly convened every three years and elects a permanent Council of Elders. The Society for Seto Congress was a member of the European Bureau for Lesser-Used Languages . The Setomaa federation of municipalities in Estonia ( Setomaa Valdade Liit , comprising

729-665: Was ceded to the newly created Republic of Estonia and it was included into Petseri County . As a result of World War II , the Republic of Estonia was forcibly annexed by the Soviet Union . And on August 15, 1944, the border between the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was revised by Moscow authorities to what it is now. The issue became topical as

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