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46-790: The Treaty of Vilnius of 1561 included the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti by which the Polish King Sigismund II Augustus guaranteed the Livonian estates several privileges, including religious freedom with respect to the Augsburg Confession , the Indigenat ( Polish : Indygenat ), and continuation of the traditional German jurisdiction and administration. The terms regarding religious freedom forbade any regulation of

92-610: A Free imperial city of the Holy Roman Empire , part of Estonia with Reval (Tallinn), which was under Swedish protection, and the westernmost part of Estonia with Øsel (Ösel, Saaremaa), which was Danish . In the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , a stable political system was established on the basis of the 1561 treaty, and only in 1617 this was modified by the Formula regiminis and Statuta Curlandiæ , which granted

138-774: A civil war starting in 1556, the pro-Polish faction gained the upper hand. With the Treaty of Pozvol , concluded in 1557, the Livonian Confederation had turned to Poland–Lithuania for protection, triggering Ivan IV of Russia 's intervention in what was to become the Livonian War . In 1558, Ivan IV had conquered the Dorpat (Tartu) area, annihilating the Bishopric of Dorpat . With the Treaty of Vilnius of 31 August 1559 , Gotthard von Kettler , Grand Master of

184-964: A further series of wars Livonia capitulated to Russia in 1710 , the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti was confirmed by Peter the Great . In 1513, the Grand Master of the Livonian Order bought his order out of the union with the Teutonic Knights . Thus, the secularization of the Teutonic Order State , which led to the establishment of the Protestant Duchy of Prussia under the Polish king in 1525 , did not affect Livonia , where

230-483: Is now northern Estonia) and Swedish Livonia (in what is now southern Estonia and northern Latvia) became the governorates of Reval and Riga , when they were conquered by Russia during the Great Northern War , and then ceded by Sweden in the Treaty of Nystad in 1721. Notably, both Reval Governorate and Riga Governorate were each at the time subdivided into one province only: the province of Estonia and

276-590: The Augsburg Confession , the Indigenat ( Polish : Indygenat ), and continuation of the traditional German jurisdiction and administration. The terms regarding religious freedom forbade any regulation of the traditional Protestant order by religious or secular authorities, and ruled that cases of disagreements be judged only by Protestant scholars. The Livonian regions south of the Daugava River (Düna, Dvina), comprising Courland (Kurland) and Semigallia (Semgallen, Zemgale, Žiemgala), were established as

322-486: The Duchy of Livonia . Báthory however regarded the re-conquered territories as his war booty, refused to confirm the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti , and in 1582 replaced it with the Constitutiones Livoniae , which tolerated Indigenat and Augsburg Confession, but revoked their status as elementary right and else did not contain any privileges. The traditional German administration and jurisdiction

368-601: The Early Modern era . The territories were re-organized in the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Duchy of Livonia , the latter competing with the Kingdom of Livonia during the war. After its reconquest , Sigismund's successor Stephen Báthory (Batory) ignored the privileges of 1561, granted a new constitution and initiated Counter-Reformation . These measures were reversed after the Swedish conquest . When after

414-557: The Governorate of Estland ( German : Estländisches Gouvernement , Russian : Эстляндская губерния ) remained unchanged; the February Revolution of 1917 was followed by an internal redistribution of Latvian and Estonian lands between the latter two. The October Revolution of 1917 and the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk of 1918 created the prerequisites for declaration of independence of these governorships from Russia as

460-817: The Grand Duke of Lithuania , Sigismund II Augustus with the Pacta subiectionis (Provisio ducalis) . In turn, Sigismund granted protection from the Tsardom of Russia and confirmed the Livonian estates' traditional privileges, laid out in the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti . The secularization of the Livonian Order was the "final act" in Livonia's transition from the Middle Ages to

506-656: The Holy Roman Empire and became a Free imperial city . Hard-pressed by Ivan IV of Russia , the remnant of the Livonian Confederation concluded a treaty with Poland–Lithuania on 28 November 1561, subordinating themselves to the Sigismund II Augustus . In November 1561 the new Grand Master Gotthard Kettler secularized the Order and surrendered Livonia to Sigismund Augustus, retaining the Duchy of Courland for himself as Polish-Lithuanian vassal. The Northern Crusade

