Viljandi County ( or ''Viljandimaa''; ) is one of 15

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 located in southern

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

bordering

Pärnu Pärnu () is the fourth-largest city in Estonia. Situated in southwest Estonia, Pärnu is located south of the Estonian capital, Tallinn, and west of Estonia's second-largest city, Tartu. The city sits off the coast of Pärnu Bay, an inlet of ...

, Järva,

Jõgeva Jõgeva is a small town in Estonia with a population of around 5000 people. It is the capital of Jõgeva Parish and Jõgeva County. History Jõgeva was first mentioned in 1599 as ''Jagiwa'' manor, being established only recently on the lands ...

Tartu Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 97,759 (as of 2024). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of Riga, Latvia. Tartu lies on the Emajõgi river, which connects the ...

and Valga counties as well as

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 ...

History

Viljandimaa, under the German name of ''Kreis Fellin'', was an important centre of commerce and power in the Middle Ages. Today, there are numerous castle

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

there dating from that time.

Soomaa National Park Soomaa National Park () is a national park in south-western Estonia. Soomaa ("land of bogs") protects 390 km2, the park was created in 1993. Soomaa has been an Important Bird Area since 1989, a Ramsar site of protected wetlands since 1997, ...

is a

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

located partially within Viljandi County,

. Soomaa ("land of

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

s") protects 390 km², and is a

Ramsar site A Ramsar site is a wetland site designated to be of international importance under the Ramsar Convention,8 ha (O) *** Permanent 8 ha (P) *** Seasonal Intermittent < 8 ha(Ts) **

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

. The park was created in 1993.RMK: Soomaa National Park.
Retrieved 25 January 2016.

County government

The Viljandi

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 ...

() had been led by the

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 ...

(), who used to be 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. Jüri Ratas's first cabinet decided to abolish the institution, which went into effect in 2018. Lembit Kruuse was the final Governor to serve the role.

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 is one urban municipality ( – towns) and three rural municipalities ( – parishes) in Viljandi County.

Religion

The largest number of congregations in the county are of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church. Orthodox congregations in the county are predominantly under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church. Several congregations of Baptists and other Christian churches operate in the county.

Gallery

File:Arussaare õigeusu kirik.jpg, Arussaare orthodox church, built in 1873 File:Suure-Kõpu mõisa peahoone 2012.jpg, Suure-Kõpu manor main building File:Heimtali mõisa viinaköök1.jpg, Heimtali manor distillery kitchen File:Suure jaani.jpg, Reservoir in the town of

Suure-Jaani Suure-Jaani () is a Populated places in Estonia, town in the northern part of the county of Viljandi County, Viljandimaa in Põhja-Sakala Parish, Põhja-Sakala rural municipality, 25 kilometres north of the town of Viljandi. Until 2017, Suure-Ja ...

File:Võrtsjärve kallas Valma külas.jpg,

Võrtsjärv Lake Võrtsjärv ( ; ) is a lake in southern Estonia with an area of 270 km² (104 mi²). It is the second largest lake in Estonia (after Lake Peipus), and the largest lake situated entirely within Estonia. The shallow lake is 33.7& ...

lake; view from the village of Valma File:Viljandi ordulinnuse varemed.jpg, Ruins of

Viljandi castle Viljandi Castle (, ) is 13th Century castle in a Viljandi, Estonia. It was built by the Livonian Order, and construction started in 1224 in place of a former hillfort, which was one of the strongest castles in Livonia. Finally destroyed in t ...

File:Õisu mõisa vesiveski.jpg, Õisu manor watermill File:Viljandi Jaani kirik 15 saj.jpg, St. John's Church in

Viljandi Viljandi (, , , , ) is a Populated places in Estonia, town and Municipalities of Estonia, municipality in southern Estonia with a population of 17,255 in 2024. It is the capital of Viljandi County and is geographically located between two major ...

References

External links

Viljandi County Association of Municipalities
{{Coord, 58, 20, N, 25, 35, E, type:adm1st_region:EE, display=title Counties of Estonia