Jelgava

Jelgava stands on the low plain of the Lielupe, where the Livonian Order built a castle on an island in the thirteenth century. Known in German as Mitau, the town became the capital of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. Its position near the river made it a centre of administration and trade, though high water could flood the surrounding plain.

The fall of the Livonian Order brought Mitau into the new duchy in 1561. It received town rights in 1573 and became the united duchy's capital in 1578. When the duchy was divided in 1596, Friedrich Kettler ruled Semigallia from Mitau; the two halves were reunited in 1617. Swedish invasions repeatedly brought sieges, but the town continued to develop. After Duke Friedrich Wilhelm died in 1711, his widow Anna Ioannovna ruled Courland until 1730, before becoming empress of Russia. Duke Ernst Johann von Biron built a new palace and opened a public library in Mitau. His successor Peter founded the Academia Petrina in 1775, giving the duchy a centre of learning and culture. In 1795 Courland was incorporated into the Russian Empire, and the old ducal capital became the administrative centre of a Russian province.