Wiek County

Wiek County (German: Kreis Wiek or Kreis Hapsal, Estonian: Lääne kreis, Russian: Гапсальскій/Викскій уѣздъ, romanized: Gapsalskiy/Vikskiy uyezd) was one of the four counties of the Russian Empire located in the Governorate of Estonia.^[1] It was situated in the western part of the governorate (in the northwestern part of present-day Estonia). Its capital was Haapsalu (Hapsal). The territory of Wiek County corresponds to present-day Lääne and Hiiu counties, the westernmost part of Rapla County, and a small part of Pärnu County.^[2]

Wiek County Гапсальскій уѣздъ
Uezd
Location in the Governorate of Estonia
Country	Russian Empire
Governorate	Estonia
Established	1745
Abolished	1920
Capital	Hapsal
Area
• Total	4,697.92 km2 (1,813.88 sq mi)
Population  (1897)
• Total	82,077
• Density	17/km2 (45/sq mi)

Demographics

At the time of the Russian Empire Census of 1897, Wiek County had a population of 82,077. Of these, 92.2% spoke Estonian, 5.6% Swedish, 1.2% German, 0.6% Russian, 0.2% Ukrainian, and 0.1% Latvian as their native language.^[3]