Pella (regional unit)

Pella () is one of the regional units of Greece, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. It is named after the ancient city of Pella, the capital of ancient Macedonia and the birthplace of Alexander the Great. The capital of Pella is Edessa with a population of 19,036 inhabitants according to the census of 2011, while the largest town is Giannitsa. Other towns include Aridaia, Skydra, Arnissa and Krya Vrysi.
Administration.
According to the 2011 census the population of the regional unit of Pella was 139,680. It is subdivided into 4 municipalities. These are:
Prefecture.
As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit of Pella was created out of the former prefecture Pella (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.
Provinces.
The former prefecture of Pella was subdivided into the following provinces:
"Note:" Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece.
Geography.
The regional unit covers an area of , the majority of which is covered by arable land, forests and pastures. Mountainous areas surrounding Pella are Mount Voras (Kaimaktsalan) (2,524 metres), Mount Vermion (2,027 metres), Mount Paiko (1,458 metres), Mount Jenna (2,182 metres) and Mount Pinovo (2,154 metres). The main plains are Pozar in the north and the vast plain of Giannitsà in the southeastern part. Other natural features of the area include Lakes Vegoritida and Agra, and Rivers Loudias and Edessian. Pella's southernmost portion is flat and in ancient times, it was a gulf connected to the Aegean Sea. The elevation in the south does not exceed about above sea level. Pella has surface and groundwater resources. There are a number of archaeological sites in the area.
Pella isborder the regional units of Kilkis to the northeast, Thessaloniki to the east, Imathia to the south, Kozani to the southwest, by Lake Vegoritida to the southwest, and by Florina to the west. To the north, it is bounded by the national border between Greece and North Macedonia.
History.
In antiquity, the area around the modern Pella regional unit was part of the ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. It later became part of the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine and the Ottoman Empires. Following approximately 500 years of Ottoman rule, it rejoined Greece in 1913, following the Balkan Wars.
Agriculture.
The southern part of the regional unit has a number of orchards. While agriculture once represented its main industry, today, manufacturing, services and other businesses dominate about 70% of its industry.


Leipzig (region)

Leipzig is one of the three former Direktionsbezirke of the Free State of Saxony, Germany, located in the north-west of the state. It coincided with the "Planungsregion" Westsachsen. It was disbanded in March 2012.
History.
The Direktionsbezirk Leipzig came into existence on 1 August 2008 and succeeded the Regierungsbezirk Leipzig. The territory of "Regierungsbezirk Leipzig" was slightly larger, and included the former district of Döbeln. With the exception of the districts Altenburg and Schmölln, the territory of the Regierungsbezirk corresponded to that of the former Bezirk Leipzig which existed from 1952 to 1990.
A "Regierungsbezirk Leipzig" existed already from 1939 to 1943, when the former "Kreishauptmannschaften" in Saxony were renamed following the custom in Prussia.
Subdivision.
"Kreise"
(districts)
"Kreisfreie Städte"
(district-free towns)


Evrytania

Evrytania (, ; Latin: "Eurytania") is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Karpenisi (approx. 8,000 inhabitants).
Geography.
Evrytania is almost entirely formed of mountains, including the Tymfristos and the Panaitoliko in the south. Its rivers include the Acheloos in the west, Agrafiotis to the east, and Megdova in the east flowing down to the Ionian Sea. It is one of the least populated regional units in Greece. The area borders Aetolia-Acarnania to the west, southwest and south (west over the Acheloos river), Karditsa regional unit to the north, and Phthiotis to the east. Evrytania also features a famous skiing resort located near Karpenisi on the Tymfristos mountain.
Climate.
Its climate is a mixture of Mediterranean and mountainous in the western portion. Much of the area receives snow in winter and is warm during the summer months.
Transport.
The Greek National Road 38 from Agrinio to Lamia passes through the southern part of Evrytania and the town Karpenisi. On the border with Phthiotis, the GR-38 passes through the 1.4 km-long Tymfristos Tunnel since 2004.
History.
Evrytania dates to ancient times, the area was first settled around 6000 to 5000 BC. In classical antiquity, the Greek Eurytanes () resided in the region. In the 2nd century BC it fell into Roman hands, and became part of the Roman province of Macedonia. At the division of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century it joined the eastern part, which became the Byzantine Empire. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 it became part of the Despotate of Epirus, which was conquered by the Ottoman Empire around 1450. Unlike other parts of Greece at the time, while the eastern and the southern parts were definitively ruled by the Ottomans, the area around Agrafa managed to sustain complete autonomy due to the difficulties experienced in conquest of the region. After 400 years, Evrytania finally became part of Greece following the Greek War of Independence. As in all of Greece, the area was affected by World War II, and later the Greek Civil War. Peace finally returned to Evrytania at the end of the 1940s and its economy expanded, though there was significant migration from the villages to cities.
Administration.
The regional unit Evrytania is subdivided into 2 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):
Prefecture.
Evrytania was created as a prefecture in 1947 out of the Aetolia-Acarnania prefecture. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Evrytania was created out of the former prefecture Evrytania (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.


Province of Oristano

The province of Oristano (, ) is a province in the autonomous island region of Sardinia in Italy. Its capital is the city of Oristano. It has an area of , a total population of 160,746 (2016), and a population density of 53.7 people per square kilometer. There are 87 municipalities ("comuni") in the province).
It is bordered with on the north by Province of Sassari, on east by the Province of Nuoro, on south by the Province of South Sardinia and it is bathed from the Sea of Sardinia to the west.
History.
The province of Oristano is the smallest province in Sardinia and was formed from sections of the provinces of Cagliari and Nuoro. It occupies roughly the same area as the Giudicato of Arborea of the High Middle Ages. It borders Nuoro, Cagliari and the Sea of Sardinia. A large area of the province's coastline is part of the gulf of Oristano, and the land in the province is mainly flat and there is some marshland. The province contains Santa Giusta (commune) and Tharros (former city), which both date from the Carthaginian Republic's rule of the area.
The town of Arborea was founded by Benito Mussolini's fascist regime as Mussolinia to be an experimental town, for which, farmers were moved from Emilia Romagna and Veneto. The River Tirso flows through the province of Oristano from the province of Nuoro, and its mouth is located at the Gulf of Oristano. Temo is the only other river to flow through the province. The town of Bosa is located in the region alongside a river and its medieval fortifications remain. The province of Oristano was formed in 1975 and had been largely unaffected/undamaged by tourism.
Communes.
The province has a total of 87 communes, the largest of which are:


Viljandi Parish

Viljandi Parish () is a rural municipality of Viljandi County, Estonia. It is located around the town of Viljandi, but does not include it.
Viljandi Parish was established by merging four municipalities: Paistu, Pärsti, Saarepeedi and Viiratsi parishes. This took place after the municipal elections held on 20 October 2013.
Between 1939 and 1950, Viljandi Parish existed with different borders.
Populated places.
Viljandi Parish has 4 small boroughs ("alevik"): Kolga-Jaani, Mustla, Ramsi and Viiratsi and approximately 126 villages, including:


Municipalities of Kymenlaakso

The 7 municipalities of the Kymenlaakso Region () in Finland are divided on two sub-regions.


West Flanders

West Flanders ( ; West Flemish: "West Vloandern"; French: "(Province de) Flandre-Occidentale"; German: "Westflandern") is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemish province of East Flanders to the east, the Walloon province of Hainaut in the southeast and the French department of Nord to the west. Its capital is Bruges ("Brugge"). Other important cities are Kortrijk in the south and Ostend ("Oostende") on the coast, Roeselare and Ypres ("Ieper"). The province has an area of which is divided into eight administrative districts ("arrondissementen") containing 64 municipalities.
As of January 2019, West Flanders has a population of 1,195,796.
The North Sea coast of Belgium, an important tourism destination, lies in West Flanders. A tram line runs the length of the coast, from De Panne on the French border to Knokke-Heist on the Dutch border. West Flanders has two seaports, the Port of Zeebrugge and the Port of Ostend.
Geography.
West Flanders consists of the North Sea coast, followed by a very flat polder landscape. Only in the south are some small hills, with the Kemmelberg () being the highest point in the province. The Leie and IJzer are the main rivers. West Flanders is the only Belgian province that borders both France and The Netherlands; it is the only province not landlocked.
Economy.
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was 46.9 billion € in 2018. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 34,700 € or 115% of the EU27 average in the same year.
In the north of the province, most industry is concentrated in and around the cities of Bruges and Ostend. Both cities also have important seaports: the port of Bruges-Zeebrugge and the port of Ostend.
The south is known for its textile industry, with companies such as Beaulieu and Libeco-Lagae. The region around Kortrijk is called the "Dallas of Belgium" for its entrepreneurship.
Tourism.
Tourism is also an important industry in West Flanders. Major touristic attractions include the Belgian coast, the historic center of Bruges, the Yser Tower in Diksmuide and Flanders Fields, the World War I battlefields around Ypres.
Language.
The region has a very distinct dialect of Dutch called West Flemish. This distinctive dialect is a part of the strong sense of identity of the inhabitants of the region.
Sport.
The city of Bruges has two clubs playing at the highest level of football in Belgium (Belgian First Division A), namely Club Brugge and Cercle Brugge.
Other cities with teams playing at the highest level are Kortrijk (KV Kortrijk), Ostend (KV Oostende) and Waregem (Zulte Waregem).
The teams Knack Randstad Roeselare and Prefaxis Menen play in the highest volleyball league. Knack Randstad Roeselare also plays in the CEV Champions League, the European Championsleague.
BC Oostende is a basketball team which plays in the major basketball league of Belgium.
Subdivisions.
Arrondissements.
The Province of West Flanders is divided into 8 administrative arrondissements.
Judicial arrondissements.
The Province of West Flanders is divided into 4 judicial arrondissements.
Municipalities.
Municipalities that have city status have "(city)" after their names.
1. Alveringem
2. Anzegem
3. Ardooie
4. Avelgem
5. Beernem
6. Blankenberge "(city)"
7. Bredene
8. Bruges "(city)"
9. Damme "(city)"
10. De Haan
11. De Panne
12. Deerlijk
13. Dentergem
14. Diksmuide "(city)"
15. Gistel "(city)"
16. Harelbeke "(city)"
17. Heuvelland
18. Hooglede
19. Houthulst
20. Ichtegem
21. Ypres (Ieper) "(city)"
22. Ingelmunster
23. Izegem "(city)"
24. Jabbeke
25. Knokke-Heist
26. Koekelare
27. Koksijde
28. Kortemark
29. Kortrijk "(city)"
30. Kuurne
31. Langemark-Poelkapelle
32. Ledegem
33. Lendelede
34. Lichtervelde
35. Lo-Reninge "(city)"
36. Menen "(city)"
37. Mesen "(city)"
38. Meulebeke
39. Middelkerke
40. Moorslede
41. Nieuwpoort "(city)"
42. Ostend "(city)"
43. Oostkamp
44. Oostrozebeke
45. Oudenburg "(city)"
46. Pittem
47. Poperinge "(city)"
48. Roeselare "(city)"
49. Ruiselede
50. Spiere-Helkijn
51. Staden
52. Tielt "(city)"
53. Torhout "(city)"
54. Veurne "(city)"
55. Vleteren
56. Waregem "(city)"
57. Wervik "(city)"
58. Wevelgem
59. Wielsbeke
60. Wingene
61. Zedelgem
62. Zonnebeke
63. Zuienkerke
64. Zwevegem


