Voru and Lake Tamula

Voru was laid out in 1784 on a grid by order of Catherine II, which gives the small centre a regularity unusual in Estonian towns, and it sits on the northern shore of Lake Tamula. The lakeside is the town's asset: a sand beach right at the centre, a promenade along the shore, and a curving pedestrian bridge over the water opened in 2008 that has become the town's emblem. Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald, who compiled the Estonian national epic Kalevipoeg, worked here as a doctor for over forty years and his house is a museum. Suur Munamagi, the highest hill in the Baltic states, and the Rouge lakes lie a short distance south.

Highlights

• The lakeside beach - the sand shore in the centre of town.
• The footbridge - the curving pedestrian bridge over Tamula.
• The Kreutzwald museum - the house of the epic's compiler.
• The grid centre - the 1784 town plan.

When to go

May to September for the lake and the beach; July is the swimming season and the Voru folklore festival falls in summer. Winter freezes the lake and the town is quiet.

What to expect

The town is small and half a day covers it. The lake is shallow and can bloom with algae in hot summers. Facilities close early outside the season. It works best as a base for the hills and lakes south of it.

Nearby

Suur Munamagi and the Rouge lakes lie south; Setomaa is northeast.