Balvi District Explained

Balvi
Settlement Type:District
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Latvia
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Total Km2:2,381.2
Population Footnotes:[1]
Population Total:27,296
Population Density Km2:auto
Website:balvi.gov.lv/
Established Date:1949
Established Title1:Reformed
Extinct Date:2009
Established Title:First established
Established Date1:1990
Extinct Title:Abolished
Native Name:Balvu rajons

Balvi District (Latvian: Balvu rajons) was an administrative division of Latvia, located in Latgale region, in the country's east. It was organized into two cities and nineteen parishes, each with a local government authority.[2] The main city in the district was Balvi.

History

Until 1940, the area was a part of the Abrene County of the Republic of Latvia. After the Soviet occupation of Latvia in 1940, six parishes of the county and the town of Abrene were transferred to the Pskov Oblast of the Russian SFSR. In 1945, the remaining part was renamed Viļaka County. Ultimately, districts were introduced in 1949 by the Soviet occupation authorities to supersede counties – the Viļaka County was split into Abrene (dissolved in 1959) and Balvi District.

Districts were eliminated during the administrative-territorial reform in 2009. Balvi District was split into Balvi Municipality, Baltinava Municipality, Rugāji Municipality and Viļaka Municipality.

Cities and parishes in the Balvi District

Notes and References

  1. Web site: BALVU RAJONA PAŠVALDĪBAS PUBLISKAIS PĀRSKATS par 2006.gadu . Latvian . Balvu rajona padome . .doc . 3 March 2008.
  2. Web site: Balvu rajona pašvaldību kontakti . Latvian . Balvu rajona padome . 2008-03-03 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080126095702/http://www.balvi.gov.lv/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=127 . 26 January 2008.