Molise

Molise (, , ; ) is a region of Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise, alongside the region of Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the youngest region in Italy. Covering , it is the second smallest region in the country after the Aosta Valley, and has a population of 313,348 (as of 1 January 2015).
The region is split into two provinces, named after their respective capitals Campobasso and Isernia. Campobasso also serves as the regional capital.
Geography.
Molise is bordered by Abruzzo to the north, Apulia to the east, Lazio to the west, and Campania to the south. It has of sandy coastline to the northeast, lying on the Adriatic Sea looking out towards the Tremiti islands.
The countryside of Molise is mostly mountainous, with 55% covered by mountains and most of the rest by hills that go down to the sea.
Economy.
Agriculture, involving small and micro holdings, is currently offering high-quality products. The agricultural holdings produce wine, cereals, olive oil, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. Traditional products are Grass Pea (cicerchia) and Farro. Molise's autochthonous grape is Tintilia which has been rediscovered during the last ten years, and many other PDO (DOP) wines, both red and white.
Though there is a large Fiat plant (Termoli), the industrial sector is dominated by the farming industry with small and medium-sized farms spread widely throughout the region. Another important industry is food processing: pasta, meat, milk products, oil and wine are the traditional products of the region. In the services sector the most important industries are distribution, hotels and catering, followed by transport and communications, banking and insurance. With few exceptions, in all sectors firms are small, and this explains the difficulties encountered when marketing products on a national scale.
International tourism is growing largely as a result of the recent opening of international flights from other European countries to Pescara Airport, which is not far to the north in Abruzzo and connected to Molise by the A14 highway (the only highway passing through Molise, by Termoli).
The unemployment rate stood at 9.5% in 2020.
Demographics.
The density of the population in Molise is well below the national average. In 2008, Molise registered 72.3 inhabitants per km2, compared to a national figure of 198.8. The region is subdivided into two provinces: Campobasso and Isernia, which together cover 1.5% of Italy's territory and less than 1% of its population. The larger province in terms of area is Campobasso at 2,909 km2, while the smaller is Isernia at 1,529 km2. The province of Campobasso is the more densely populated of the two provinces, with 79.4 inhabitants per km2, whereas Isernia registers 58.9 inhabitants per km2. At the end of 2008 the most populous towns were Campobasso (51,247 inhabitants), Termoli (32,420) and Isernia (21,811).
In the period 1951–71, large-scale emigration to other countries of the European Union, to other parts of Italy and overseas led to a significant decline in the population of Molise. Negative net migration persisted until 1981. Large-scale emigration has caused many of the smaller towns and villages to lose over 60% of their population, while only a small number of larger towns have recorded significant gains. From 1982 to 1994, net migration has been positive, then followed by a negative trend until 2001. Between 1991 (330,900 inhabitants) and 2001 (320,601 inhabitants), the population of the region decreased by 3.1%; since 2001 the population remained stable.
The region is home to two main ethnic minorities: the Molisan Croats (20,000 people who speak an old Dalmatian dialect of the Croatian language alongside Italian), and those who speak the "arbereshe" dialect of Albanian in five towns of "basso Molise" in the province of Campobasso.
Government and politics.
Administrative divisions.
Molise comprises two provinces:
Culture.
Molise has much tradition from the religious to the pagans, many museum, archeological sites, musical and food events.
"Tradition"
"Arts, musical and food festivals"
"Museums"
Cuisine.
The cuisine of Molise is similar to the cuisine of Abruzzo, though there are some differences in the dishes and ingredients. The flavors of Molise are dominated by the many aromatic herbs that grow there. Some of the characteristic foods include spicy salami, a variety of locally produced cheeses, dishes using lamb or goat, pasta dishes with hearty sauces, and vegetables that grow in the region.
In addition to bruschetta, a typical antipasto will consist of any of several meat dishes, such as the sausages capocollo, the fennel-seasoned salsiccie al finocchio, soppressata, ventricina, frascateglie or sanguinaccio. In addition to these sausages, a variety of ham is available, such as smoked prosciutto. Frequently, the sausages are enjoyed with polenta.
Main dishes of the region include:
Common second dishes (often meat and vegetable dishes) are:
Typical vegetable dishes may include:
Fish dishes include red mullet soup, and spaghetti with cuttlefish. Trout from the Biferno river is notable for its flavor, and is cooked with a simple but tasty sauce of aromatic herbs. Zuppa di pesce, a fish stew, is a specialty of Termoli.
The cheeses produced in Molise are not very different from those produced in Abruzzo. The more common ones are Burrino and Manteca, soft, buttery cow's-milk cheeses; Pecorino, sheep's-milk cheese, served young and soft or aged and hard, called also "Maciuocco" in Molise; Scamorza, bland cow's-milk cheese, often served grilled; and Caciocavallo, sheep's-milk cheese.
Sweets and desserts have an ancient tradition here and are linked to the history of the territory and to religious and family festivities. Most common are:
International relations.
Twin towns — sister cities.
Molise is twinned with:


