The County Court of Vilnius

Collection description

Holding institution (official language):: Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas

Scope and content:: The collection comprises documents reflecting the activities of the County Court of Vilnius. These include ukases (decrees) from the state senate, circulars, resolutions, judiciary protocols, verdicts, books of court proceedings and other material. A number of files in the collection refer to Jewish residents of the former county of Vilnius.

Some of the Jewish-related files refer to legal proceedings on issues of property and finances: questions of ownership in regard to houses and plots of land, division of real-estate rights according to wills, ownership disputes, the payment of leasing fees, unpaid debts and selling of property in order to cover obligations, and taxation, including the collection of tax on kosher meat.

Several files record cases of criminal activity ranging from theft and violence to smuggling and counterfeiting. Several files mention cases of the illegal running of taverns and illegal sale of goods such as alcohol and tobacco.

Some files document investigations into cases of homicide and suicide. A small number of papers mention prison breakouts and searches for escaped inmates.

Archival history:: Prior to the 1917 revolution the records from the Russian administration of the former Vilnius governorate were kept in a government depository. At the end of the 19th century they were transferred to the newly established Vilnius State Archive, which became a part of the Central State Archive of the Lithuanian SSR in 1940. In 1957, together with other pre-revolutionary documentation, these materials were included in the Central State Historical Archive of the Lithuanian SSR, predecessor of the current State Historical Archive.

Administrative/biographical history:: The county courts in the Governorate of Vilnius, including the court of the county of Vilnius, were established in October 1831. They served as the lowest judicial court and addressed both civil and criminal cases. The county courts functioned until April 1872.

Subject terms:: Crime; Financial matters; Financial matters--Debt; Hospitality industry; Hospitality industry--Inns; Legal matters; Prisoners; Real estate; Smuggling; Taxation; Taxation--Korobka; Trade and commerce; Trade and commerce--Alcohol trade

System of arrangement:: The collection consists of four inventories arranged according in chronological/thematic order. Inventories 1 and 2 include administrative records of the court; inventory 3 includes protocols and judicial verdicts; inventory 4 includes the minute books of the court.

Finding aids:: Inventories in Lithuanian are available at LCVA and online at the Lithuanian Archives' website.

Links to finding aids:: eais-pub.archyvai.lt/eais/faces/pages/forms/search/F3001.jspx

Yerusha Network member:: Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People

Author of the description:: Galina Baranova, Lithuanian State Historical Archives, and Alex Valdman, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2014