Piltene (; , ) is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

Ventspils Municipality Ventspils Municipality (; Livonian language, Livonian: ''Vǟnta mōgõn)'' is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merger (politics), merging Piltene town, Ance Parish, Jūrkalne Parish, Piltene rural communit ...

, 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 ...

. The population in 2020 was 909. The ruins of Piltene Castle are located in Piltene.

Population

Population (Year): 40,000 (1795)

History

*1220: King

Valdemar II of Denmark Valdemar II Valdemarsen (28 June 1170 – 28 March 1241), later remembered as Valdemar the Victorious () and Valdemar the Conqueror, was King of Denmark from 1202 until his death in 1241. In 1207, Valdemar invaded and conquered Bishopric of L� ...

erects a castle on the site. *September 1234:

Bishopric of Courland The Bishopric of Courland (, ) was the second smallest (4500 km2) Prince-bishopric, ecclesiastical state in the Livonian Confederation founded in the aftermath of the Livonian Crusade. During the Livonian War in 1559 the bishopric became ...

(Bistum Kurland) established (formally declared on 11 February 1232), consisting of three separate enclaves after numerous distributions of the Couronian lands among the Bishops of Courland, and of Riga, and the

Teutonic Order The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...

. :''Note'': the bishops were also rulers of the island of Runö (now

Ruhnu Ruhnu (; ; ) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Its territory of is administratively part of Saare County, Saare ''maakond'' (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of Latvia ...

in southwest Estonia) from at least 1341. *1290: The cathedral chapter is incorporated into the Teutonic Order lands, the bishopric is subjected to the Order. *1520: Made a sovereign principality (prince-bishopric) of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

(formally from January 1521), but style of prince not used. *20 May 1560: Sold to the King of Denmark, given as an

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

(Stift Kurland) to the brother of the King,

Magnus, Duke of Holstein Magnus of Denmark or Magnus of Holstein ( – ) was a Prince of Denmark, Duke of Holstein, and a member of the House of Oldenburg. As a vassal of Tsar Ivan IV of Russia, he was the titular King of Livonia from 1570 to 1578. Early life Duke Magn ...

. *1578: Bishop Magnus accepts sovereignty of Poland–Lithuania (not ratified by the Diet of Poland–Lithuania, or recognized by Denmark). *20 April 1585: Sold by Denmark to Poland–Lithuania. *17 June 1585: Informal subdivisions established: Pilten (administered by pledges to 1660), Dondangen (Polish "throne fief" to 1795) and Amboten (Polish "throne fief" to 16..). *28 October 1611: Incorporation into Poland–Lithuania as the

district of Pilten The District of Pilten (, ) was an autonomous district of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and also in union with the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. History Piltene was the center of the Bishopric of Courland, established in 1234. The ...

(German: ''Kreis Pilten'', Polish: ''Powiat Piltynski'') as part of Polish Livonia declared (not effected). *9 May 1617: Bishopric of Pilten (Stift Pilten) in personal (actually subordinated) union with Poland–Lithuania. *1656: The rights of pledge bought by the Duke of Courland. *3 May 1660: Fief of Poland–Lithuanian to the Duke of Courland. *25 February 1661: Formal personal union with Courland. *1701 - 1709: Occupied by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

(1705 - 1706 interrupted by Russian occupation). *1717: Personal union with the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

restored. *28 March 1795: Pilten Landtag approves annexation to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, suzerainty of Poland–Lithuania declared void. *26 April 1795: Annexed by Russia, autonomy guaranteed. *28 January 1796: Autonomy abolished, fully incorporated into Courland. *1 February 1797: Local autonomy restored, within the province of Courland. *July 1812 - November 1812: Occupied by France and made part of the Duchy of Courland, Semigallia and Pilten. *2 March 1818: Fully incorporated into Courland.

References

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Courland 1557 establishments in Europe Former Danish colonies Ventspils county Populated places in Ventspils Municipality