Departments of France

In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-six departments are in metropolitan France, and five are overseas departments, which are also classified as overseas regions. Departments are further subdivided into 334 arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons; the last two have no autonomy, and are used for the organisation of police, fire departments, and sometimes, elections.
Each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council ( [sing.], [plur.]). From 1800 to April 2015, these were called general councils ( [sing.] [plur.]). Each council has a president. Their main areas of responsibility include the management of a number of social and welfare allowances, of junior high school () buildings and technical staff, and local roads and school and rural buses, and a contribution to municipal infrastructures. Local services of the state administration are traditionally organised at departmental level, where the prefect represents the government; however, regions have gained importance since the 2000s, with some department-level services merged into region-level services.
The departments were created in 1790 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity; the title "department" is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after physical geographical features (rivers, mountains, or coasts), rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The division of France into departments was a project particularly identified with the French revolutionary leader the Abbé Sieyès, although it had already been frequently discussed and written about by many politicians and thinkers. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of d'Argenson. They have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies.
Most French departments are assigned a two-digit number, the "Official Geographical Code", allocated by the (). Overseas departments have a three-digit number. The number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. Residents commonly use the numbers to refer to their own department or a neighbouring one, for example, inhabitants of Loiret may refer to their department as "the 45". More distant departments are generally referred to by their names, as few people know the numbers of all the departments.
In 2014, President François Hollande proposed to abolish departmental councils by 2020, which would have maintained the departments as administrative divisions, and to transfer their powers to other levels of governance. This reform project has since been abandoned.
History.
The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René d'Argenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the "Ponts et Chaussées" (Bridges and Highways) infrastructure administration.
Before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces. During the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. The National Constituent Assembly decided to create a more uniform division into departments ("département") and districts in late 1789. The process began on 4 August 1789 with the elimination of provincial priveleges, and a 22 December 1789 decree (with letters patent in January 1790) provided for the termination of the provincial governments.
The modern department system, as all-purpose units of the government, was decreed on 26 February 1790 (with letters patent on 4 March 1790) by the National Constituent Assembly. Their boundaries served two purposes:
The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments. Most were named after an area's principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine. Savoy, during its temporary occupation, became the department of Mont-Blanc. The provinces continued to exist administratively until 21 September 1791.
The number of departments, initially 83, had been increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleon's defeats in 1814–1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size and the number of departments was reduced to 86 (three of the original departments having been split). In 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice and a portion of the Var department. The 89 departments were given numbers based on the alphabetical order of their names.
The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following France's defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. A small part of Haut-Rhin however remained French and became known as the Territoire de Belfort; the remaining parts of Meurthe and Moselle were merged into a new Meurthe-et-Moselle department. When France regained the ceded departments after World War I, the Territoire de Belfort was not re-integrated into Haut-Rhin. In 1922, it became France's 90th department. Likewise, the Lorraine departments were not changed back to their original boundaries, and a new Moselle department was created in the regained territory, with slightly different boundaries from the pre-war department of the same name.
The re-organisation of Île-de-France in 1968 and the division of Corsica in 1975 added six more departments, raising the total in Metropolitan France to 96. By 2011, when the overseas collectivity of Mayotte became a department, joining the earlier overseas departments of the Republic (all created in 1946) – French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion – the total number of departments in the French Republic had become 101. In 2015, the Urban Community of Lyon was split from Rhône to form the Métropole de Lyon, a "sui generis" entity, with the powers of both an intercommunality and those of a department on its territory, formally classified as a "territorial collectivity with particular status" () and as such not belonging to any department. As of 2019, Corse-du-Sud and Haute-Corse are still administrative departments, although they no longer have the status of departmental "territorial collectivities": region and department functions have been managed by a "single territorial collectivity" since 2018.
Despite the intention to avoid the old nomenclature, often the names of pre-1790 provinces remained in use. For example, the name of Berry, though no longer having an official status, remains up to the present in widespread use in daily life.
General characteristics.
Government and administration.
The departmental seat of government is known as the prefecture ("préfecture") or "chef-lieu de département" and is generally a town of some importance roughly at the geographical centre of the department. This was determined according to the time taken to travel on horseback from the periphery of the department. The goal was for the prefecture to be accessible on horseback from any town in the department within 24 hours. The prefecture is not necessarily the largest city in the department: for instance, in Saône-et-Loire department the capital is Mâcon, but the largest city is Chalon-sur-Saône. Departments may be divided into arrondissements. The capital of an arrondissement is called a subprefecture ("sous-préfecture") or "chef-lieu d'arrondissement".
Each department is administered by a departmental council ("conseil départemental"), an assembly elected for six years by universal suffrage, with the President of the Departmental Council as executive of the department. Before 1982, the chief executive of the department was the prefect ("préfet"), who represents the Government of France in each department and is appointed by the President of the French Republic. The prefect is assisted by one or more sub-prefects ("sous-préfet") based in the subprefectures of the department. Since 1982, the prefect retains only the powers that are not delegated to the department councils. In practice, his role has been largely limited to preventing local policy from conflicting with national policy.
The departments are further divided into communes, governed by municipal councils. As of 2013, there were 36,681 communes in France. In the overseas territories, some communes play a role at departmental level. Paris, the country's capital city, is a commune as well as a department.
In continental France (metropolitan France, excluding Corsica), the median land area of a department is , which is two-and-a-half times the median land area of the ceremonial counties of England and the preserved counties of Wales and slightly more than three-and-half times the median land area of a county of the United States. At the 2001 census, the median population of a department in continental France was 511,000 inhabitants, which is 21 times the median population of a United States county, but less than two-thirds of the median population of a ceremonial county of England and Wales. Most of the departments have an area of between 4,000 and 8,000 km2 (1500 to 3000 sq. mi.), and a population between 320,000 and 1 million. The largest in area is Gironde (10,000 km2; 4000 sq. mi.), while the smallest is the city of Paris (105 km2; 40 sq. mi.). The most populous is Nord (2,550,000) and the least populous is Lozère (74,000).
Numbering.
The departments are numbered: their two-digit numbers appear in postal codes, in INSEE codes (including "social security numbers") and on vehicle number plates. Initially, the numbers corresponded to the alphabetical order of the names of the departments, but several changed their names, so the correspondence became less exact. Alphanumeric codes 2A and 2B were used for Corsica while it was split but it has since reverted to 20. The two-digit code "98" is used by Monaco. Together with the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code FR, the numbers form the ISO 3166-2 country subdivision codes for the metropolitan departments. The overseas departments get three digits.
Relation to national government.
Originally, the relationship between the departments and the central government was left somewhat ambiguous. While citizens in each department elected their own officials, the local governments were subordinated to the central government, becoming instruments of national integration. By 1793, however, the revolutionary government had turned the departments into transmission belts for policies enacted in Paris. With few exceptions, the departments had this role until the early 1960s.
Party political preferences.
These maps cannot be used as a useful resource of voter preferences, because Departmental Councils are elected on a two-round system, which drastically limits the chances of fringe parties, if they are not supported on one of the two rounds by a moderate party. After the 1992 election, the left had a majority in only 21 of the 100 departments; after the 2011 election, the left dominated 61 of the 100 departments. (Mayotte only became a department after the election.)
Key to the parties:
Future.
The removal of one or more levels of local government has been discussed for some years; in particular, the option of removing the departmental level. Frédéric Lefebvre, spokesman for the UMP, said in December 2008 that the fusion of the departments with the regions was a matter to be dealt with soon. This was soon refuted by Édouard Balladur and Gérard Longuet, members of the committee for the reform of local authorities, known as the Balladur Committee.
In January 2008, the Attali Commission recommended that the departmental level of government should be eliminated within ten years.
Nevertheless, the Balladur Committee has not retained this proposition and does not advocate the disappearance of the departments, but simply "favors the voluntary grouping of departments", which it suggests also for the regions, with the aim of reducing the number of regions to 15. This committee advocates, on the contrary, the suppression of the cantons.
Maps and tables.
Current departments.
Each department has a coat of arms with which it is commonly associated, though not all are officially recognised or used.
Former departments.
Departments of Algeria (Départements d'Algérie).
Unlike the rest of French-controlled Africa, Algeria was divided into overseas departments from 1848 until its independence in 1962. These departments were supposed to be "assimilated" or "integrated" to France sometime in the future.
Departments of the Napoleonic Empire in Europe.
There are a number of former departments in territories conquered by France during the French Revolution and Napoleonic Empire that are now not part of France:
Notes for Table 7:


Districts of Germany

In all German states, except for the three city states, the primary administrative subdivision higher than a Gemeinde (Municipality) is the (official term in all but two states) or ' (official term in the states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein). Most major cities in Germany are not part of any Kreis, but instead combine the functions of a municipality and a Kreis; such a city is referred to as a ' (literally "district-free city"; official term in all but one state) or (literally "urban district"; official term in Baden-Württemberg).
"(Land-)Kreise" stand at an intermediate level of administration between each German state (, plural ) and the municipal governments (, plural ) within it. These correspond to level-3 administrative units in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 3), and are roughly equivalent to counties in the United States.
Previously, the similar title (Imperial Circle) referred to groups of states in the Holy Roman Empire. The related term was used for similar administrative divisions in some German territories until the 19th century.
Types of districts.
The majority of German districts are "rural districts" (German: ), of which there are 294 . Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (and smaller towns in some states) do not usually belong to a district, but take on district responsibilities themselves, similar to the concept of independent cities. These are known as "urban districts" (German: or )—cities which constitute a district in their own right—and there are 107 of them, bringing the total number of districts to 401. , approximately 26 million people live in these 107 urban districts.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, there are some cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants which are not urban districts, for example Recklinghausen, Siegen, Paderborn, Bergisch Gladbach, Neuss and Moers. Nevertheless, these cities take over many district responsibilities themselves, although they are still part of a larger rural district. Midsize towns can perform particular administrative functions of the district as well, especially to provide common services to the local citizens. The classification as "midsize" town is usually based on a town's registered population, but varies from state to state.
A special type of rural districts includes the three ("Municipal unions of special kind"), a fusion of a district-free town with its adjacent rural district: besides the Regionalverband Saarbrücken ("Saarbrücken regional association"), from 1974 until 2007 called "Stadtverband Saarbrücken" ("Saarbrücken town association"), there is the Hanover Region since 2001 and the Städteregion Aachen ("Aachen region of towns") since 2009. Aachen, Hanover and Göttingen retain certain rights of an urban district ("Kreisfreie Stadt"); Saarbrücken has not explicitly determined a similar provision in its legislation.
Responsibilities.
According to common federal and state laws, the districts are responsible for the following tasks:
Districts can perform additional functions, based on varying local laws in each region:
All these tasks are carried out by local (municipal) authorities operating together. Urban districts have these responsibilities and also those of the municipalities.
District council.
The district council (German: ) is the highest institution of a rural district and is responsible for all fundamental guidelines of regional self-administration. This council is elected directly every five years, except in Bavaria where it is elected every six years. Usually the administrative seat of a rural district is located in one of its largest towns. However, district council and administrative seat of some rural districts are not situated within the district proper, but in an adjacent district-free city. Most of those rural districts are named after this central city as well (e.g. Bamberg and Karlsruhe). Moers is the biggest city in Germany (and at present time the only one with more than 100,000 inhabitants) that is neither an urban district, nor the district seat of its rural district.
District administration.
The highest administrative position of a rural district is an officer known as or , who is responsible for the district's day-to-day administration and acts as its representative for official purposes. In parts of northern Germany, "Landrat" is also the name of the entire district administration, which in southern Germany is known as or .
In urban districts similar administrative functions are performed by a mayor, in most greater cities usually by the Lord Mayor.
Rural districts in some German states have an additional administrative committee called "Kreisausschuss". This committee is generally led by the Landrat and includes a number of additional voluntary members. It takes over certain administrative functions for the district, following decisions of the district council. However, the exact role and regulations of this panel vary greatly between different states.
The city where the office of the district's administration is located is called "Kreisstadt" ("district city"), or "Kreishauptort" ("district main community") if it's not a city. Often the district is named after its district city.
Linguistically, any city within a district could be called a "Kreisstadt", especially those that aren't district-free to distinguish them from district-free cities. This term has to be distinguished from the legal term "Kreisstadt" that only denotes the location of the administrative office. In everyday language, district cities are also called "Kreishauptstadt" ("district capital").


Vilnius City Municipality


List of Bulgaria province name etymologies

This is a list of the origins of the names of provinces of Bulgaria.


