other · Scandinavia and the Baltic
Governorate of Courland
Origins
After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the nobility of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia submitted to Catherine the Great, and the duchy, with the District of Pilten, became the Governorate of Courland, with its capital at Mitau (Jelgava).
Rule and society
The Courland knighthood kept control of local government, courts and the Lutheran church under the Baltic special order, and German remained the language of administration until the Russification of the 1880s. Serfdom was abolished in 1817, but the land stayed largely with the nobles. Latvian peasants increasingly bought farms, and Libau (Liepāja) and Windau grew as ports. The 1905 revolution saw many manor houses burned.
Decline and legacy
German armies occupied Courland in 1915, and it was administered by Ober Ost. In 1918 the Baltic Germans proclaimed the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (1918), but after Germany's defeat the territory became part of the Republic of Latvia, with a small southern strip going to Lithuania.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Governorate of Courland was a province of Russian Empire1795 CE – 1918 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Governorate of Courland. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-courland
- MLA
- “Governorate of Courland.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-courland. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Governorate of Courland.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-courland.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Governorate of Courland’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/governorate-of-courland (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