Pärnu County ( or ''Pärnumaa''; ) is one of 15
counties of Estonia
The counties of Estonia () are the state administrative subdivisions of Estonia. Estonian territory is composed of 15 counties, including 13 on the mainland and 2 on islands. County governments () were abolished at the end of 2017, with their ...
. 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 north,
Järva and
Viljandi counties to the east, and
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
to the south. In 2022, Pärnu County had a population of 85,705 – constituting 6.4% of the total population of Estonia.
Pärnu County is the largest county of Estonia in terms of land area.
History
In Pärnu county, there is the oldest known human settlement in Estonia, which is the town of
Sindi, and it is up the
Pärnu River, near the village of
Pulli. It dates back to 8500 BCE in the
Mesolithic historical period.
County government
The
administrative reform in Estonia abolished
county governments by the end of 2017. Before that, counties were led by a
governor, who was appointed by the
Government of Estonia for a term of five years.
Previous county governors:
* 1993–2009:
Toomas Kivimägi
* 2010–2015:
Andres Metsoja
* 2015–2017: Kalev Kaljuste
Tourism
The city of
Pärnu is a popular
holiday
A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...
resort for Estonians and increasingly for non-Estonians, e.g., from Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Russia.
Municipalities
The county is subdivided into
municipalities. There is one urban municipality (Estonian: ''linnad'' – towns) and six rural municipalities (Estonian: ''vallad'' – parishes) in Pärnu County.
Religion
The following congregations of the
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC) operate in Pärnu County under Pärnu Deanery of EELC: Pärnu, Audru, Häädemeeste, Pärnu-St. Jacob's, Saarde, Sindi, Tahkuranna, Tori, Tõstamaa, Treimani, Vändra.
The congregations of Hanila, Karuse, Kirbla, Lihula, Mihkli and Varbla are under the administration of the Lääne Deanery of the EELC.
Regarding
Eastern Orthodoxy, there is under the administration of the
Estonian Apostolic Orthodox Church Kergu, Uduvere, Uue-Virtsu and Vändra congreations.
An Orthodox congregation in the city of Pärnu operates under the jurisdiction of the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate.
congregations operating in Pärnu County: Pärnu Salem, Pärnu Immanuel's, Pärnu Salt and Light Congregation, Suigu and Kilingi-Nõmme.
A congregation belonging to the
Catholic Church in Estonia operating in Pärnu County is the Congregation of St. John the Apostle in the city of Pärnu.
There are also congregations of other Christian churches in the county.
Geography
Gallery
File:Pärnu-Jaagupi kirik.jpg, Pärnu-Jaagupi church
File:Sindi raudteejaama hoone.jpg, Sindi railway station
File:Laupa mõisa peahoone jõega.jpg, Laupa manor on the Pärnu river
File:Lydia Koidula monument1.jpg, Monument to Estonian poet Lydia Koidula in Pärnu
File:Pärnu mudaravila 2.JPG, Pärnu mud baths and spa
File:Liu tulepaak.jpg, Liu lighthouse in Audru Parish
File:Riisa raba.JPG, Riisa bog in Soomaa National Park
File:Downtown Parnu at night-PDXdj.jpg, Downtown Pärnu at night
File:Häädemeeste kirik 01.jpg, Häädemeeste church
File:Pärnu rannapromenaad 2014.jpg, Pärnu beach promenade
File:Villageroad.JPG, Country road on the island of Kihnu
File:Sauga River.jpg, Sauga river
References
External links
Pärnu County Information PortalPärnu County Government
(in Estonian, archived)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnu County
Counties of Estonia