Kurzeme Region ( lv, Kurzemes reģions), officially Kurzeme Planning Region ( lv, Kurzemes plānošanas reģions, link=no) is one of the five planning regions of Latvia, it is situated in the western part of Latvia, at the shores of the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...

and

Gulf of Riga The Gulf of Riga, Bay of Riga, or Gulf of Livonia ( lv, Rīgas līcis, et, Liivi laht) is a bay of the Baltic Sea between Latvia and Estonia. The island of Saaremaa (Estonia) partially separates it from the rest of the Baltic Sea. The main c ...

. The state institution was founded on 2 October 2006, based on the creation of the region territory as prescribed by Regulations No. 133 of the

Cabinet of Ministers A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

as of 25 March 2003, the "Regulations on Territories of Planning Regions". As of 2020, the region's population was 237,407.

Organisation

According to the "Law on Regional Development Kurzeme Planning Region", Kurzeme Region is supervised by the Ministry of Regional Development and Local Government, the decision-making authority is Kurzeme Planning Region Development Council (KPRDC), which consists of 19 deputies appointed by the heads of the region's component municipalities.

Geography

The territory of the Kurzeme Region was created in 2006 utilising the administrative boundaries of the now defunct

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 ...

Dobele Dobele (; german: Doblen) is a town in the cultural region Zemgale in Latvia, and is located near the center of Latvia on the banks of the river Bērze. It received town rights in 1917 whilst being a part of the German occupied Courland Governor ...

Liepāja Liepāja (; liv, Līepõ; see other names) is a state city in western Latvia, located on the Baltic Sea. It is the largest-city in the Kurzeme Region and the third-largest city in the country after Riga and Daugavpils. It is an important ice-f ...

Talsi Talsi (; liv, Tālsa, german: Talsen) (population 11,371) is a town in Latvia. It is the administrative centre of Talsi Municipality. It is nicknamed the "green pearl of Courland". Etymology It is believed that the name is derived from an old L ...

Saldus Saldus (; german: Frauenburg) is a Latvian town located in Courland ( lv, Kurzeme) and is the main town, and the central location in Saldus Municipality. The name Saldus has been noted in historical sources as far back as the mid-13th century, but ...

and

Ventspils Ventspils (; german: Windau, ; see other names) is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It ...

as well as the

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and

. As of 1 July 2009 the region consist of 17 municipalities and 2 cities within an area of 13,596 km².

Demography

Kurzeme Region had a population of 240,113 inhabitants in 2019 and a population density of 17.66/km².

Tourism

The Pedvale Open Air Museum, near Sabile is a national sculpture park. It preserves the historic landscape, and is a showcase for contemporary sculpture.

References

External links