# Riga county

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{{Infobox settlement
| name = Riga County
| native_name = {{ubl|{{lang|lv|Rīgas apriņķis}}|{{lang|de|Kreis Riga}}|{{lang|ru|Рижскій уѣздъ}}}}
| settlement_type = [County](/source/Uezd)
| image_map = Rīgas apriņķis 1940.svg
| mapsize = 225px
| map_caption = Location within Latvia in 1940
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{ubl|[Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire)|[Latvia](/source/Latvia)}}
| subdivision_type1 = [Russian Governorate](/source/List_of_governorates_of_the_Russian_Empire)
| subdivision_name1 = [Livonia](/source/Governorate_of_Livonia)
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 1566
| extinct_title = Abolished
| extinct_date = 1949
| seat_type = Capital
| seat = [Riga](/source/Riga) <small>(extraterritorial)</small>
| area_total_km2 = 6113.10
| population_as_of = 1897
| population_total = 396,101
| population_density_km2 = auto
| image_shield = Rīgas rajona ģerbonis.svg
}}
{{Short description|16th–20th century county in modern-day Latvia}}
[[File:Atlas von Liefland 1.tif|thumb|300px|Rīgas apriņķis (''Rigische Kreis'') on the map of [Ludwig August Mellin](/source/Ludwig_August_Mellin) (1798)]]
'''Riga county''' ({{Langx|lv|Rīgas apriņķis}}, {{Langx|de|Kreis Riga}}, {{Langx|ru|label=[Russian](/source/Russian_alphabet)|Рижскій уѣздъ|Rizhskiy uyezd}}) was a historic [county](/source/county) of the [Duchy of Livonia](/source/Duchy_of_Livonia), the [Governorate of Livonia](/source/Governorate_of_Livonia), and the [Republic of Latvia](/source/Republic_of_Latvia) which was dissolved during the administrative territorial reform of the [Latvian SSR](/source/Latvian_SSR) in 1949.

== History ==
The first iteration of Riga County (''distrikt'') was formed in 1566 as a subdivision of the Duchy of Livonia of the [Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth](/source/Polish%E2%80%93Lithuanian_Commonwealth). After the [Treaty of Drohiczyn](/source/Treaty_of_Drohiczyn) Riga county merged into the [Wenden Voivodeship](/source/Wenden_Voivodeship) (Wenden Presidency until 1598) of Poland–LIthuania in 1582. 

The County of Riga was later restored in 1629 as a subdivision of [Swedish Vidzeme](/source/Swedish_Livonia) as a consequence of the [Truce of Altmark](/source/Truce_of_Altmark). After the [incorporation of Livonia](/source/Treaty_of_Nystad) by the [Russian Empire](/source/Russian_Empire) in 1721, it became one of the nine subdivisions of the [Governorate of Livonia](/source/Governorate_of_Livonia). Its capital was [Riga](/source/Riga), which was the capital of the governorate as well.

After the establishment of the Republic of Latvia in 1918, the ''Rīgas apriņķis''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.letonika.lv/groups/default.aspx?q=apri%C5%86%C4%B7is&s=0&g=2&r=10621033|title=Letonika.lv. Vārdnīcas - Latviešu—angļu vārdnīca. Apriņķis = district or county|website=www.letonika.lv|access-date=2019-10-14}}</ref> was expanded in 1924 with parts of [Bauska county](/source/Bauska_county) ([Baldone Parish](/source/Baldone_Parish), Līve-Bramberga Parish, [Tome Parish](/source/Tome_Parish)) and Linde Parish of [Jaunjelgava county](/source/Jaunjelgava_county). The city of Riga (''Rīgas pilsēta'') was considered as a separate first-level municipality.<ref>{{Cite web |year=1937 |title=Rīgas apriņķis. Dzīve un darbs |trans-title=Riga county. Life and labor |url=https://dom.lndb.lv/data/obj/file/18719622.pdf |website=periodika.lv |publisher=Latvian Chamber of Agriculture |place=Riga |language=lv}}</ref>

In 1949, during the Soviet occupation, the Council of Ministers of the [Latvian SSR](/source/Latvian_Soviet_Socialist_Republic) abolished counties and split the Rīgas apriņķis into of [Riga](/source/Riga_district), [Baldone](/source/Baldone) (dissolved in 1959), [Saulkrasti](/source/Saulkrasti) (dissolved in 1956) and [Sigulda](/source/Sigulda) districts (dissolved in 1962). The city of Riga remained as a separate "city of republican significance" ({{Langx|lv|republikas nozīmes pilsēta}}).

==Demographics==
At the time of the [Russian Empire Census](/source/Russian_Empire_Census) of 1897, County of Riga (''Kreis Riga'') had a population of 396,101. Of these, 58.2% spoke [Latvian](/source/Latvian_language), 18.2% [German](/source/German_language), 11.9% [Russian](/source/Russian_language), 4.7% [Yiddish](/source/Yiddish_language), 3.5% [Polish](/source/Polish_language), 1.6% [Lithuanian](/source/Lithuanian_language), 1.1% [Estonian](/source/Estonian_language), 0.2% [Belarusian](/source/Belarusian_language), 0.1% [Tatar](/source/Tatar_language), 0.1% [Ukrainian](/source/Ukrainian_language), 0.1% [English](/source/English_language) and 0.1% [French](/source/French_language) as their native language.<ref>[http://demoscope.ru/weekly/ssp/rus_lan_97_uezd.php?reg=728 Первая всеобщая перепись населения Российской Империи 1897 г.]</ref>

==References==
{{Commons category|Kreis Riga}}
{{Reflist}}

{{List of former Latvian counties and districts}}
{{Authority control}}

{{coord missing|Latvia}}

Category:Riga county
Category:Counties of Latvia
Category:Uezds of the Governorate of Livonia

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Riga county](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riga_county) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riga_county?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.