Lääne-Viru County

Lääne-Viru County (Lääne-Virumaa in Estonian) is one of the 15 counties of Estonia. It lies in northern Estonia on the south coast of the Gulf of Finland, and its name means western Viru because it is the western counterpart of Ida-Viru County. It borders Ida-Viru County to the east, Jõgeva County to the south, and Järva and Harju counties to the west. In January 2013 the county had a population of 58,806, about 4.5 percent of the population of Estonia. In prehistoric times the area was settled by Estonians of the Vironian tribe. Until 2017 the county government, led by a governor appointed by the Government of Estonia, was seated in Rakvere. The county is divided into one urban municipality and seven rural municipalities, and most of its congregations belong to the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church.