Viljandi County

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 as well as Latvia.

Viljandi County
Viljandimaa
County
Flag of Viljandi County
Flag
Coat of arms of Viljandi County
Coat of arms
Location of Viljandi County
CountryEstonia
CapitalViljandi
Area
 • Total3,422.49 km2 (1,321.43 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total45,411
 • Rank6th
 • Density13/km2 (34/sq mi)
Ethnicity
 • Estonians95.5%
 • Russians2.4%
 • other2.9%
GDP
[1]
 • Total€896 million (2022)
 • Per capita€19,692 (2022)
ISO 3166 codeEE-84
Vehicle registrationD
Websitewww.viljandimaa.ee

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 there dating from that time.

Soomaa National Park is a 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 Viljandi County government (Estonian: Maavalitsus) had been led by the Governor (Estonian: maavanem), who used to be appointed by the Government of Estonia 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. There is one urban municipality (Estonian: linnad – towns) and three rural municipalities (Estonian: vallad – parishes) in Viljandi County.

RankMunicipalityTypePopulation
(2018)[3]		Area
km2[3]		Density[3]
1Mulgi ParishRural7,6528818.7
2Põhja-Sakala ParishRural8,2031,1537.1
3Viljandi ParishRural13,9501,37410.2
4ViljandiUrban17,758151,183.9

Religion

Religion in County Viljandi (2021)

  Unaffiliated (85.4%)
  Lutheran (8.8%)
  Orthodox (2.4%)
  Others Christians (1.9%)
  Others Religions or Unknown (1.5%)
Religious affiliations in Viljandi County, census 2000–2021*[4]
Religion 2000 2011 2021
Number  % Number  % Number  %
Christianity8,85919.15,82314.35,04013.0
—Orthodox Christians1,1212.49642.39302.4
—Lutherans7,17815.54,37310.73,3908.8
—Catholics1040.2370.09600.1
—Baptists1300.2950.22100.5
—Jehovah's Witnesses1190.21340.31100.2
—Pentecostals880.1600.11100.2
—Old Believers10.00250.01--
—Methodists1170.220.004--
—Adventists10.002690.1600.1
—Other Christians--840.21700.4
Islam80.0190.011300.3
Buddhism--450.1200.05
Other religions**2160.43460.94101.0
No religion21,75747.029,73373.228,98074.4
Not stated***8,10517.54,62311.43,93010.2
Total population*46,24340,57938,530
*The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.[4]
".[4]
  • Arussaare orthodox church, built in 1873
    Arussaare orthodox church, built in 1873
  • Suure-Kõpu manor main building
    Suure-Kõpu manor main building
  • Heimtali manor distillery kitchen
    Heimtali manor distillery kitchen
  • Reservoir in the town of Suure-Jaani
    Reservoir in the town of Suure-Jaani
  • Võrtsjärv lake; view from the village of Valma
    Võrtsjärv lake; view from the village of Valma
  • Ruins of Viljandi castle
    Ruins of Viljandi castle
  • Õisu manor watermill
    Õisu manor watermill
  • St. John's Church in Viljandi
    St. John's Church in Viljandi

References
  1. "GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT BY COUNTY". stat.ee.
  2. RMK: Soomaa National Park. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  3. "Elanike demograafiline jaotus maakonniti". Kohaliku omavalitsuse portaal. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  4. Official census data from Statistics Estonia:
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58°20′N 25°35′E

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