Editing Jūrmala (section)

== Names and administrative history ==
The name '''Jūrmala''' stems from [[Latvian language|Latvian]] ''jūra'' ("sea") and ''mala'' ("edge", "side", "margin"), thus "seaside" in [[English language|English]].

In 1920, soon after Latvian independence, the town of '''Rīgas Jūrmala''' ("Seaside of Riga") was established.<ref name="LaimaSlava77">JŪRMALA, Nature and Cultural Heritage, Ed. LaimaSlava, Neputns 2004, {{ISBN|9984-729-49-4}}, page 77</ref> In [[German language|German]], it became known as '''Rigasche Strand''' and '''Riga-Strand''' (Beach of Riga), and advertised as part of ''Baltische Riviera'' (the Baltic Riviera)<ref>Der Rigasche Strand - Baltische Riviera: illustrierter Führer durch Die Badeorte des Rigaschen Strandes. - Herausg. - [Riga] : Kulturverein des Rigaschen Strandes, [1928?]</ref>

During [[World War II]], Jūrmala lost its autonomy, and by 1946, it was a district of Riga.<ref>JŪRMALA, Nature and Cultural Heritage, Ed. LaimaSlava, Neputns 2004, {{ISBN|9984-729-49-4}}, page 96</ref> In 1949, this district was enlarged to include [[Priedaine]]. Finally, in 1959, the district of Jūrmala was removed from the city of Riga and merged with the health resorts [[Sloka, Latvia|Sloka]] and [[Ķemeri]] to establish '''Jūrmalas pilsēta''' (City of Jūrmala).<ref name="LaimaSlava77"/> In publications dating from the Soviet period, the city name was occasionally spelled in English as "Yurmala", a back-transliteration from Russian ''Юрмала''.

As a result of the administrative territorial reform of Latvia in 2009, Jūrmala became one of the [[republican cities of Latvia]] (''Republikas pilsētas''), and is currently (2011) the fifth largest by population. The republican cities were replaced with state cities (''Valstspilsētas'') after the 2021 administrative reform.