List of Belgian provinces by GDP

This article lists Belgian provinces and regions (NUTS 2) by gross domestic product (GDP).
By GDP.
This table reports the gross domestic product (nominal GDP), expressed in billions of euro, of the ten provinces and the Brussels capital region in 2019.
 Flemish Region
 Walloon Region
By GDP per capita.
This table reports the gross domestic product (adjusted for purchasing power parity), expressed in euro, of the ten provinces and the Brussels capital region in 2018.
 Flemish Region
 Walloon Region


Vakka-Suomi

Vakka-Suomi is a sub-region within Southwest Finland region. It consists of the town of Uusikaupunki and its surrounding municipalities of Kustavi, Laitila, Mietoinen, Mynämäki, Pyhäranta, Taivassalo and Vehmaa. This sub-region is in name only, without official government. The composition of the area is disputable, as communities within it have been and are merged into each other, even into ones that are not seen to belong into Vakka-Suomi. For example, Kalanti and Lokalahti are no longer their own municipalities, but a part of Uusikaupunki.
The name of the region originates from the 19th century, when a significant export of the region was "vakkas". A "vakka" is a commonly a lightweight container made out of wood, generally carryable by two hands. A "vakka" usually has a flat bottom and a round shape. It has an easily fitting lid that has a locking mechanism and is commonly without hinges.


Turku sub-region

The Turku Region (, ), The City Region of Turku (, ) and Greater Turku (, ) all refer to regions of different size surrounding Turku, the capital city of the region of Southwest Finland. The Turku Region is one of the Sub-regions of Finland. It is located in the southwest of Finland and the area has around 300,000 inhabitants. More exclusive urban area the "city region of Turku" with population around 235,000 and second highest population density (586/km²) among city regions. The region has three universities and four polytechnics. Biotechnology and ICT are one of their most important sectors. In fact the largest bio-industrial cluster in Finland locates in Turku, as well as from Turku to Salo is one of the principal concentrations of ICT in Finland. Because The Turku Region lies on the coast of the Baltic Sea it has strong logistical activity. The region's two significant seaports the Port of Turku and the Port of Naantali and shipyard industry are big employers in the area. The Turku Region has also growing activity on air cargo logistics. LogiCity is a concept of Pilot Turku to create logistic cluster around Turku Airport, in where logistic industries of marine, plane, train and truck cargo can be met with manufacturers and commercial markets to share synergy benefits. TNT Airways is one of the logistic operators in the LogiCity of Turku.
Definitions of the Turku Region.
In the strictest definition the "city region" the area consist of four municipalities with city status Kaarina, Naantali, Raisio and Turku, however in some definitions also Aura, Lieto, Paimio, Piikkiö, Rusko are counted in. In case of the Turku Region is defined according to LAU 1 (number 023) it will include all 11 municipalities listed below.
Geography.
 The Turku Region is located in the southwestern corner of Finland around the city of Turku. It is part of the region Southwest Finland and Western Finland. It shares borders with the sub-region of Salo in east, the subregion of Loimaa in northeast, Vakka-Suomi in north and Åboland in southwest. The Turku Region has part of the Archipelago Sea southwest along with its several islands.
The city region of Turku is formed of four major cities. Turku in the middle, Naantali and Raisio in west and Kaarina east. Coastline is occupied by two seaports one of Naantali and one of Turku. All four cities are connected with the Turku Ring Road and the Kaarinantie road. It has connections to E18, E63 highways, national roads , , and . Turku Airport is located north of the city and the Ring Road and its area is partly shared between Rusko and Turku. To the north-east of the airport is where the city region ends and the interior of Finland with its forests and countryside begins.
Because big part of the region is on the Archipelago Sea, there are several islands in the area and some of the municipalities are entirely on them, such as Rymättylä for example. In the city region of Turku are some of the most notable islands of the Archipelago Sea like Luonnonmaa in Naantali, Hirvensalo, Kakskerta and Ruissalo in Turku, and Kuusisto in Kaarina. Islands are not so populated excluding Hirvensalo in Turku which is really near the center. Most of them are covered by woods but near the mainland there are field areas.
Most of the waters in the Turku Region are concentrated in the Archipelago Sea, but there are also a few lakes and reservoirs of which some are on the islands. The sea is at most part narrow straits between islands. At most part the waters are quite shallow but major sea routes can be used even by the biggest ship cruisers in the world which some are made in the shipyard in Turku.
Mainland is full of small hills, valleys and river valleys. Hills are often rocky as like the islands of archipelago and actually those hills used to be part of the archipelago short after the ice age, but they rose from the sea and got connected to the mainland. Some of the hills used to serve as guardian towers in the age of vikings, who used to rob villages on the Baltic Sea. When guards spotted the vikings they set up an alarm fire on the top of the hill that other guardian hills on the row would see it and make their own fire. One of such hills is Vartiovuori in Turku, which actually means "Guardian Mountain". The river valleys have always been places of settlement, safe from the open sea yet close and connected to it. When valleys aren't populated they are usually occupied by grain fields.
Urbanization.
 Inside the circle roads the majority of the population of the Turku Region lives. Population density is quite high. Outside of the city region population density drops sharply and urbanization is more separately concentrated and surrounded by countryside. Though the city region of Turku in whole picture has low population density it is good to notice that there are large unpopulated areas inside the city limits, but activity and inhabitation are actually more concentrated. These more populated areas do not exist only in Turku, but continue through four cities from Naantali to Kaarina. This area has actually been considered as one city in many concepts of the future though at this moment there are no such reforms coming up. Instead of that Naantali will be merged with Merimasku, Rymättylä and Velkua in 2009.
The sub-region's heart is the Market Square in the centre of Turku. The city centre is quite small and concentrated, comprising only 4 to 5 km² blocks. Small and sprawling neighbourhoods surrounding the city centre were built around the '50s and the '60s along with more modern buildings. Further from the city centre (around 5 to 10 km) are built the larger suburbs and neighbourhoods which may have their own centers. There are also several big shopping malls.
The bus network is the only way of local public transport in the Turku sub-region though there have been talks about re-establishing a light-rail system. At this moment only inside the city limits of Turku, public transportation can be considered as good, but there can be expected improvements in the near future.
Statistics.
The table below lists population, area, and population density for the most central municipalities of the Turku Region area. (Note that terms used are not completely established, and may vary in different contexts.)


Peloponnese (region)

The Peloponnese Region (, ) is a region in southern Greece. It borders Western Greece to the north and Attica to the north-east. The region has an area of about . It covers most of the Peloponnese peninsula, except for the northwestern subregions of Achaea and Elis which belong to Western Greece and a small portion of the Argolid peninsula that is part of Attica.
Administration.
The Peloponnese Region was established in the 1987 administrative reform. With the 2011 Kallikratis plan, its powers and authority were redefined and extended. Along with the Western Greece and Ionian Islands regions, it is supervised by the Decentralized Administration of Peloponnese, Western Greece and the Ionian Islands based at Patras.
The region is based at Tripoli and is divided into five regional units (pre-Kallikratis prefectures),
which are further subdivided into 26 municipalities. The largest city of the region is Kalamata.
Economy.
The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 8.2 billion € in 2018, accounting for 4.5% of Greek economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was 17,400 € or 57% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 68% of the EU average.


Canton of St. Gallen

The canton of St. Gallen, also canton of St Gall ( ; dialectally , , , ), is a canton of Switzerland. The capital is St. Gallen.
Located in northeastern Switzerland, the canton has an area of (5% of Switzerland) and a resident population close to half a million as of 2015 (6% of Switzerland). It was formed in 1803 as a conflation of the city of St. Gallen, the territories of the Abbey of St. Gall and various former subject territories of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
History.
The canton of St. Gallen is an artificial construct of various historical territories, defined by Napoleon Bonaparte in the Act of Mediation in 1803.
About half of the canton's area corresponds to the acquisitions of the abbey of St. Gallen over centuries.
The city of St. Gallen became independent of the abbey in 1405. At the same time, the abbey lost control of Appenzell. Conversely, the Toggenburg was acquired by the Abbey in 1468.
Both the city and the abbey were associates ("Zugewandte Orte") of the Old Swiss Confederacy, but unlike Appenzell never joined as full members.
The territories at Lake Zürich, Walensee and Rheintal remained independent until 1798. In the Helvetic Republic, the northern parts of the modern canton together with Appenzell became the canton of Säntis, while its southern parts together with Glarus became the canton of Linth.
Before the 1798 French invasion,
the territory of the modern canton consisted of the free city of St. Gallen, the territories of the Abbey of St. Gallen (including Fürstenland and Toggenburg), the free city of Rapperswil, Pfäfers Abbey, Sargans and the independent lordships (bailiwicks) of Rheintal, Sax-Forstegg, Hohensax, Werdenberg, Windegg and Uznach.
In April 1798, the territories of the later canton of St. Gallen
were divided between the cantons of Säntis and Linth of the Helvetic Republic (along with Appenzell, Glarus and parts of Schwyz.
However, the two new Cantons had immediate financial problems and were forced to institute a number of unpopular taxes and laws. The Abbey was secularized on 17 September 1798 and the Prince-Abbot Pankraz Vorster fled to Vienna. The unpopular laws and the closing of the Abbey caused unrest throughout the area. When the War of the Second Coalition broke out in 1799, an Austrian army marched into eastern Switzerland and returned the Prince-Abbot to his throne at the Abbey. However, his victory was short lived. The Austrian and Russian armies were defeated outside Zürich and the French Army returned to St. Gallen driving the Prince-Abbot out.
In 1803, as part of the Act of Mediation, the area joined the Swiss Confederation as the Canton of St. Gallen.
The cantonal constitution of 1803 was revised in 1814. Because of the confessional heterogeneity of the canton's population, the 1814 constitution did unusually organise matters of religion, marriage and education not on a cantonal level but introduced a twofold division (confessional dualism), with separate Protestant and a Catholic assemblies subordinate to the legislative cantonal assembly (Grosser Rat).
The constitution was revised again in 1831, introducing elements of direct democracy. The constitution of 1831 divided the canton into 15 districts ("Bezirke"),
reduced to 14 in 1918 (fusion of Tablat district with St. Gallen district).
Due to continuing confessional squabbles over the organisation of schools, the canton eventually placed education under its authority in 1861.
The constitution was yet again revised in 1890, with a stronger emphasis on direct democracy.
The 1890 constitution remained in effect, with numerous later changes, until 2001, the date of the latest revision of the cantonal constitution.
In the 2001 constitution, the division into districts was replaced by a division into eight constituencies ("Wahlkreise"), effective on 1 January 2003.
Geography.
The canton is located in the north east of Switzerland. It is bounded to the north by Lake Constance ("Bodensee"). To the east lies the Rhine valley. Over the Rhine are Austria (state of Vorarlberg) and Liechtenstein. To the south, the canton of St. Gallen is bounded by the cantons of Graubünden, Glarus and Schwyz. To the west lie the cantons of Zürich and Thurgau.
The two half cantons Appenzell Innerrhoden and Appenzell Ausserrhoden are completely surrounded by lands of the canton of St. Gallen.
The main rivers of the canton are the Rhine, Thur, Linth and Seez. The topography changes from the plains, near river Rhine and Lake Constance, towards the mountainous areas of the Alps in the south (Appenzell Alps and Glarus Alps). About one third () of the canton is wooded, while nearly half is is used for farming. of the farm land is alpine pastures. Of the rest of the canton, is considered unproductive while is filled with housing or roads.
The altitude above the sea-level varies from (the lake of Constance) to (the Ringelspitz). The canton includes portions of the lake of Constance (), of the Walensee (rather over ), and of the lake of Zürich (), and several small lakes wholly within its limits.
The mountains of the canton include part of a thrust fault that was declared a geologic UNESCO world heritage site, under the name Swiss Tectonic Arena Sardona, in 2008.
Political subdivisions.
Constituencies.
Since 2003 the canton is subdivided into 8 constituencies ("Wahlkreise") replacing the districts ("Bezirke").
Municipalities.
There are 77 municipalities in the canton ().
Demographics.
88% of the population is German-speaking.
The main centres of population are the capital St. Gallen (69,700 inhabitants), Jona (18,100), Wil (17,500) and Gossau (17,000).
 , the population included 97,461 foreigners, or about 20.9% of the total population.
The majority of the population () is Roman Catholic (52%) while a large minority is Protestant (28%).
Economy.
Agricultural activity consists predominantly of dairy farming and cattle breeding in the mountainous areas. In the plains fruit and wine production are important, but there is also mixed farming.
Industries of the canton include optical goods, pyrotechnics, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Tourism plays an important role in the many resorts. There is a thermal spa in Bad Ragaz and another in St. Margrethen and a great number of winter sports facilities.
Education.
Higher educational institutions include the Hochschule für Technik Rapperswil and the University of St. Gallen.