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552-845: The Jesuits of Riga and Dorpat (Tartu). The respective Jesuit colleges and the Catholic bishopric with its see in Wenden (Cēsis) were founded in 1566. Counter-reformation focussed on the Latvian and Estonian population, since they were not explicitly mentioned in the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti - a disputed interpretation since the German Livonian estates traditionally spoke for all Livonians. Lutherans were forbidden to preach in Estonian , Latvian and Russian language , while at

598-579: The Livonian Order , had put the order's lands under protection of Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund II Augustus . The order ceded about one seventh of its territory, allowed Sigismund to garrison its most important castles, and agreed to share with him any conquests made from Ivan IV. The alliance was intended to neutralize the imminent threat of annexation of the order's lands by Russia , yet despite earning military support from Polish-Lithuanian chancellor Mikołaj "the Black" Radziwiłł , Kettler

644-510: The Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti . When in 1710 Estonia and Livonia capitulated to Russia during the Great Northern War , the capitulations explicitly referred to the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti , with the respective references being confirmed in the Treaty of Nystad (1721). Governorate of Courland Courland Governorate , also known as the Province of Courland or Governorate of Kurland , and known from 1795 to 1796 as

690-525: The Recess of Wolmar (Valmiera) forbade any future secularization in 1546. The Protestant Reformation had started in Riga in 1517, and afterward it had spread to all of Livonia; religious freedom was declared in 1554. As the Livonian Confederation was in decline due to internal struggles, a faction of the order favored rapprochement with Poland–Lithuania , while another faction violently opposed it. After

736-820: The Republic of Latvia on 18 November 1918. The governorate was bounded in the north by the Baltic Sea , the Gulf of Riga and the Governorate of Livonia ; west by the Baltic Sea; south by the Vilna Governorate and Prussia and east by the Vitebsk Governorate and Minsk Governorate . The population in 1846 was estimated at 553,300. It was situated between 55°41' and 57°45 1 ⁄ 2 ' N. Of its total border of 1,260 versts (1,344 km),

782-771: The Viceroyalty of Courland , was an administrative-territorial unit ( guberniya ) and one of the Baltic governorates of the Russian Empire . Its area roughly corresponded to Kurzeme , Zemgale and Sēlija of modern-day Latvia . The governorate was created in 1795 out of the territory of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia , which was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the Viceroyalty of Courland with its capital at Mitau (now Jelgava) following

828-697: The third partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth . In 1915, during the World War I Courland was occupied by the German Empire . With the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918, Bolshevik Russia accepted the loss of the Courland Governorate. After an attempt to reestablish the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia as a client state of the German Empire , Courland was united with Vidzeme and Latgale to form

874-542: The Courland peasant laws, the records were also kept in Latvian. In the 19th century the province was predominantly agrarian. In 1817, serfdom was abolished in the province and peasants were granted personal freedom, but all land remained the property of landlords. In 1863 the peasants received the right to buy land as personal property, and a class of land owning peasants began to form. The land owning peasants, along with

920-602: The German gentry to a degree that they supported the Swedish take-over of Livonia (without Latgalia , Courland and Semigallia ), formalized in the treaties of Altmark (1629) and Stuhmsdorf (1635) . The Polish–Swedish wars had begun in 1600, when Catholic Sigismund III Vasa tried to incorporate Protestant Swedish Estonia into the Polish-Lithuanian Duchy of Livonia , whereupon the local nobles turned to

966-462: The German landlords, were the main suppliers of commercial agricultural products. The main crops grown in the province were rye, wheat, barley, peas, oats, and potatoes. Horticulture and gardening are well developed. Industry of the province is mostly manufacturing. In 1912 there were about 200 factories and plants (mills, vodka mills, sawmills, tanneries, brick mills, flax-spinning factories, etc.) and about 500 cottage industries. Railway construction

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1012-523: The administrative reform of 1819, the area of Pilten was incorporated into the territory of the province as the district of Windau (Hauptmannschaft Windau) and the district of Hasenpoth (Hauptmannschaft Hasenpoth). After the reform of 1819, the castle lord of Kandava moved to Talsi. The area of Palanga up to the Prussian border was also added to the Kurzeme province from the Vilna Governorate . The province

1058-731: The authority of the Oberhofgericht (Court of the Governor's Court). The counties of the governorate were: or / and the most populated city The highest court is the Courts of Kurland (Kurländisches Oberhofgericht), the courts of appeal are the Higher Hauptmanns Courts (Oberhauptmannsgericht), The courts of first instance are the Hauptmannsgericht, the county courts (kreisgericht) for the peasantry, and

