History - Võru

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Võru is situated in the centre of Võru County, on the sandy hill on the shores of Lake Tamula, on the flat of the Võru valley, on the marshy area bordering on it and on a low northern slope of the valley. The city is passed by Valga-Petseri railway.
Historically the city was founded by the decree on August 21,1784, according to the wish of the Russian Empress Catharina II by the order of Riga Governor general count G.Browne, on the place of the former Võru estate he had obtained for 57.000 roubles. But the roots of Võru as a centre date back to the earlier times.
Archaeological findings at Roosisaar, Villaküla and Kääpa give evidence of an ancient settlement 5000 years ago. On the foot of Kirumpää hill with a stronghold, which is only in a falconet shot distance from the present city, traces of a town-like settlement of tradesmen and artisans and some coins from the 1 lth century, were discovered.
During the Estonian Middle Ages (1322-1558) there was a stronghold belonging to the Bishop of Tartu on the hill surrounded by a large settlement. The glorious days of this castle came to an end in 1558 in the Russian-Livonian War. Though being in ruins, it still retained its position as an assembly place for 150 years, till the end of the Swedish reign in Võrumaa.
During the Russian period it occurred to the General governor to separate the southern area of Tartu County and form an independent county.
Now the need for Võru city became clear and it also gave the name to the whole county. The new county consisted of 8 parishes, where a dialect different from that of Tartu which was now called Võru dialect, was spoken.
While the status of a county centre has been a favourable factor for the development of Võru, its economic and demographic situation has hindered it.
That is the reason for slow but constant development under ormal conditions and slump or boom under abnormal conditions.
The old town of Võru is a pale sample of l8th century classicism, the period of order and reason. The building of the town was started according to a regular plan following that of Amauroton, the capital of Utopia born in the fantasies of Thomas More.
According to that plan, in the centre of the town there was to be a square with the Town Hall. The latter has remained unbuilt in Võru up to now, trees were planted in the square by the cultural revolutionaries of the 1950s. Main streets were to start from the centre of the square towards the four compass directions.
But only Katariina Street (former alley leading to the manor house) starts there, while Tartu, Jüri and Lembitu Streets proceed from the corners of square. Still the old part of Võru is very individual with its rectangularly crossing network of streets. It is very different from other older and younger Estonian cities. As Võru was the main town in the district, the district court and the lower provincial court were also moved here.
There as a pharmacy, 6 shops, a hotel and a market square. In 1793 a Lutheran and Orthodox churches of late baroque were built at Võru. In the middle of the l9th century there were 7 schools, at a time, only one of them was Estonian.
From 1833-1877 Fr. R. Kreutzwald, the great man of the Estonian National Awakening lived his busy life of a recluse here. He wrote the Estonian national epic "Kalevipoeg" ("Kalev's Son") here and took part in the national movement as a writer. The local society here was Germanized.
Estonian social life started only in 1881, with founding the "Kannel" society. By that time Kreutzwald had left Võru.
Võru grew tardily. In 1817 there were 707 inhabitants, 461 Germans, 124 Estonians (17.5 %) and 122 Russians. By 1867 the population had increased up to 2056 -1019 Germans, 753 Estonians (36.7 % ), 282 Russians.
By 1881 about half of the population were Estonians and their role was gradually increasing with the development of the city. In the same year the fourth ethnic minority was formed by the Jews at Võru -176 people (6.5 %). The number of Jews grew up to 258 people by the end of the l9th century and started to decrease then.
In 1897 the population of Võru was 4152 people, of them 2675 (54.4% ) Estonians, 824 ( 19.8 % ) Germans, 248 (6 % ) Russians.
The number of Russians was smaller than the number of Jews. But only in 1901 the first Estonian representatives were elected to the town council and the first Estonian mayor was elected only after Estonia became independent. It was Priit Suit, who remained on that post till the end of the first period of independence.
The primary area of Võru was enlarged only at the end of the first independence period. In 1937 Võrusoo little town, Kubija holiday resort and railway station were joined to Võru. The area grew up to 9.92 km2 and the population increased up to 6600 people.
The period of independence made the city look younger: in 1922 the first 3-storeyed house was built there (Jüri St. 20), the streets got electric lights (power station in 1915) buses and taxes came into use.
