Jaunpagasts (also known as Virbi) is a village in the

Virbi Parish Virbi parish () is an administrative unit of Talsi Municipality, Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north ...

Talsi Municipality Talsi Municipality (; Livonian language, Livonian: ) is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by Merger (politics), merging Abava parish, Balgale parish, Ģibuļi parish, Īve parish, Ķūļciems parish, Laidze pa ...

in the

Courland Courland is one of the Historical Latvian Lands in western Latvia. Courland's largest city is Liepāja, which is the third largest city in Latvia. The regions of Semigallia and Selonia are sometimes considered as part of Courland as they were ...

region of

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

. Jaunpagasts is the center of the parish. Located on the left bank of the Virbu River, along Ventspils—Tukums II railway ( Sabile station), it is 16 km away from the municipality center

Talsi Talsi (; , ) (population 11,371) is a town in the Courland region of Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Talsi Municipality. It is nicknamed the "green pearl of Courland". Etymology It is believed that the name is derived from an old Livo ...

and 105 km from

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, the national capital. Jaunpagasts is home to the parish administration, Virbu primary school, cultural center, kindergarten, library, family doctor's practice, and the Neivakene Old Believers Church (built in 1928). The largest companies are SIA "Jaunpagasts Plus" (Brūzī) and SIA "Jaunalko".

History

Jaunpagasts is mentioned in historical sources for the first time in 1237 in the feudal book. The present-day settlement was established on the land of the former Jaunpagasts (Neuwacken) manor (now the inhabited place Brūzis on the right bank of the Virbu River) near the railway station. In 1909–1911, with the financial support of the Don Agrarian Bank, approximately 120 families settled in the vicinity of Jaunpagasts. In the post-war years, Jaunpagasts became the central village of the Soviet collective farm "Virbi".

Population

According to the 2022 census, the population of the village is 392 people.

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Talsi Municipality Villages in Courland