Olomouc Region

Olomouc Region (, ) is an administrative unit () of the Czech Republic, located in the north-western and central part of its historical region of Moravia ("Morava") and in a small part of the historical region of Czech Silesia ("České Slezsko"). It is named for its capital Olomouc.
Olomouc region borders with the Moravian-Silesian Region (in the east), Zlín Region (in the south-east), South Moravian Region (in the south-west) and Pardubice Region (in the west). Furthermore, the region shares a 104 km long border with Poland (in the north).
Administrative divisions.
The Olomouc Region is divided into 5 districts:
On the territory of the region there are 13 administrative districts of municipalities with extended powers and 20 administrative districts of municipalities with authorized local authority.
Population.
In January 2019 the population of the Olomouc Region totalled 632,492 inhabitants. As of 2019, 50.3% of region’s population lived in municipalities with more than 4,000. Out of 402 municipalities located in the region (including one military area), 30 had a status of town. Region’s capital Olomouc is with approximately 100 thousand inhabitants the largest city. With 120.1 inhabitants per km2 the region was close to the national average of 135 inhabitants per km2. There were, of course, differences within the region: the lowest population density was in the Jeseník District.
In the long term, the population of the region has been aging. The average age of population in 2019 is 42.8, which is the 4th highest among regions in the Czech Republic.
Cities and towns.
The table below provides the list of region's most populous cities and towns as of 1 January 2019:
Geography.
The total area of the region amounts to 5,267 km2, which is 6.7% of the entire area of the Czech Republic.
The northern part of the region is of mountainous nature. The Jeseníky mountains are located here, including Praděd, which is the highest point of the region (1,492 m above sea level). The southern part of the region consists of the Hanakian lowland. The lowest point of the region is situated on the water level of the Morava River near to Kojetín in the Přerov District (190 m above sea level).
The Morava river flows through the region and the majority of the region's territory belongs to Morava’s drainage basin. A small northern part of the region belongs to the drainage basin of Odra River, which flows to the Baltic Sea.
The Olomouc Region offers a great variety of natural points of interest. Protected landscape area of the Jeseníky mountains offers a number of scenic places such as the largest Moravian peatbog Rejvíz and the 45m high Vysoký Waterfall. Another scenic place is Dlouhé Stráně water reservoir situated on the top of a hill. Protected landscape area Litovelské Pomoraví offers floodplain forests with many endangered species of plants and animals. Finally, many caves can be found in the region: Javoříčko Caves (), Mladeč Caves () and Zbrašov aragonite caves ().
Economy.
The region's economy focuses on traditional agriculture, processing industry and
services. Conditions for further development of the region are its attractive location, transport accessibility, developed infrastructure, enough qualified labour force and entry of foreign investors.
In 2011, the total economically active population of the Olomouc Region was 307.2 thousand people, of which 283.9 thousand were employed and 23.3 thousand unemployed. The unemployment rate in late 2013 was 9%.
The Olomouc Region is an industrial area with developed services. The economy of the
Hanakian districts is more stable and diverse than the economy of the Jeseník District and northern part of the Šumperk District. The latter two districts belong to economically weaker regions due to their position, transport accessibility and disturbance of social and economic life after the Second World War (displacement of German population).
The gross domestic product of the Olomouc Region amounted to 4.7% of the nation GDP in 2011. The GDP per capita of the region reaches 76.5% of the national average. The average monthly wage of employees in businesses based in the region reached 21,727 CZK (EUR 780) in late 2013.
Significant sectors of the region’s economy are agriculture, food industry, textile and clothing industry, manufacture of machinery, optics and optical equipment.
In 2011, there were 138,970 businesses, organisations and entrepreneurs based in the region. Most of them were private entrepreneurs registered according to the trade law (76.6%) and business companies (8.4%). 157 industrial enterprises had 100 or more employees, employing in total 41,222 employees.
Agriculture.
The share of arable land was 39.4% in 2011 but was showing a decreasing trend over past years while the share of non-agricultural land has been increasing and reached 46.9% in 2011.
Southern and central parts of the region belong to areas with the most fertile land. Crop yields (barley, wheat, rape and industrial sugar beet) reach the highest amounts of the entire country.
Transport.
Transport accessibility of the region is provided by 3,582 km of roads, of which only 12.3% are first class roads. The motorways with two lanes connect Olomouc with Brno (I/46), Ostrava (I/35 followed by D1) and the Pardubice Region (I/35). Once finished, the d1 motorway will connect Brno with Ostrava and will cross the southern part of Olomouc Region.
There is 601 km of railways in the region. Important rail junctions are in Olomouc and Přerov. The railway network is spread equally all over the Region´s territory. Road network is denser in the southern flat part of the Region.
Near to the city of Olomouc there is an airport for small airliners, which obtained status of an international airport.
Tourism.
The Olomouc Region belongs to regions with the smallest number of accommodation establishments. In 2009 there were 338 collective accommodation establishments. These were placed primarily in the Jeseník District and the Šumperk District that are most visited by tourists.
Quality of life.
In 2011, 14,347 crimes were committed in the region, of which 6,744 (47%) were solved.
Compared to other regions of the Czech Republic, the environment of Olomouc Region can be marked as relatively less damaged. The values of specific emissions do not reach the average national values. Mountain areas and foothills have excellent air quality and are important sources of drinking water.
Health care.
In 2011 the region counted 9 hospitals, 16 specialized therapeutic institutions and other health establishments by 2,897 physicians and 6,466 paramedical workers. Health care is provided also in many spa establishments that are placed all over the region. Well known spas are in Jeseník, Velké Losiny, Teplice nad Bečvou, Slatinice, Skalka, etc.
Education.
In 2011, the network of school establishments consists of 367 nursery schools, 369 basic schools, 20 grammar schools, 81 programmes vocational training and 8 higher schools. The second oldest university in the Czech Republic, the Palacký University (), is situated in Olomouc. It is attended by over 23,000 students.
International relations.
Olomouc Region cooperates with:


Silkeborg Municipality

Silkeborg municipality is a municipality (Danish, "kommune") in Region Midtjylland on the Jutland peninsula in central Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 857.16 km², and has a population of 89,707 (1 April 2014). Its mayor is Steen Vindum, of the party Venstre. The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Silkeborg.
On 1 January 2007 Silkeborg municipality was, as the result of "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with Gjern, Kjellerup, and Them municipalities to form the new Silkeborg municipality.
The municipality is part of Business Region Aarhus and of the East Jutland metropolitan area, which had a total population of 1.378 million in 2016.
Locations.
The town of Silkeborg.
The town is of Silkeborg is divided north and south by the lake, "Silkeborg Langsø", which at the eastern side of the town, resolves into the Guden River ("Gudenaa"). Silkeborg was the home town of COBRA painter Asger Jorn, and has several interesting art museums and exhibitions, including Museum Jorn, Silkeborg with its large Asger Jorn collection.
Politics.
Municipal council.
Silkeborg's municipal council consists of 31 members, elected every four years.
Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.


