Mulgi Parish

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Mulgi Parish Mulgi vald
Municipality of Estonia
Flag Coat of arms
Mulgi Parish within Mulgi County.
Country	Estonia
County	Viljandi County
Administrative centre	Abja-Paluoja
Government
• Mayor	Imre Jugomäe
Area
• Total	881 km2 (340 sq mi)
Population  (2019)
• Total	7,436
• Density	8.4/km2 (22/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	EE-480

Mulgi Parish (Estonian: Mulgi vald) is a rural municipality in southern Estonia. It is a part of Viljandi County.^[1] As of 2021, the municipality has a population of 7,372,^[2] and covers 881 km² (340 sq mi).

The administrative centre of the Mulgi municipality is the town of Abja-Paluoja. The municipality itself consists of 3 towns (Abja-Paluoja, Karksi-Nuia, Mõisaküla); 2 small boroughs (Estonian: alevikud) (Halliste, Õisu); and 58 villages: Abja-Vanamõisa, Abjaku, Ainja, Allaste, Äriküla, Atika, Ereste, Hirmuküla, Hõbemäe, Kaarli, Kalvre, Kamara, Karksi, Kõvaküla, Kulla, Laatre, Lasari, Leeli, Lilli, Mäeküla, Maru, Metsaküla, Mõõnaste, Morna, Mulgi, Muri, Naistevalla, Niguli, Oti, Päidre, Päigiste, Pärsi, Penuja, Põlde, Polli, Pöögle, Pornuse, Räägu, Raamatu, Raja, Rimmu, Saate, Saksaküla, Sammaste, Sarja, Sudiste, Suuga, Tilla, Toosi, Tuhalaane, Ülemõisa, Umbsoo, Univere, Uue-Kariste, Vabamatsi, Vana-Kariste, Veelikse, and Veskimäe.

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The municipality was formed on 24 October 2017, by merging of the town of Mõisaküla with the neighbouring municipalities of Karksi, Abja, and Halliste.^[3]

There were many discrepancies in the past based on the naming of the Mulgi municipality; the naming council found Mulgi to be a misleading name both culturally and geographically,^[4] as the municipality only covers a third of the historical Mulgimaa – the municipalities of Halliste and Karks, to be more specific. Suggested names in its place included Lääne-Mulgi, Abja-Mulgi, and Halliste-Karksi.

Concerns have also been raised about the loss of the name Abja. This stems from the history of the area; before the expansion of the Viljandi county (Raion) borders in 1962, the raion of Abja also existed in about the same area.^[5]

The area has been a developed flax growing region and was one of the most prosperous in Estonia in the 19th century. Flax cultivation is also the reason why flax flowers are depicted on regional symbols.