Economic activities have never been very advantageous at Võru. Still, in Kreutzwald's period it was written that "the people of Võru are moderately rich, there are no beggars".
The first industrial enterprise in Võru was a brick factory founded at the estate and first mentioned in 1789. In the 1860s there as a tannery with 7 workers, a brewery and a lime-works (with 3 workers both), a pharmacy,14 shops.
In 1869 Judeikin's timber industry was founded and it needed a little more workers.
Each citizen had a yard behind his house adjacent to the street. The yard was surrounded by a storehouse, a cowshed, a stable, a woodshed, a hay barn. Behind the house they had an orchard and a vegetable garden (The area of Fr. R. Kreutzwald's ground was 5066 m2, his vegetable plot with the surrounding buildings is the only preserved record of old Võru).
In addition to that, one could rent hayland and arable land at Nöörimaa behind the city. In all houses people were engaged in handicrafts and it got into full swing in 1866, after the annulment of the guild law.
In 1889 Valga-Petseri railway was opened and Võru was also connected to the relatively poor railway system of Russia. Postal and traffic conditions improved a lot.
The new rise was at the turn of the century. In 1892 K. Grossman's steam power flour and sawmill was founded. On October 20, 1897 a distillery was founded and in 1901 a starch factory with 20 workers.
The first enterprise of the independence period, Võru Flax Cooperative was founded in 1920.
It bought the distillery and the starch factory and founded a power station, where a dynamo of 15 kW was started by a steam engine heated with boon of flax and peat. They were able to produce electricity even for sale. The factories of this cooperative processed flax, spirit, grain, wool, saw material and dyed material.
In 1939 the Cooperative was reorganized and it became a joint stock company Võru Tööstus (Võru Industries).
Võru was a school town also in the 20th century. During World War I in 1915 Palangen Gymnasium and in 1916 Alexander Gymnasium from Riga were evacuated to Võru.
Before the German invasion in 1918 they were removed to Russia, but some teachers, students and the library remained at Võru. (The latter was given to the town later and was burnt by the Bolsheviks in 1944).
In 1918 the Society of Public Education opened the Boys' and Girls' Gymnasiums at Võru. They were united in 1929 and this school had also evening classes. In 1920-1930 there was Teachers' Seminar at Võru. The Women' s society founded a Vocational School for women (1923-1941) and in 1925 an industrial school was opened (a predecessor of the present Technical School).
Until the Germans' departure in 1940 there was a German Private Primary School at Võru. A Russian school was closed because of the small number of students at the beginning of the independence period.
Cultural life became more lively during the independence period. It may be called the period of Kreutzwald renaissance. In 1923 a society was founded in order to perpetuate the memory of Kreutzwald. It erected a memorial to Kreutzwald in the city park in 1926 and opened a museum in his house in 1940.
In "Kannel" society play-acting became more and more popular. The society became a semi-professional theatre in 1932. During the next decade they staged 81 plays and 330 performances were given to 74 504 people. At the same time, there were only 5000 inhabitants at Võru.
The slow but steady development of Võru was turned upside down by the Soviet occupation in 1940. Its recurrence in 1944 and almost 50 years it lasted threatened to destroy even the memory of the past. After the World War II the city was a typical Soviet industrial town. On the basis of former enterprises new big factories were born: "Lina"(Flax), "Võrukivi", Leather and Footwear Combine. Some new industries were founded: Milk Combine (500 workers), Gas Analyser Plant (1000), Furniture Factory. There was an explosion in population. It happened as a result of emptying of the county and due to the increasing number of Russian colonists. In 1970 there were 12 207 Estonians (79,9%),2704 Russians (17,5%) and other nationals 390 (2,6%). In other towns the percentage of Estonians was even lower.
Politically Võru has never been an out-of-the-way province. While the bells of independence were ringing in Tallinn on February 24, 1918, there were severe battles in Võru, where the local Defence Union was fighting against the Red Guard. During the spring of 1919 the name Võru was on the front pages of local and foreign newspapers, reporting on the war. On July 9,1941 our own Võru people freed the city from the Bolsheviks. On October 21,1987 there was a giant demonstration in Võru, where the Estonian flag was openly carried by people after the long Red occupation.
Võru Defence Union has won several first prizes in the recent four years in several competitions between Estonian defence units.

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