1104-700: The autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland , the Baltic Governorates until the end of 19th century were not a subject to the common civil and administrative laws of the Russian Empire , but did not have monetary, fiscal and passport system of their own. Like guberniyas of the Kingdom of Poland they were treated as an integral entity and the Russian law provided them the preservation of local authorities. In Baltics these were Landtags . The special legislation which set rules for municipal administration and entrepreneurship according to local traditions, as well as

1150-530: The beginning of the 19th century he acted as an intermediate between the ministries in Saint Petersburg and administration of the Baltic governorates on spot. The Governor-General, the highest local executive official and military authority, was in charge of the internal order in the provinces and had to take care of their overall security. He was in charge of recruiting troops and had to keep an eye on

1196-570: The duke of Södermanland and later Swedish king, Charles IX for protection. Charles IX expelled the Polish forces from Estonia, and his campaigns in the Duchy of Livonia were concluded in 1621 by his successor Gustavus Adolphus , who established the dominion of Swedish Livonia from the bulk of the Duchy of Livonia . Swedish rule ended the Counter-Reformation, and the privileges of the Livonian nobles resembled those outlined in

1242-578: The garrisons and fortifications. His civil duties included supervising the provincial administration and prisons, maintaining land roads and bridges, issuing passports, and overseeing collection of state taxes and customs duties. He appointed and dismissed higher officials. The Office of the Baltic Governor-General was abolished at the beginning of the russification in the Baltic Provinces in 1876. Similarly to guberniyas of

1288-467: The governors of Kurzeme were subordinate to the governor-general of the Baltic Provinces (German: Generalgouverneur der Ostseeprovinzen )., who resided in the Riga Castle. Until Russification, almost all governors of Courland were German-Baltic noblemen. Until then, the language of administration in the highest authorities and courts of the province was German, but in the parish courts, according to

1334-566: The independent states of Estonia and Latvia . Treaty of Vilnius (1561) The Treaty of Vilnius was concluded on 28 November 1561, during the Livonian War , between the Livonian Confederation and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Vilnius . With the treaty, the non-Danish and non-Swedish part of Livonia , with the exception of the Free imperial city of Riga , subjected itself to

1380-596: The indigenous nobles additional rights at the duke's expense. The situation north of the Daugava was quite different. On 25 December 1566, the Union of Grodno established a real union between the Duchy of Livonia the Grand Duchy of Lithuania , Livonia's administrative division was re-organized with its castellans becoming members of the Lithuanian senate. The union however did not impact Livonian jurisdiction, which

1426-502: The lowest level of the court system for the peasantry are the parish courts (Gemeindegericht). The province of Courland was governed by a governor appointed by the emperor. The representative body of local government was the Landtag (Kurländischer Landtag), which consisted of parish commissioners (Kirchspielsbevollmächtigter, Konvokant) elected by the parishes (Landtagskirchspiel, Parochie) by parish assemblies (Kirchspielsversammlung), In

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1472-553: The parish meetings (Kirchspielsversammlung) all large landowners of the parish could participate, the executive body - a noble committee headed by a land commissioner (Landesbevollmächtige) was elected to conduct its sessions. The residence of the governors was in Jelgava Castle, where the governorate's administrative offices were also located. During the existence of the Baltic Governorate (1801-1876, 1906–1909),

1518-486: The privileges to the local nobility in the Baltics was known under the collective name of Ostsee Right ( Russian : Остзейское право ). From the end of the 18th century through 1917 names and territories of the Governorate of Courland ( German : Kurländisches Gouvernement , Russian : Курляндская губерния ), the Governorate of Livland ( German : Livländisches Gouvernement , Russian : Лифляндская губерния ) and

1564-647: The province of Livonia, respectively. In the period of the so-called Regency, 1783–1796, the Regent's (later Governor-General's) Office in Riga was created. It consisted of two subdivisions dealing with local matters and Russian affairs. After an administrative reform in 1796, the Reval Governorate was renamed Governorate of Estland (Эстляндская губерния), and Riga Governorate renamed Governorate of Livland (Лифляндская губерния). The third Baltic province of Courland

1610-536: The same time Catholic documents were published in these languages. Stephen Batory participated in the Counter-Reformation by granting revenues and estates confiscated from Protestants to the Catholic Church and by initiating a (largely unsuccessful) recruitment campaign for Catholic colonists. These measures however proved to have only limited impact on the Estonian and Latvian population, while alienating

