Viljandi County ( or Viljandimaa; ) 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.
History Viljandimaa, later under the German name 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. County government Viljandi's county government () had been led by a governor (), 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.
Nature A large part of Viljandi County is covered by the low Sakala Upland (highest point 147 m), only a small part of the upland in the southeast and the southwest extends outside the county borders. The parallel name Sakala is also used for the county. Viljandi County also includes most of the Võrtsjärv Lowland (in the east) and in the north, a small part of the Central Estonian Plateau extends into the area of Viljandi County.
Soomaa National Park is located partially within Viljandi County, Estonia; Soomaa mans 'land of bogs'. It protects 390 km2 and is a Ramsar site of protected wetlands. The park was created in 1993.RMK: Soomaa National Park. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
The county includes also Loodi Landscape Conservation Area and several other protected areas.
Municipalities
The county is subdivided into municipalities. There is one urban municipality ( – towns) and three rural municipalities ( – parishes) in Viljandi County.
Rank Municipality Type Population(2018) Areakm2 Density1 Mulgi Parish Rural 7,652 881 8.72 Põhja-Sakala Parish Rural 8,203 1,153 7.13 Viljandi Parish Rural 13,950 1,374 10.24 Viljandi Urban 17,758 15 1,183.9 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.
+ Religious affiliations in Viljandi County, census 2000–2021*Official census data from Statistics Estonia: 2000 Census:
2011 Census:
2021 Census:
Religion200020112021 Number % Number % Number % Christianity 8,859 19.1 5,823 14.3 5,04013.0 —Orthodox Christians 1,121 2.4 964 2.3 9302.4 —Lutherans 7,178 15.5 4,373 10.7 3,3908.8 —Catholics 104 0.2 37 0.09 600.1 —Baptists 130 0.2 95 0.2 2100.5 —Jehovah's Witnesses 119 0.2 134 0.3 1100.2 —Pentecostals 88 0.1 60 0.1 1100.2 —Old Believers 1 0.002 5 0.01 -- —Methodists 117 0.2 2 0.004 -- —Adventists 1 0.002 69 0.1 600.1 —Other Christians - - 84 0.2 1700.4 Islam 8 0.01 9 0.01 1300.3 Buddhism - - 45 0.1 200.05 Other religions** 216 0.4 346 0.9 4101.0 No religion 21,757 47.0 29,733 73.2 28,98074.4 Not stated*** 8,105 17.5 4,623 11.4 3,93010.2 Total population* 46,243 40,57938,530 *The censuses of Estonia count the religious affiliations of the population older than 15 years of age.".
Gallery
References
External links
Viljandi County Association of Municipalities