Mitau

Mitau, known in Latvian as Jelgava, is a city in central Latvia and the administrative center of Jelgava Municipality in the Zemgale region. It lies on the Lielupe River, about 41 kilometers southwest of Riga. The name Mitau is the historic German exonym for the city, while Jelgava is the Latvian name used today.

Historically, Mitau was the seat of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and served as the duchy’s capital for periods in the 16th to 18th centuries. The Jelgava Palace, a major Baroque residence constructed for the dukes in the 18th century, stands as the city’s principal architectural landmark and symbol of its ducal heritage.

In 1795, after the duchy ceased to exist, Jelgava continued to develop as a regional center of administration, education, and industry. In modern Latvia, Jelgava hosts the Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies, which maintains a significant campus in the city, and it remains an important rail and road junction connecting central Latvia with Riga and other regions.

Mitau remains part of historical and cultural memory in the Baltic region, with the German exonym still appearing in historical works and in some languages. The city today functions as a regional hub for education, services, and industry in Zemgale.