Magistrat of Narva

Collection

Scope and content:: The Magistrat (municipal authority) of Narva, the chief local government body, was responsible for the whole range of municipal issues: finances, trade, welfare, justice and security. Accordingly, the papers of the Magistrat's archive reflect various aspects of the city's life between 1345 and 1889, but mostly from the period of Russian rule, from 1710 on.

Narva was not part of the Pale of Settlement and did not maintain a significant Jewish community before the late 19th century. The scarce Jewish-related materials in the archive of the Magistrat include government regulation concerning the settlement rights of Jews, on the registration of demobilised Jewish soldiers and on judicial proceedings that involved Jews, such as a file on the Jewish optician Jossel Hennoch Baar, who allegedly offended post officers and policemen (1862-69 and 1874-75), a file on Faiwisch Wolk, who was accused of illegal trade of gold and silver (1886-87), and judicial papers involving the merchant Samuel Oyzerman (1881-87).

Archival history:: After the liquidation of the Magistrat its papers were kept at the city archive of Narva. In 1946 they were transferred to the Estonian Historical Archives, predecessor of the current Estonian Historical Archives.

Administrative/biographical history:: The Magistrat of Narva existed from the 14th century and continued to function until its abolition in 1889-91 as part of the reorganisation of local government in the Baltic region of the Russian empire.

Access points: persons/families:: Baar, Jossel Hennoch; Oyzerman, Samuel; Wolk, Faiwish

Subject terms:: Crime; Jewish soldiers; Legal records; Residency issues of Jews

System of arrangement:: The collection consists of three inventories, arranged in chronological-thematic order.

Access, restrictions:: The collection is open for reference at the Estonian Historical Archives, Tartu.

Finding aids:: Finding aids in Russian and Estonian are available at the Estonian Historical Archives.

For further reference see: Центральный государственный исторический архив Эстонской ССР. Путеводитель, Москва, Тарту 1969, 87-90; Ajalooarhiiv, Arhiivijuht III, Vabad ühendused. Ettevõtted. Kollektsioonid. Tartu, 2010, 408-411.

Basic data on the collection is available at the web portal of the National Archives of Estonia: http://ais.ra.ee, Detailotsing – Leidandmed – EAA.1646.

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

Author of the description:: Tatjana Schor, Historical Archives of Estonia, and Alex Valdman, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2015