Rapla County ( or ''Raplamaa'') is one of the fifteen

counties of Estonia The counties of Estonia () are the state administrative subdivisions of Estonia. Estonian territory is composed of 15 counties, including 13 on the mainland and 2 on islands. County governments () were abolished at the end of 2017, with their ...

. It is situated in the north-western part of the country and borders

Järva County Järva County ( or ''Järvamaa''; ; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the central part of the country and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south-east, Viljandi County to the south, Pärnu County t ...

to the east,

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in the south-western part of the country, on the coast of Gulf of Riga, and borders Lääne and Rapla counties to the north, Järva and Viljandi counties to ...

to the south,

Lääne County Lääne County ( or ''Läänemaa'', literally "Western land"; ; ) is one of the 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 Cou ...

to the west, and

Harju County Harju County ( or ''Harjumaa''), is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in northern Estonia, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Finland, and borders Lääne-Viru County to the east, Järva County to the southeast, Rapla Count ...

to the north. In 2022 Rapla County had a population of 33,529 – constituting 2.5% of the total population of Estonia.

History

The first written records of Rapla date back to the 1241 Danish census (''Liber Census Daniae'').

County government

Until 2017 the

County Government A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) ''Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denotin ...

(Estonian: ''maavalitsus'') was led by a

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

(Estonian: ''maavanem''), who was appointed by the

Government of Estonia The Government of the Republic of Estonia (''Estonian language, Estonian: Vabariigi Valitsus'') is the cabinet (government), cabinet of Estonia. Under the Constitution of Estonia, Constitution, it exercises executive power pursuant to the Cons ...

for a term of five years. Since 2015, the Governor position was held by Tõnis Blank.

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. There are 4 rural municipalities (Estonian: ''vallad'' – parishes) in Rapla County:

Religion

The congregations of the

Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. The EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Ch ...

in the county are Hageri St. Lambertus, Juuru St.Michael's, Järvakandi St. Paul's, Märjamaa of Blessed Virgin Mary, Rapla Mary Magdalene's, Vahastu and Vigala of Blessed Virgin Mary. The Orthodox congregations in the county include the Ascension of the Lord congregation in Kohila rural municipality, the Holy Trinity congregation in Lelle and the St. John the Baptist congregation in Velise, which are under the administration of the

Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church The Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church (EAOC; , officially the Orthodox Church of Estonia) is an Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox church in Estonia under the direct jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. Under Estonian law i ...

. The Baptist congregations operate in Rapla and Märjamaa and the Adventist congregations operate in Rapla and Valgu. There is a congregation of

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

in Hageri. There is a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in the county.

Geography

Natural resources found in Rapla county include

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

, dolomite,

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

, and

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

Miscellaneous topics

The church of Rapla was built in 1901. However, much of the interior dates back to several hundred years earlier and is of high structural quality and historical value. In the churchyard there are several crosses remaining from the 17th century.

Gallery

File:Porkuni linnuse väravatorn.jpg, Porkuni Castle gate tower File:Palmse mõisa peahoone pargi poolt.jpg, Palmse manor File:HPIM2348 Rakvere ajalooline linnus tänapäevas.jpg,

Rakvere Rakvere is the administrative center, or county seat, of Lääne-Viru County in northern Estonia, about 100 km southeast of Tallinn and 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. Rakvere boasts a distinctive architectural feature: th ...

Castle File:Mõdriku mõisa peahoone.jpg, Mõdriku manor File:Malla mõisa peahoone 2012.jpg, Malla manor File:Vihula mõisa tuuleveski.jpg, Vihula windmill File:Laekvere mänd 04-2012.JPG, Laekvere pine File:Neeruti Tagajärv.jpg, Lake Neeruti Tagajärv File:Vaade Emumäele.jpg, View from tower on the hill of Emumägi File:Vaade Toolse linnuse varemetele merelt.jpg, Toolse Castle File:Vainupea kabel.jpg, Vainupea Chapel File:Main Manor buildings in summer - Vihula Manor Country Club & Spa.jpg, Vihula Manor File:Altja jõgi Lahemaal.jpg, Altja river File:Sagadi manor, Parque Nacional Lahemaa, Estonia, 2012-08-12, DD 03.JPG, Sagadi manor File:Viru bog - RRiiberg.jpg, Viru bog in Lahemaa National Park File:Mähu kivid.jpg, Mähu boulders in Lahemaa National Park File:Raps on tärganud.jpg, Rapeseed field near Laekvere

References

External links

Rapla County Portal
{{Authority control Counties of Estonia