Canton of Solothurn

The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure () is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn.
History.
Foundation of the village of "Salodurum" in the time of the Roman emperor Tiberius. The territory of the canton comprises land acquired by the former town, mainly in the Middle Ages. For that reason the shape of the canton is irregular and includes two exclaves along the French border, separated from the rest of the canton by Basel-Land, which form separate districts of the canton. In 1481, the canton became a member of the military alliance of the former Swiss confederation. At the end of the Reformation, Solothurn maintained its Catholic religion. Between 1798 and 1803 the canton was part of the Helvetic Republic. In 1803 Solothurn was one of the 19 Swiss cantons that were reconstituted by Napoleon ("Mediation"). In 1830, the population rebelled against the aristocratic regime and the canton became definitely liberal-democratic. Even though the population was strictly Roman Catholic, Solothurn did not join the Catholic separatist movement ("Sonderbund") in 1845–7. Similarly, the federal constitutions of 1848 and 1874 were approved. The current constitution of the canton dates from 1987.
Geography.
The canton is located in the north-west of Switzerland. To the west and south lie the cantons of Jura and Bern, to the east is Aargau. To the north the canton is bounded by the canton of Basel-Landschaft. Parts of two of the districts are exclaves and are located along the border of France (Grand Est). The lands are drained by the Aare river and its tributaries. The landscape is mostly flat, but it includes the foothills of the Jura massif. Part of this, the massif of the Weissenstein, overlooks Solothurn and the Mittelland from the north and has views of the Bernese Alps. The flat lands are a plain created by the Aare river. The total area of the canton is 791 km².
Political subdivisions.
Districts.
From 2005, Solothurn's ten districts are merged pairwise into five electoral districts, termed Amtei. From 2005, the districts have only a statistical significance.
Municipalities.
There are 125 municipalities in the canton ().
Demographics.
The population is mostly German-speaking. About 44% of the population are Roman Catholic, with most of the remainder being Protestants (31% ). The population of the canton (as of ) is . , the population included 46,898 foreigners, or about 18.7% of the total population.
Economy.
Up to the 19th century agriculture was the main economic activity in the canton. Agriculture is still of importance, but manufacturing and the service industry are now more significant. The industries of the canton are specialized in watches, jewellery, textiles, paper, cement and auto parts. Until recently the manufacturing of shoes was an important economic activity, but global competition thought that the Swiss canton was not competitive enough.
The canton is home to the Gösgen Nuclear Power Plant near Däniken which started operation in 1979.
Transport.
The canton has good connections with other parts of Switzerland, both by rail and by road. There is a railway junction at Olten with direct trains to Geneva, Zurich, Basel and the Ticino via Lucerne.


Kozani (regional unit)

Kozani (, "Perifereiakí Enótita Kozánis") is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Kozani.
Geography.
Kozani borders the regional units of Kastoria to the west and northwest, Florina to the north, Pella to the northeast, Imathia and Pieria to the east, Larissa (part of Thessaly) to the southeast, and Grevena to the south.
The main mountain ranges are Askio in the northwest, Voio in the west, Vermio in the northeast and the Pierian Mountains in the southeast. The river Aliakmon flows through the southern part, and through the large reservoir Lake Polyfytos. Lignite is mined in the north, around Ptolemaida.
Climate.
Its climate ranges from continental to mountainous. Kozani has warm to hot summers and cool winters, cooler than Thessaloniki, the mountainous, the western and the eastern portions receive cold winters and features snow. Its sunshine days are days shorter than the south and by the coastline, it is rainier than the south. Temperatures range from during the summer months.
Administration.
The regional unit Kozani is subdivided into 4 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):
Prefecture.
Kozani was created as a prefecture () in 1915. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Kozani was created out of the former prefecture Kozani. The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.
Provinces.
Kozani had three provinces:
History.
Early years.
The area was part of several kingdoms of Upper Macedonia, including the ancient Eordaia and Elimiotis, and it was later part of the kingdom of Macedonia. After the Third Macedonian War it was ruled by the Roman Empire. It later became a part of the Byzantine Empire after the breakup into the West and the East. In the early 14th to the 15th century, it was ruled by the Ottoman Empire and lasted until the Balkan Wars of 1913. The Kozani Prefecture was created in 1915 and also included the present Florina, Grevena and the Kastoria regional units.
Modern times.
Refugees from Asia Minor and Pontus during the Greco-Turkish War of 1919 to 1922 brought refugees to the area including Kozani and villages and towns that removed the Turkish population to the country which later became only known as Turkey. The economy boomed and was disrupted later on. After World War II and the Greek Civil War, most of the buildings were repaired. Kozani opened its airport and later its hospital.
Economy.
Kozani has been a prosperous area in the course of its history. Its merchants are known to have dominated the commerce of the Balkan peninsula, expanding their trade activities to the north and along the Danube. Nowadays, Kozani is still among the most prosperous areas of the Greek province, but for a different reason, its rich mining industry. Kozani produces lignite, which is the main source of the electric power produced in Greece, nitrous salts which are processed into fertilizers, and chromium. There was also an asbestos mine that remained operational until the mid-1990s, which has now ceased its operation. In the regional unit of Kozani there is also the artificial lake and hydroelectric dam of Polyfytos, which further contributes to the electricity production of Greece. The region's vast industrial advancement in a short period of time has raised environmentalist concerns.


Province of Pesaro and Urbino

The Province of Pesaro and Urbino (, ) is a province in the Marche region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Pesaro. It also borders the state of San Marino. The province is surrounded by San Marino and Emilia Romagna in the north, Umbria and Tuscany in the west, Ancona in the south and the Adriatic Sea on the east. The province has an enclave of the Umbrian commune of Citta' di Castello named Monte Ruperto. The province is also known as "Riviera of Hills". It is mostly covered by hills and is popular for its beaches.
The ceramics museum and the Biblioteca Oliveriana are located in the capital city.
The County Council is based in Pesaro while the headquarters of the provincial administration are in Urbino.
The coat of arms of the province consists of a shield divided into two parts, each part is given the coat of arms of the two capitals.
It has a robust economy with low unemployment, based on craft and small and medium industries, agriculture, tourism, resorts and cultural center. It has a very low per capita energy consumption. The art and craft industry contributes to 22% of the province's GDP. Tourism in the province plays a primary role in the local economy; the main attractions are the sea and the Apennines. The beaches of Gabicce Mare, Pesaro, Fano and Marotta are the most famous ones.
The Lucus Pisaurensis, the Sacred Grove of Pisaurum, ancient Pesaro, is just outside modern Pesaro in the hamlet of Santa Venerada.
History.
Earliest sources of reference indicate a pre-Estruscan settlement in Pesaro. The city was founded as Pisaurum by the Romans in 184 BC as a colony of the Picentes, an early Italic people who lived on the northeast coast of Italy during the Iron Age. However, in 1737, 13 ancient votive stones were unearthed in a local Pesaro farm field, each bearing the inscription of a semone or Roman god; these were written in a pre-Estrucan script, indicating a much earlier occupation of the area than the 184 BC Picentes colony.
After the fall of Western Roman Empire, it was included in the Exarchate of Ravenna. In late mediaval times and early Renaissance it was the core of the county of Urbino, and later, the Duchy of Montefeltro. Later it was part of the Papal States and, from the late 19th century, of Kingdom of Italy.
After the referendum of 2006, seven municipalities of Montefeltro were detached from the Province to join the Province of Rimini (Emilia-Romagna) on 15 August 2009. The municipalities are Casteldelci, Maiolo, Novafeltria, Pennabilli, San Leo, Sant'Agata Feltria and Talamello.
Geography.
There are 59 comunes (Italian: "comuni") in the province.
As of May 31, 2005, the main comuni by population are:


Imathia

Imathia ( ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia, within the geographic region of Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia.
Administration.
The regional unit Imathia is subdivided into 3 municipalities. These are (number as in the map in the infobox):
Prefecture.
As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the regional unit Imathia was created out of the former prefecture Imathia (). The prefecture had the same territory as the present regional unit. At the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below.
Provinces.
The former prefecture of Imathia was subdivided into the following provinces:
Note: Provinces no longer hold any legal status in Greece since 2006.
Geography.
The northeastern part of Imathia, along the lower course of the river Aliakmonas, is a vast agricultural plain known as Kampania or Roumlouki. The area is known for the production of fruit crops, such as peaches and strawberries. Much of the population lives in this plain, where the towns Alexandreia and Veroia are situated. Imathia has a short shoreline on the Thermaic Gulf, around the mouth of the Aliakmonas. The mountainous western part of Imathia is covered by the Vermio Mountains, reaching 2,052 metres near the city of Naousa. The Pierian Mountains reach into the southern part of Imathia, south of the Aliakmonas. The regional unit borders on Pieria to the south, Kozani to the west, Pella to the north and Thessaloniki to the east. Imathia has a mainly Mediterranean climate with warm, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
Transport.
The railway from Thessaloniki to Florina and the important railway from Thessaloniki to Athens pass through Imathia, with main stations at Platy, Veroia and Alexandreia. The motorways A2 (Egnatia Odos) (Igoumenitsa - Ioannina - Veroia - Thessaloniki) and A1 (Athens - Lamia - Larissa - Thessaloniki) and the Greek National Roads EO1, EO4 and EO4a pass through Imathia. The Alexandreia Airport is a military airport.
History.
Imathia was named after the historic region Emathia, which was used by several classical authors as a synonym for Bottiaea or even all of Macedon. Important ancient towns in the area of present Imathia were Aegae and Beroea. As a part of the Macedonia region, it was ruled by the kingdom of Macedonia, the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire and from early 15th century by the Ottoman Empire. In 1913, as a result of the Second Balkan War, it became part of Greece. During and after the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), several refugees from Turkey settled in Imathia. Initially part of the prefecture of Thessaloniki, Imathia became a prefecture in 1946, and Veroia was selected as its capital.


