Järva County ( et, Järva maakond or ''Järvamaa''; german: Jerwen; la, Jervia) is one of 15

counties of Estonia Counties ( et, maakond, plural ') are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Estonia. Estonian territory is composed of 15 counties, including 13 on the mainland and 2 on islands. The government (') of each county is led by a ' (gov ...

. It is situated in the central part of the country and borders

Lääne-Viru County Lääne-Viru County ( et, Lääne-Viru maakond or ''Lääne-Virumaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is in northern Estonia, on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland. In Estonian, ''lääne'' means western and ''ida'' means east or easter ...

to the east,

Jõgeva County Jõgeva County ( et, Jõgeva maakond or ''Jõgevamaa'') is one of 15 counties of Estonia. It is situated in eastern part of the country and borders Ida-Viru County to the north-east, Lake Peipus to the east, Tartu County to the south, Viljandi C ...

to the south-east, Viljandi County to the south,

Pärnu County Pärnu County ( et, Pärnu maakond or ''Pärnumaa''; german: Kreis Pernau) 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 nor ...

to the south-west,

Rapla County Rapla County ( et, Rapla maakond or ''Raplamaa'') is one of the fifteen counties of Estonia. It is situated in the western part of the country and borders Järva County to the east, Pärnu County to the south, Lääne County to the west, and Har ...

to the west, and

Harju County Harju County ( et, Harju maakond 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 sou ...

to the north. In January 2009, Järva County had a population of 29,940 – constituting 2.7% of the total population in Estonia.

History

In the first centuries AD political and administrative subdivisions began to emerge. Two larger subdivisions appeared: the parish (kihelkond) and the county (maakond). The parish consisted of several villages. Nearly all parishes had at least one fortress. The defense of the local area was directed by the highest official, the parish elder. The county was composed of several parishes, also headed by an elder. By the 13th century the following major districts had developed in Estonia:

Saaremaa Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the island i ...

(Osilia), Läänemaa (Rotalia or Maritima),

Harjumaa Harju County ( et, Harju maakond 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 sout ...

(Harria),

Rävala Revala (also ''Rävälä'', la, Revalia, by Henry of Livonia ''Revele'', by Danish Census Book ''Revælæ'') was an Ancient Estonian county. It was located in northern Estonia, by the Gulf of Finland and corresponded roughly to the present te ...

(

Revalia Revala (also ''Rävälä'', la, Revalia, by Henry of Livonia ''Revele'', by Danish Census Book ''Revælæ'') was an Ancient Estonian county. It was located in northern Estonia, by the Gulf of Finland and corresponded roughly to the present te ...

Virumaa Virumaa ( la, Vironia; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built ma ...

(

Vironia Virumaa ( la, Vironia; Low German: ''Wierland''; Old Norse: ''Virland'') is a former independent county in Ancient Estonia. Now it is divided into Ida-Viru County or Eastern Vironia and Lääne-Viru County or Western Vironia. Vironians built ...

), Järvamaa (Jervia), Sakala (Saccala), and Ugandi (

Ugaunia Ugandi (Latin: ''Ungannia'' or ''Ugaunia''; lv, Ugaunija; Low German: ''Uggn'') was an independent county between the east coast of Lake Võrtsjärv and west coast of Lake Pskov, bordered by Vaiga, Mõhu, Nurmekund, Sakala, Tālava, and Th ...

).Estonia and the Estonians (Studies of Nationalities) Toivo U. Raun p.11

County Government

The

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

(Estonian: ''Maavalitsus'') is led by

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

(Estonian: ''maavanem''), who is 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 Constit ...

for a term of five years. Currently the Governor position is held by Alo Aasma.

Municipalities

The county is subdivided into

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

. There are two rural municipalities (Estonian: ''vallad'' – parishes) and one urban municipality (Estonian: ''linnad'' – towns) in Järva County. There are 217 villages in Järvamaa. Järva municipalities 2017

Images

File:Seidla mõisa tuuleveski1.jpg, Seidla windmills File:Tarvasjõgi.jpg, Tarvasjõgi river in Kõrvemaa Nature Park File:Albu mõisa sild 2012.jpg, Albu manor stone bridge on

Ambla River Ambla River is a river in Järva County, Estonia. The river is 27.9 km long and basin size is 157.7 km2. It runs from Roosna Lake into Jägala River Jägala may refer to: * Jägala, Estonia * Jägala River, a river which runs through ...

, built in 1879 File:Roosna-Alliku mõisa peahoone.jpg, Roosna-Alliku manor File:Järva-Peetri kirik2.jpg, Järva-Peetri church File:Lake Väinjärv.jpg, Lake Väinjärv File:Laupa mõisa peahoone 2012.jpg,

Laupa Laupa is a village in Türi Parish, Järva County in central Estonia. Laupa manor Laupa estate was established at the beginning of the 17th century. A wooden house was built at the site in 1853-55 by the Taube family but it was burnt down by in ...

manor File:Paide raehoone.JPG,

Paide Paide is a town in Estonia and the capital of Järva County, one of the 15 counties of Estonia. Etymology Paide's German name ''Weißenstein'' (originally ''Wittenstein'' or ''Wittensten'' in Low German) means "white stone". This name was de ...

Town Hall File:Paide ordulinnuse varemed 2013.JPG, Paide Castle

References

External links

Järvamaa Tourist Information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarva County Counties of Estonia