Talsi Municipality

Talsi Municipality Talsu novads Tālsa mōgõn
Municipality
Flag Coat of arms
Country	Latvia
Formed	2009
Reformed	2021
Centre	Talsi
Government
• Council Chair	Andis Āboliņš (LZP)
Area
• Total	2,750.8 km^2 (1,062.1 sq mi)
• Land	2,674.3 km^2 (1,032.6 sq mi)
• Water	76.5 km^2 (29.5 sq mi)
Population
• Total	35,194
• Density	13/km^2 (33/sq mi)
Website	talsunovads.lv

Talsi Municipality (Latvian: Talsu novads; Livonian: Tālsa mōgõn^[1]) is a municipality in Courland, Latvia. The municipality was formed in 2009 by merging Abava parish, Balgale parish, Ģibuļi parish, Īve parish, Ķūļciems parish, Laidze parish, Lauciene parish, Lībagi parish, Lube parish, Strazde parish, Valdgale parish, Vandzene parish, Virbi parish, Talsi town, Stende town, Sabile town and Valdemārpils town with its countryside territory. In 2021 the municipality was expanded to include the former Dundaga municipality, Mērsrags municipality and Roja municipality. The administrative centre of the municipality is Talsi city. The population in 2022 was 35,194.^[2]

On 25 January 2023, a traffic sign was erected with the municipality's Livonian name to reflect its Livonian cultural heritage as part of the Livonian language revival process. The sign is notable for being the first Livonian-language traffic sign in Latvia; similar signs are planned to be placed at villages along the Livonian Coast.^[1][3][4]

Population

Territorial unit	Population (year)
Abava parish	1123 (2018)[5]
Ārlava parish	887 (2018)
Balgale parish	839 (2018)
Ģibuļi parish	2286 (2018)
Īve parish	450 (2018)
Ķūļciems parish	358 (2018)
Laidze parish	1801 (2018)
Lauciene parish	1574 (2018)
Lībagi parish	1967 (2018)
Lube parish	482 (2018)
Sabile	1542 (2018)
Stende	1741 (2018)
Strazde parish	388 (2018)
Talsi	10029 (2018)
Valdemārpils	1332 (2018)
Valdgale parish	1251 (2018)
Vandzene parish	1657 (2018)
Virbi parish	823 (2018)

Twin towns — sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Latvia

Talsi is twinned with:^[6]

• Alanya, Turkey
• Lejre, Denmark
• Orhei, Moldova
• Prienai, Lithuania
• Saaremaa, Estonia
• Shchyolkovo, Russia
• Söderköping, Sweden
• Telavi, Georgia

Symbols

After the 2021 administrative reform, the previous coat of arms and flag of the municipality were abolished and work began on creating new ones.^[7] The new coat of arms was adopted on 20 October 2022, with the new flag following on 29 June 2023.^[8][9]

• 
  Coat of arms (2010–2021)
• 
  Flag (2010–2021)

See also

• Administrative divisions of Latvia (2009)

References

1. Laugen, Lauri (27 January 2023). "Lätis püstitati ajaloo esimene liivikeelse kirjaga liiklusmärk". Delfi (in Estonian).
2. "ISG020. Population number and its change by statistical region, city, town, 21 development centres and counties". Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia. 2020-01-01. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
3. "Re:voice - The First Livonian Language Road Sign Unveiled in Latvia". revoice.falmouth.ac.uk. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
4. Ozola-Balode, Zanda (2023-01-27). "Talsu novada nosaukums tagad arī lībiešu valodā; šādi uzraksti būs vismaz 14 piekrastes ciemos" [The sign of the name of Talsi Municipality now also in Livonian; similar signs will be placed in 44 Livonian Coast villages]. Lsm.lv (in Latvian). Retrieved 2023-07-19.
5. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
6. "Starptautiskā sadarbība". talsi.lv (in Latvian). Talsi. Retrieved 2019-08-31.
7. "Prezentē jaunā Talsu novada ģerboņa metus" [Sketch designs of the new Talsi Municipality coat of arms unveiled]. Talsu novads (in Latvian). 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2022-09-28.
8. "Ģerboņu katalogs - Talsu novada ģerbonis". gerboni.kulturaskarte.lv. Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia. Retrieved 2023-07-20.
9. "Par pašvaldības simboliku" [On the Symbols of the Municipality]. LIKUMI.LV (in Latvian). Retrieved 2024-03-16.

57°15′N 22°36′E