Bauska District ( lv, Bauskas rajons) was an

administrative division Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, located in

Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historical Latvian Lands located in the south of the Daugava river and the north of the Saule region of Samogitia. ...

region, in the country's centre. It was organized into a city, a municipality and fifteen parishes, each with a local government authority. The principal city was

Bauska Bauska () is a town in Bauska Municipality, in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia. Bauska is located from the Latvian capital Riga, 62 km (38.5 mi) from Jelgava and from the Lithuanian border on the busy European route E67. The to ...

History

In the 15th century, Bauska Castle was built as a

stronghold A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the

Livonian Order The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order, formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation. History The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after the ...

and a settlement developed around the fortification, called Vairogmiests. In 1584,

Gotthard Kettler Gotthard Kettler, Duke of Courland (also ''Godert'', ''Ketteler'', german: Gotthard Kettler, Herzog von Kurland; 2 February 1517 – 17 May 1587) was the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia. Biography K ...

instituted a plan to remove the settlement and organize streets for a new town of Bauska, which received its town charter in 1609. The area was annexed by the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 1795, and an administrative unit was formed 1819 as Kreis Bauske (russian: Бауский уезд). When Latvian independence was declared on 18 November 1918 the kreis was renamed, reorganized and included territory which is now part of

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

. By 1920, Bauska County ( lv, Bauskas apriņķis) included: Bauska Town and 20 parishes: Bauska, Bārbele, Brukna, Ceraukste,

Code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...

Iecava , native_name = , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = Iecavas luterāņu baznīca.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = Lutheran church in Iecav ...

, Īslīce, Jaunsaule, Kurmene,

Mežotne Mežotne (german: Mesothen) is a town in Latvia 10 km west of Bauska and 40 km south of the capital of Latvia, Riga. It lies in the historical region of Zemgale on the left bank of the Lielupe river near the Lithuanian border. Mežo ...

, Misa, Panemune, Rundāle,

Skaistkalne Skaistkalne (formerly ''Šēnberga'', german: Schönberg, yi, שימבורג, Shimberg) is a village in Skaistkalne Parish, Bauska Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia. It is the centre of Skaistkalne Parish. History In historical ...

, Stelpe, Svitene, Taurkalne, Vecsaule, Vecumnieki, and

Zālīte Zālīte is a village in Bauska Municipality in the historical region of Semigallia, and the Zemgale Planning Region in Latvia. References

Bauska Municipality Towns and villages in Latvia Semigallia {{Zemgale-geo-stub ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Bauska was occupied by Soviet forces and heavy fighting destroyed many of the structures of the main town. The Jewish Latvian population of the area were largely exterminated by

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

forces and several thousand residents of the district were deported in 1941 and 1949 during political unrest. Reoccupation of Latvia by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II resulted in creation of the Bauska District ( lv, Bauskas rajons) in 1949. The Baldone parish took over administration of Iecava, Misa, Stelpe, Vecumnieki and Zālīte parishes. The

Eleja parish Eleja Parish ( lv, Elejas pagasts) is an administrative unit of Jelgava Municipality in the Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Historica ...

absorbed Svitene Parish and Jaunjelgava parish added the territories of Kurmene and Taurkalne parishes. Latvia regained its independence in 1991. The

Districts of Latvia Until 2009 the districts of Latvia, introduced in 1949 by the Soviet occupation authorities to supersede counties, were divided into 77 cities ( lv, pilsēta), 10 amalgamated municipalities ( lv, novads), 24 rural territories ( lv, lauku terit ...

were reformed in 2009 and Bauska District was rendered defunct. It was split between the

Iecava , native_name = , nickname = , motto = , image_skyline = Iecavas luterāņu baznīca.jpg , imagesize = 300px , image_caption = Lutheran church in Iecav ...

, Rundāle and Vecumnieki municipalities.

Current cities, municipalities and parishes in the Bauska District

city * Brunava parish *

Ceraukste parish Ceraukste Parish ( lv, Ceraukstes pagasts) is an administrative unit of Bauska Municipality in the Semigallia region of Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas ...

* Code parish *

Dāviņi parish Dāviņi Parish ( lv, Dāviņu pagasts) is an administrative unit of Bauska Municipality in the Semigallia Semigallia, also spelt Semigalia, ( lv, Zemgale; german: Semgallen; lt, Žiemgala; pl, Semigalia; liv, Zemgāl) is one of the Histor ...

* Gailīši parish * Īslīce parish *

Mežotne parish Mežotne (german: Mesothen) is a town in Latvia 10 km west of Bauska and 40 km south of the capital of Latvia, Riga. It lies in the historical region of Zemgale on the left bank of the Lielupe river near the Lithuanian border. Me ...

* Vecsaule parish

References

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