Võru’s most interesting museum is the house where Dr Kreutzwald, the physician and scholar who compiled Estonia's national epic Kalevipoeg, lived and worked as a doctor from 1833 to 1877. Built in 1793, it's one of the oldest houses in town, with a lovely garden at the rear. Displays cover the doctor's life and career focusing, naturally, on his lasting achievement: the construction of Kalevipoeg ('The Son of Kalev', 1861), from his deep research of Estonian folk tales.
One of the outbuildings is devoted to editions of Kalevipoeg published in a surprising variety of languages (including Mandarin and Hindi), alongside book illustrations and other art inspired by the story.
There’s also a monument to the writer in the park at the bottom of Katariina allee, near the lake.