Varna Province

Varna Province (), formerly known as Varna okrug, is a province in eastern Bulgaria, one of the 28 Bulgarian provinces. It comprises 12 municipalities with a population of 494,216 inhabitants as of April 2016. The province is named after its administrative centre, Varna.
Geography.
The province's territory is 3,819.5 km². It borders the Black Sea and covers parts of the hilly Danubian Plain (including parts of the Franga Plateau, South Dobruja, the Provadiya Plateau, Ludogorie, and the Avren Plateau), Eastern Stara Planina, the Varna–Devnya valley with the lakes (limans) of Varna and Beloslav, and the Kamchiya river valley. Other rivers include Provadiya, Devnya, and Batova, and the largest artificial lake is Tsonevo.
The Black Sea coast is hilly and verdant, mostly cliff, with a couple of rocky headlands (Cape Galata, Cape St. Athanasius), several expansive sand beaches, the largest of which, at the mouths of the rivers Kamchiya and Shkorpilovska, is nearly long and up to 200–300 m wide, and many small cove beaches. Agricultural lands cover 60% of the area, with fertile chernozem soils mostly in the north and west; forests—28.1% (with some of the oldest oak massives in the nation), mostly in the south; and urban zones—6.8%.
Natural resources include large deposits of rock salt, limestone, silica, and clays, all extensively used in local chemical, cement and glass manufacturing and construction; silica is also exported. Significant deposits of medicinal fango (mineral mud) are found in Lake Varna. The province abounds in thermal mineral waters. There are natural gas reserves. The offshore Galata gas field, a relatively minor project with planned cumulative production of 2 billion cubic meters, is expected to provide up to 15% of the nation's gas consumption for its lifetime. Manganese ore deposits are found.
The climate inland is temperate, with cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers, and akin to Mediterranean along the Black Sea coast, with milder winters and cooler summers.
Municipalities.
The Varna province—or oblast—contains 12 municipalities (, plural: ). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each in December 2009.
Population.
The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II:
In late 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 465,465 of which are inhabitants over 60 years old. 320,837 (68.83%) live in the city of Varna, and 379,844 (81.61%) in urban areas (national average 70%). Population density (121.85 per km²) is significantly higher than the national average (70). The birth, marriage, and divorce rates are also higher; the death rate and the unemployment rate (7.34%, 2005) are lower. 71.1% of the population are of working age; above working age are 14.8%.
Ethnic groups.
Total population (2011 census): 475,074
Ethnic groups (2011 census):
Identified themselves: 424 893 persons:
A further 50,000 persons in Varna Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census.
Ethnic groups according to the 2001 census, when 462 013 people of the population of 462,013 of Varna Province identified themselves (with percentage of total population):
The ethnic composition at the 2001 census included Bulgarians—85.3%; Turks—8.1%; Romani—3.4% (there are a few mostly Roma-populated villages such as Lyuben Karavelovo in Aksakovo municipality—inhabited by Boyash of the "Kopanari" subgroup); Armenians—0.6%; Russians—0.3% (including about 340 Cossacks in the Lipovan village of Kazashko); and smaller numbers of Ukrainians, Jews, Greeks, Crimean Tatars, Circassians, Vlachs, and others. There is a growing number of western expatriates and new Chinese, Arab and other immigrants.
Several rural villages in the municipalities of Aksakovo, Suvorovo, and Valchidol, as well as the Vinitsa district of Varna, have historically been populated mostly by Gagauz.
Religion.
Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:
History.
The area has been populated at least since the Neolith and was a major centre of an Eneolithic culture with unique skills in metallurgy and seafaring, with a developed social structure and religion (see Varna Necropolis, site of arguably the oldest man-made gold treasure in the world). Solnitsata, the earliest known European town, was in what is today Varna Province.
By the first millennium BC, it was inhabited by Thracians who dominated it throughout classical antiquity; by the end of the period they were largely Romanized. In the 6th century BC, an ancient Greek trading colony ("apoikia"), Odessos (Varna), was founded, becoming an enduring contact zone between Thracians and Greeks. In the 4th century, the province was included in the empire of Philip II, Alexander the Great and his diadochus Lysimachus.
By the first century AD, it was conquered by the Roman Empire. Under Emperor Diocletian, Marcianopolis (Devnya) became the centre of the Roman province of Moesia Secunda of the Diocese of Thrace. During Emperor Valens' wars with the Goths (366-369), this city was temporary capital of the empire. Both Marcianopolis and Odessus (the Roman name of Odessos) were major early Christian centres. It is believed that Saint Andrew founded the local Christian church and his disciple Ampliatus served as bishop at Odessus.
In the 6th century, Slavs' migrations altered the ethnic composition of the then Byzantine province. Between 680 and 681, it became the heartland of the First Bulgarian Empire, whose capital was perhaps initially near Varna, before it moved to Pliska. Two of the most significant scriptoria of the Preslav Literary School were at Ravna (near Provadiya) and Varna.
The latter two cities were major fortresses and trade emporia of the Second Bulgarian Empire as well. The peasant war of Ivailo in the late 13th century started from the region, which at the time was plagued by Tatar raids and was finally subdued by the Ottomans in 1389. In 1444, the Battle of Varna was fought, as were several ground and naval battles of the Russo-Turkish wars of the 18th and 19th century.
Under the Ottomans, the population became extremely diverse, with significant number of Turks and other Muslim peoples arriving from Asia Minor, the steppes north of the Black Sea, and the Caucasus, along with Orthodox Christian Gagauz, Armenians, and Sephardic Jews from Thessaloniki. Many Bulgarians from the region were forcibly relocated to Asia Minor and, in the wake of the Russo-Turkish wars, up to 250,000 eastern Bulgarians were transferred to Russian Bessarabia and Crimea.
Compact Bulgarian population persisted throughout the Provadiya Plateau, Devnya Valley, and Eastern Stara Planina. Villagers from places such as Chenge (modern Asparuhovo, municipality of Dalgopol), Gulitsa (modern Golitsa, municipality of Dolni Chiflik), and neighbouring Erkech (modern Kozichino, Burgas Province) later colonized and returned the Bulgarian ethnic character to dozens of villages throughout northeastern and southeastern Bulgaria, including much of Varna province.
After the liberation of 1878, with the exodus of most Turks and Greeks and the migrations of Bulgarians from other parts of Bulgaria, mostly Stara Planina, as well as North Dobruja, Asia Minor, Bessarabia, and later from Macedonia and Eastern Thrace, ethnic diversity gradually gave way to Bulgarian predominance.
One of the versions of a folk song, inspired by the Ruse blood wedding, can be heard in the province.
Economy.
The province is second only to Sofia in foreign direct investment; its GDP per capita is higher and its unemployment is the lowest in the country. Per capita income is fifth highest in the nation (2007). The economy is service-oriented; it was responsible for over 30% of the nation's revenue in tourism (2004). (See the list of coastal resorts, beaches, and locales below.)
It is an important communications and transportation hub with the Port of Varna on the Black Sea and inland waterways, the International Airport of Varna, the Varna railway ferry terminal, parts of several railway lines (including the oldest one in Bulgaria, Rousse-Varna, opened 1866) and junctions (Sindel, Razdelna, Komunari), and portions of two of the nation's motorways (Haemus and Cherno More). Varna is the easternmost destination of Pan-European transport corridor 8 and is closely connected to corridors 7 and 9 via Rousse.
In June 2007, Eni and Gazprom disclosed the South Stream project whereby a 900 km-long offshore natural gas pipeline from Russia's Dzhubga with annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters is planned to come ashore possibly at Pasha dere, near the Galata offshore gas field, en route to Italy and Austria.
Manufacturing is concentrated mostly in the Varna-Devnya Industrial Complex and Provadiya. Agriculture (notably wheat, fruit, wineries) and forestry are also of economic significance.
The province is a major education and international culture centre with five universities, several other higher learning and research institutions, museums, performing arts institutions, and hosted international events.
Real estate has been booming over the last few years in Varna and rural villages near the coast and inland. "English villages" of Britons settling in Bulgaria emerged in the rural countryside at Avren, Banovo (municipality of Suvorovo), and General Kantardzhievo (municipality of Aksakovo), among others.
Sights.
Varna is Bulgaria's third largest city, after Sofia and Plovdiv. The oldest gold (dated 4200-4600 BC) in the world was found near the city. It was an inhabited place long before the Greeks established the colony of Odessos there about 580 BC. Later, under the Romans and their successors, the Slavs and Bulgarians, Varna became a major port trading with Constantinople, Venice and Dubrovnik.
In 1393 it was captured by the Turks, who made it an important military centre. Nowadays it is the nation's main port for both naval and commercial shipping and, adjacent as it is to the coastal resorts of Constantine and Helena, Riviera, Golden Sands, and Kamchia. Sailors on shore-leave in unfamiliar ceremonial uniforms, mingle with foreign tourists and locals as they promenade along shady boulevards, lined by dignified 19th and early 20th century buildings.
The 19th century Dormition of the Theotokos Cathedral is an imposing landmark, which contains a finely carved iconostasis and bishop's throne, some interesting murals and stained glass.
The 2nd century Thermae are the remains of the largest Roman public building in Bulgaria. During this century enough has been revealed by archaeologists to give a good impression of the original layout, though some parts of the building remain hidden under nearby streets. Coming across an extensive ancient building amidst the streets and houses of a modern city is not unusual in Bulgaria and is a delight.
Further from the centre, a monument commemorates the Battle of Varna, which took place in 1444. Here 30,000 crusaders were waiting to sail to Constantinople when they were attacked by 120,000 Turks. The Polish King Ladislaus III was killed in a bold attempt to capture Sultan Murad II. The subsequent retreat foreshadowed Christendom's general retreat before the advancing Ottomans. North of Varna there is a cluster of seaside resorts all with fine sandy beaches but differing in size and style.
Some other places of interest include (by municipality):
See also: Byala, Devnya, Provadiya
Environment.
Environment in Varna Province is subject to strict national and international protection, due to its vulnerability and international significance.


