Lääne County




County of Estonia in Estonia































































Lääne County
County of Estonia
Skyline of Lääne County




Flag of Lääne County
Flag

Coat of arms of Lääne County
Coat of arms
Location of Lääne County
Country Estonia
Capital Haapsalu
Government

 • Governor Innar Mäesalu
Area

 • Total 2,383 km2 (920 sq mi)
Population
(January 2017[1])

 • Total 24,948
 • Rank 14th
 • Density 10.3/km2 (27/sq mi)

Ethnicity

 • Estonians
89.3%
 • Russians
7.4%
 • other 3.3%
ISO 3166 code EE-57
Vehicle registration S
Website www.laanemaa.ee

Lääne County (Estonian: Lääne maakond), or Läänemaa (literally "Western land"; German: Wiek, Latin: Rotalia), is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in western Estonia and borders the Baltic Sea to the north, Harju County to the north-east, Rapla County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, and the island counties of Saare and Hiiu to the west. In January 2009 Lääne County had a population of 23,810 – constituting 2.0% of the total population in Estonia.[1]




Contents






  • 1 County Government


  • 2 Municipalities


  • 3 History


    • 3.1 Historic Parishes (kihelkonnad)




  • 4 Geography


  • 5 Gallery


  • 6 Miscellaneous topics


  • 7 References


  • 8 External links





County Government


The County Government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by a governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Since 15 December 2011, the governorship has been held by Innar Mäesalu.


Maavanem 1918–1941



  • Aleksander Saar 1917–1927[2]


  • Artur Kasterpalu 1930–1941[2]


Maavanem 1993–present



  • Andres Lipstok 14 December 1993 – 12 August 1994[2]


  • Hannes Danilov 1 November 1994 – 3 January 1999[2]


  • Arder Väli 23 February 1999 – 20 July 1999[2]


  • Jaanus Sahk 22 September 1999 – 22 September 2004[2]


  • Sulev Vare 19 November 2004 – 14 September 2007[2]


  • Neeme Suur 18 February 2008 – 4 April 2011[2]


  • Innar Mäesalu 15 December 2011 - [3]



Municipalities


The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality, Haapsalu (Estonian: linn – town) and 2 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Lääne County.




Municipalities in Lääne County



































Rank Municipality Type Population
(2018)[4]
Area
km2[4]
Density[4]
1 Haapsalu Urban 13,516 264 51.2
2 Lääne-Nigula Parish Rural 7,239 1,451 5.0
3 Vormsi Parish Rural 419 93 4.5


History










































Rotalia


Läänemaa

Viking Age–1224

Ancient Estonia in 1214.

Ancient Estonia in 1214.

Capital Lihula
Common languages Proto Estonian
Religion


Estonian paganism, Thor cult
Government Council of Elders
Elder  
History  
• Established
Viking Age
• Disestablished
1224












Succeeded by












Monastic state of the Teutonic Knights

Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek




Koluvere castle in Lääne County.


Koluvere castle dating from the 13th century


In the first centuries AD political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge in Estonia. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish (Estonian: kihelkond) and the county (Estonian: maakond). A parish consisted of several villages. Nearly all parishes had at least one fortress. The defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder. A county was composed of several parishes, also headed by an elder. By the 13th century the following major districts had developed in Estonia: Saaremaa (Osilia), Läänemaa (Rotalia or Maritima), Harjumaa (Harria), Rävala (Revalia), Virumaa (Vironia), Järvamaa (Jervia), Sakala (Saccala), and Ugandi (Ugaunia).[5]


Läänemaa (Latin: Rotalia, Maritima,[5]Low German: Wiek) was an independent country on the east coast of the Baltic sea, bordered by Revala, Harjumaa, Alempois, and Sakala. Läänemaa had an area of approximately 1900 hides. Early in 1220 troops from Sweden, initially led by King John I, had invaded Läänemaa. The Swedish army took the Lihula stronghold and set up a small garrison. Swedish Jarl Karl Döve and Bishop Karl Magnusson of Linköping, both from the powerful House of Bjelbo, also remained in the castle. On August 8, 1220 the united Œselian and Rotalian armies encircled the castle at dawn. It was set ablaze in the course of the fierce battle that ensued. The Swedish troops tried to make their way out, but were killed on site apart from a few who succeeded in escaping to Tallinn, held by Denmark. The Jarl, the Bishop, and almost 500 other Swedes were killed, leaving no Swedish presence in Estonia at all. The short-lived Swedish attempt to gain foothold in Estonia was motivated by the quickly advancing Danish and Low German crusaders who had been able to conquer most of the area in the early 13th century. Defeat in the Battle of Lihula discouraged the Swedish expansion to Estonia for more than 300 years, and the country was left for the Teutonic Knights, Low German Bishops and Denmark to divide. In the meantime, Sweden focused on Finland and the Swedish-Novgorodian Wars. After the Livonian Crusade Läänemaa became the main territory of The Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, an independent Bishopric. Parts of the Bishop's castle are still preserved in Haapsalu.





Historic Parishes (kihelkonnad)



  • Hanila


  • Cozzo (Karuse)

  • Corbe (Kõrve)

  • Lihula

  • Ridala


  • Soontagan (et:Soontagana)

  • around Märjamaa


After the German conquest in 1227, Lääne County became the center of the Bishopric of Ösel-Wiek, an independent principality within the Livonian Confederation. Parts of Bishop's castle are still preserved in Haapsalu.



Geography




North-west coast of Estonia near Nõva, Lääne county



Gallery




Miscellaneous topics


  • Matsalu National Park


References





  1. ^ ab "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}


  2. ^ abcdefgh "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-04-17.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2013-04-17.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)


  4. ^ abc "Elanike demograafiline jaotus maakonniti". Kohaliku omavalitsuse portaal. Retrieved 2 April 2018.


  5. ^ ab Raun, Toivo (2001). Estonia and the Estonians. Hoover Press. p. 11. ISBN 0-8179-2852-9.




External links




  • Läänemaa Portal (in Estonian)


  • Lääne County Government Official website (in Estonian)



Coordinates: 58°55′N 23°45′E / 58.917°N 23.750°E / 58.917; 23.750










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