Viljandi County

Viljandi County
County of Estonia
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Estonia
Capital	Viljandi
Government
• Governor	Lembit Kruuse
Area
• Total	3,422.49 km^2 (1,321.43 sq mi)
Population (Jan 2016)
• Total	47,853
• Density	14/km^2 (36/sq mi)
Ethnicity
• Estonians	95.4%
• Russians	2.5%
• other	2.9%
ISO 3166 code	EE-84
Vehicle registration	D
Website	www.viljandimaa.ee

Viljandi County (Estonian: Viljandi maakond or Viljandimaa, German: Kreis Fellin), is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is located in southern Estonia bordering Pärnu, Järva, Jõgeva, Tartu and Valga counties. In January 2009 Viljandi County had a population of 55,657 – constituting 4.2% of the population of Estonia.^[1]

History

Viljandimaa, under the German name of Kreis Fellin, was an important centre of commerce and power in the Middle Ages. Today, there are a number of castle ruins there dating from this time.

Soomaa National Park is national park located partially within Viljandi County. Estonia. Soomaa ("land of bogs") protects 390 km², and is a Ramsar site of protected wetlands. The park was created in 1993.^[2]

County government

The County government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) is led by Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who is appointed by the Government of Estonia for a term of five years. Currently the Governor position is held by Kalle Küttis.

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into municipalities. There are 3 urban municipalities (Estonian: linnad – towns) and 9 rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Viljandi County.

Urban municipalities:

• Mõisaküla
• Viljandi
• Võhma

Municipalities of Viljandi County

Rural municipalities:

• Abja Parish (includes the town of Abja-Paluoja)
• Halliste Parish
• Karksi Parish (includes the town of Karksi-Nuia)
• Kolga-Jaani Parish
• Kõo Parish
• Kõpu Parish
• Suure-Jaani Parish (includes the town of Suure-Jaani)
• Tarvastu Parish
• Viljandi Parish

Gallery

• 
  Arussaare orthodox church, built in 1873
• 
  Suure-Kõpu manor main building
• 
  Heimtali manor distillery kitchen
• 
  Reservoir in the town of Suure-Jaani
• 
  Võrtsjärv lake; view from the village of Valma
• 
  Ruins of Viljandi castle
• 
  Õisu manor watermill
• 
  St. John's Church in Viljandi

References

1. "Population by sex, ethnic nationality and County, 1 January". stat.ee. Statistics Estonia. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-18.
2. RMK: Soomaa National Park. Retrieved 25 January 2016.

External links

• Media related to Viljandi County at Wikimedia Commons
• Viljandimaa – Official website
• Viljandi County Government (Estonian)

Coordinates: 58°20′N 25°35′E / 58.333°N 25.583°E