Jelgava, city of southern Latvia, capital of Jelgava District, located on the Lielupe River about 40 km (about 25 mi) southwest of Riga. Jelgava is an industrial center producing textiles, minibuses, lumber, and building materials. It is surrounded by an agricultural region called Zemgale, which supplies the city's food-processing and tobacco industries. Jelgava is also an important road and railroad hub. The city is home to Trinity Church, an 18th-century Baroque palace of the dukes of Kurland, and an 18th-century town hall.
The town was founded by Germanic Teutonic Knights in 1256 and called Mitau. In 1561 it became the capital of Kurland, a Livonian duchy under Polish control, and then passed to Russia in 1795. Jelgava became part of Latvia when the country first declared its independence in 1918. During World War II (1939-1945) Jelgava was occupied by Germany; it was then taken by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in fighting that heavily damaged the city. After the war and until Latvia's second independence in 1991, Jelgava was part of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic of the USSR. Population (1999 estimate) 70,931.