Talsi District

Talsi District () was a district of Latvia, located in Courland region, in the country's west. It was one of the former 26 rural districts of Latvia and it consisted of 20 local communities. Districts were eliminated on 20 June 2009 as the result of the administrative-territorial reform in 2009.
These included three towns:
Talsi District was located in the northern part of Courland. It bordered the districts of Ventspils, Kuldiga and Tukums. It was surrounded by the 96-km-long shoreline of the Gulf of Riga and the Irbe Strait.
The district covered , or 4.1% of the whole territory of Latvia. Woodland covered 55% of Talsi district's territory, 29% was agricultural land, 3.5% was water, and 3.4% (9,400 ha; 23,200 ac) were swamps, of which peat production covered 1,700 ha (4,200 ac).
The highest point in Talsi is Kamparkalns, above sea level at Talsi Hillock.
Demographics.
The total population was 49,842 people, or 2.1% of the entire population of Latvia. Nationalities included Latvians - 92%, Russians - 4%, others (Gypsies, Belarusians and Ukrainians) - 4%. Population density was 18 people per square km, compared to the national density of 38 people per square km. 63.5% of the population was urban, and 36.5% was rural.


Province of Ancona

The province of Ancona () is a province in the Marche region of central Italy. Its capital is the city of Ancona, and the province borders the Adriatic Sea. The city of Ancona is also the capital of Marche.
To the north, the province is bordered by the Adriatic Sea, and the Apennine Mountains to the west. The population of the province is mostly located in coastal areas and in the provincial capital Ancona, which has a population of 101,518; the province has a total population of 477,892 as of 2015. Due to its coastal location, it is strategically important. The president of the province is Liana Serrani.
Its coastline of sandy beaches is popular to Italians but has not been greatly affected by tourism. A large area of the province's land is farmland often used for wine production; the province produces wines using the Montepulciano, Sangiovese, and Verdicchio varieties of grape. Annually, feasts occur in the province during the harvesting period. It contains mountainous regions and the Conero Regional Park, which contain dense forests where black truffles are found. These are sold in Acqualagna in the neighbouring province of Pesaro e Urbino.
Famous people born of the province of Ancona include Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (Jesi); International Gothic painter Gentile da Fabriano (Fabriano); writer Rafael Sabatini (Jesi); composer Gaspare Spontini (Maiolati, which has since been named after him as Maiolati Spontini); composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (Jesi); mathematician and physicist Vito Volterra (Ancona); footballer Roberto Mancini (Jesi); Pope Leo XII (Genga); Pope Pius IX (Senigallia); and actress Virna Lisi (Jesi).


County Galway

County Galway ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is in the West of Ireland, taking up the south of the province of Connacht.
There are several Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county. The traditional county includes, and is named for, the city of Galway, but the city and county now have separate local authorities: Galway City Council administers the urban area, while the rest of the county is administered by Galway County Council.
The population of the county was 258,058 at the 2016 census.
History.
The first inhabitants in the Galway area arrived over 7000 years ago. Shell middens indicate the existence of people as early as 5000 BC.
The county originally comprised several kingdoms and territories which predate the formation of the county. These kingdoms included , , , , and . County Galway became an official entity around 1569 AD. The region known as Connemara retains a distinct identity within the county, though its boundaries are unclear, and so it may account for as much as one third, or as little as 20%, of the county.
The county includes a number of inhabited islands, such as the Aran Islands () and Inishbofin ().
With the arrival of Christianity many monasteries were built in the county. Monasteries kept written records of events in the area and of its people. These were followed by a number of law-tracts, genealogies, annals and miscellaneous accounts. Extant manuscripts containing references to Galway include:
Irish language.
Nearly 20% of the population of County Galway live in the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking districts). County Galway is home to the largest Gaeltacht Irish-speaking region in Ireland. There are over 48,000 people living within this region, which extends from Galway city westwards through Connemara. The region consists of the following Irish-speaking areas: Galway City Gaeltacht (parts of the city), Gaeltacht Cois Fharraige, Conamara Theas, Aran Islands, and Duiche Sheoigheach (a part of the northern Galway region known as "Joyce Country" and Maam Valley).
All schools within the Gaeltacht use the Irish language for classroom instruction. There is also a third-level constituent college of NUIG called Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in Carraroe and Carna. Clifden is the largest town in the region. Galway City is also home to Ireland's only Irish-language theatre, Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe. There is a strong Irish-language media presence in this area too, which boasts the radio station Raidió na Gaeltachta and Foinse newspaper in Carraroe and national TV station TG4 in Baile na hAbhann. The Aran Islands are also part of the Galway Gaeltacht.
According to Census 2016, there were 84,249 people in County Galway who could speak Irish. According to Census 2011, the Galway city and county Gaeltacht has a population of 48,907, of which 30,978 said they could speak Irish; 23,788 can be classed as native Irish speakers, while 7,190 speak Irish daily only within the classroom. There are 3,006 attending the ten Gaelscoil (Irish language primary schools) and three Gaelcholáiste (Irish language secondary schools) outside the Galway Gaeltacht. According to the Irish Census 2016, there are 9,445 people in the county who identify themselves as being daily Irish speakers outside the education system.
Local government and politics.
Prior to the enactment of the Local Government Act 2001, the county was a unified whole for administrative purposes, despite the presence of two local authorities. Since that time, the administrative re-organisation has reduced the geographical extent of the county by the extent of the area under the jurisdiction of Galway City Council. Today, the geographic extent of the county is limited to the area under the jurisdiction of Galway County Council. Each local authority ranks equally as first level local administrative units of the NUTS 3 West Region for Eurostat purposes. There are 34 LAU 1 entities in the Republic of Ireland. The remit of Galway County Council includes some suburbs of the city not within the remit of Galway City Council. Both local authorities are responsible for certain local services such as sanitation, planning and development, libraries, the collection of motor taxation, local roads and social housing.
The county is part of the Midlands–North-West constituency for the purposes of European elections. For elections to Dáil Éireann, the county is part of three constituencies: Galway East, Galway West and Roscommon–Galway. Together they return 11 deputies (TDs) to the Dáil.
Geography.
County Galway is home to Na Beanna Beola (Twelve Bens) mountain range, Na Sléibhte Mhám Toirc (the Maum Turk mountains), and the low mountains of Sliabh Echtghe (Slieve Aughty). The highest point in the county is one of the Twelve Bens, Benbaun, at 729m.
Lakes.
County Galway is partly home to a number of Ireland's largest lakes including Lough Corrib (the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland), Lough Derg and Lough Mask. The county is also home to a large number of smaller lakes, many of which are in the Connemara region. These include Lough Anaserd, Ardderry Lough, Aughrusbeg Lough, Ballycuirke Lough, Ballynahinch Lake, Lough Bofin, Lough Cutra, Derryclare Lough, Lough Fee, Glendollagh Lough, Lough Glenicmurrin, Lough Inagh, Kylemore Lough, Lettercraffroe Lough, Maumeen Lough, Lough Nafooey, Lough Rea, Ross Lake and Lough Shindilla.
Climate.
The location of County Galway, situated on the west coast of Ireland, allows it to be directly influenced by the Gulf Stream. Temperature extremes are rare and short lived, though inland areas, particularly east of the Corrib, can boast some of the highest recorded temperatures of the summer in the island of Ireland (sometimes exceeding 30 °C); though these temperatures only occur when land warmed east winds sweep the area; the opposite effect can occur in the winter. Overall, however, Galway is influenced mainly by Atlantic airstreams which bring ample rainfall in between the fleeting sunshine. Rainfall occurs in every month of the year, though the late autumn and winter months can be particularly wet as Atlantic cyclonic activity increases and passes over and around the area, and which is why Galway tends to bear the brunt of severe windstorms that can occur between August and March. The county on average receives about 1300mm of rainfall annually, though some areas along the west coast of the county can receive up to 1900mm and beyond. Extreme weather such as blizzards, thunderstorms, flash flooding and hail, though rare, can and do occur, particularly when air masses of continental origin are undercut by more humid and unstable Atlantic flows.
Flora and fauna.
One of the least densely populated counties, County Galway harbors a variety of wildlife. The region's biodiversity is best represented by Connemara National Park, situated in the west of the county.
Economy.
According to numbers published by Galway Chamber of Commerce in early 2019, there were then 196 information and communications technology (ICT) organisations in Galway, including IBM, SAP, Oracle and Cisco. There is a number of medical device companies in the area, including Medtronic (with approximately 1,800 employees) and Boston Scientific (2,800 employees).
Sports.
Gaelic games are the most popular sport in the county. Galway had traditional regions in which Gaelic football or hurling is played. For example, in south and eastern County Galway, in places such as Portumna, Gort, Clarinbridge and Athenry, hurling is the dominant sport with successful teams at county and national level. Most of the rest of the county is considered to be footballing territory, with most of the county players being from The Tuam area, Oughterard or parts of Galway city.
Galway United FC compete in the SSE Aitricity League of Ireland and plays home games in Eamonn Deacy Park.
Connacht Rugby competes in the Pro14 is based in Galway city. The two main amateur rugby clubs in the county are Galway Corinthians RFC and Galwegians RFC which compete in the All-Ireland League.
Athletics is also a very popular sport in Galway, a few clubs being; Galway City Harriers, Craughwell Athletic Club, Athenry A.C, Tuam A.C, Loughrea A.C and many others.