Värska is the most southeastern commune of Põlva County. It is situated in historical Setomaa and borders on Russia. Värska is the center of present Setomaa. Today the commune has 34 villages and one town – Värska. The population is approximately 1600 and the territory is 186 sq km.
In history Värska was well-known as a landing place for the Pskov merchant ships. That explanes also the origin of its name: at first Verhoustje (upper estuary) or Verhoustinski pogost, then Verska and Värska. In historical record Värska is first mentioned in 1585. For a long period of time Värska remained very small with a wooden church in the village (built in 1759). In 1904 they began with  building a stone church, the village started to grow and the centre of the commune was transferred from Lobotka to Värska. Today Värska is a town with 635 habitants, and the gap between old and new, past and present is wider than elsewhere in Estonia.