1656-438: The sea border is 320 versts (341 km). The border with Prussia is only 6 versts (6.4 km) long and lacks natural boundaries. The surface area of the province is 26,112 square versts (29,716 km ). After the annexation to the Russian Empire, the Kurzeme Governorate united the lands of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia and the Piltene district, both of which retained their previous administrative divisions. After

1702-518: The secular Duchy of Courland and Semigallia with Gotthard von Kettler as its duke. Shaped after the Prussian model , Courland and Semigallia was thus made a hereditary fief of the Grand Duke of Lithuania , later of the Polish Crown . In contrast, Livonia north of the Daugava was subordinated directly to Sigismund II Augustus as Duchy of Livonia , also referred to as Livonia transdunensis , with Kettler installed as Sigismund's "Royal administrator". These territories however excluded Riga , then

1748-416: The succession in the Bishopric of Reval and established the Kingdom of Livonia under Ivan IV's patronage. After the Polish-Swedish victory in the Battle of Wenden (1578) , Russian forces were subsequently expelled from Livonia, and the Livonian War ended with the treaties of Jam Zapolski and Narva-Plyussa . Only then, Sigismund's successor Stephen Báthory (Batory) was able to re-assume control over

1794-444: The traditional Protestant order by religious or secular authorities, and ruled that cases of disagreements be judged only by Protestant scholars. When in 1710 Estonia and Livonia capitulated to Russia during the Great Northern War , the capitulations explicitly referred to the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti , with the respective references being confirmed in the Treaty of Nystad (1721). The dominions of Swedish Estonia (in what

1840-586: Was defeated in Ērģeme (Ermes, 1560) and unable to prevent the occupation of most of Livonia by Russian forces. After the treaty, the disintegrating order agreed to secularization if necessary, and since Sigismund was reluctant to support it militarily, continued its search for a protector at the courts of Denmark-Norway and the Holy Roman Emperor . In 1560, Johann von Münchhausen sold his bishoprics of Ösel-Wiek and Courland to Magnus , brother of Danish king Frederick II . In June 1561, part of Estonia subordinated itself to Sweden . Riga had turned to

1886-440: Was annexed into Russian Empire after the third partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795. The Baltic Governor-General (Прибалтийский генерал-губернатор) was the representative of the Russian Emperor in the provinces of Livland, Estland and Courland. He was appointed by the Emperor and was subject to the latter as well as to the Senate. His duties were regulated by laws and instructions from central authorities. From

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1932-474: Was developing on the territory of the province. The Riga - Mitava railroad was built in 1867 and in 1871-76 a section of the Libava - Romena railroad. All in all the length of the railway lines in the province was over 560 versts. Education in the province was better than the Russian average. In the 1910s there were 8 secondary schools (over 3 thousand students), 13 special secondary schools (over 460 students), 790 lower secondary schools (36.9 thousand students) in

1978-427: Was divided into ten districts, or Hauptmannschaft, whose administrative authorities were located in the towns of the same name, with the exception of Talsi and Ilūkste, which had only the rights of towns. Each district had its own court with a local police force. Until 1864, every two districts were merged into Oberhauptmannschaft, which contained the Oberhauptmann and the Evangelical Lutheran Church dean's districts under

2024-510: Was gradually impaired by the establishment of voivodeships , the appointment of Royal officials, and the replacement of German with Polish as administrative language. Riga was added to Polish-Lithuanian Livonia by the Treaty of Drohiczyn of 14 January 1581, including a Corpus Privilegiorum Stephanorum similarly reducing its freedoms. Under Stephen Báthory, the Duchy of Livonia was subjected to Counter-Reformation led by bishop Otto von Schenking , who had converted to Catholicism , and

2070-459: Was over, the Northern Wars had begun. Frost, Robert I. : The Northern Wars, Harlow 2000, p. 5. The treaty comprised the Pacta subiectionis by which the Livonian estates accepted Polish-Lithuanian superiority. This document is also known as Provisio ducalis . Also included was the Privilegium Sigismundi Augusti by which Sigismund II Augustus guaranteed the Livonian estates several privileges, including religious freedom with respect to

2116-407: Was to be carried out according to the traditional customs. When in 1569 the Union of Lublin transformed the Polish-Lithuanian personal union into a real union , the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth , Livonia became a Polish-Lithuanian condominium . Ivan IV of Russia subdued nearly all of Livonia transdunanesis between 1572 and 1577. Magnus , in addition to his Livonian possessions, bought

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