Rapla (municipality)
| Rapla | |||
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| State : |
 Estonia
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| Circle : |
 Rapla
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| Coordinates : | 59 ° 0 ′ N , 24 ° 48 ′ E | ||
| Area : | 243.3 km² | ||
| Residents : | 9,652 (01/2008) | ||
| Population density : | 40 inhabitants per km² | ||
| Time zone : | EET (UTC + 2) | ||
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Rapla ( German Rappel ; Estonian Rapla vald ) is a rural municipality in the Estonian district of Rapla with an area of 243.3 km². The rural municipality of Rapla has 9652 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2008).
Administrative division
In addition to the main town, the city of Rapla , the municipality includes the villages of Äherdi, Alu, Alu-Metsküla, Aranküla, Hagudi alevik, Hagudi küla, Iira, Juula, Kalevi, Kelba, Kodila, Kodila-Metsküla, Koigi, Kuku, Kuusiku, Kuusiku -Nõmme, Kõrgu, Lipstu, Mahlamäe, Mõisaaseme, Mällu, Nõmme, Oela, Ohulepa, Oola, Palamulla, Purila, Raka, Ridaküla, Röa, Seli, Seli-Nurme, Sikeldi, Sulupere, Tapupere, Tuti, Üleusk Tõrma, , Valtu and Väljataguse. The administrative headquarters are in the city of Rapla .
history
Rapla was first mentioned in 1241 in the Liber Census Daniæ as Rapala . The municipality was established as an administrative unit in 1891.
The ruins of Kuimetz Castle, built in the 14th century and destroyed in the 15th century, are still preserved.
The future circumnavigator Adam Johann von Krusenstern was born on the Baltic German estate of Hagudi ( Hakude in German ) in 1770 . In 1970, a memorial plaque was placed on a linden tree that is said to date from the time of his birth.
The village of Kuusiku (German Saage ) on the upper reaches of the Vigala River is considered to be the coldest place in Estonia in winter. In 1939 the Red Army built a military airfield there. During the Second World War in August 1941 there was a losing battle with the advancing Wehrmacht near Kuusiku . A new airport of the Soviet armed forces opened in the 1950s and is now used for civilian purposes.
Web links
- Rapla Rural Community website (Estonian, English, Russian)
