Metadata : Police Court (Ordnungsgericht) of Pärnu County
Collection
- Country:
- Estonia
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archives of Estonia
- Holding institution (official language):
- Eesti Ajalooarchiiv
- Postal address:
- Tartu, Nooruse 3, 50411
- Phone number:
- +372 738 7521
- Web address:
- www.ra.ee
- Email:
- tartu@ra.ee
- Country:
- Estonia
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archives of Estonia
- Holding institution (official language):
- Eesti Ajalooarchiiv
- Postal address:
- Tartu, Nooruse 3, 50411
- Phone number:
- +372 738 7521
- Web address:
- www.ra.ee
- Email:
- tartu@ra.ee
- Reference number:
- EAA.951
- Title:
- Police Court (Ordnungsgericht) of Pärnu County
- Title (official language):
- Pärnu Sillakohus
- Creator/accumulator:
- Police Court of Pärnu County
- Date(s):
- 1720/1889
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 9,947 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The Police Court of Pärnu County (German: Pernausches Ordnungsgericht; Estonian: Pärnu sillakohus) was the lowest court in Livonia, which dealt mainly with police and crime cases. The collection's documents date from 1720-1889 relating to the period when Pärnu County belonged to the Russian Empire as a part of the Governorate of Livonia (Russian: Лифляндская губерния), ending when the German court system in the Baltic region was dissolved. The collection includes 34 Jewish-related cases from 1819 to 1886. In addition to individual court records on particular cases, there are three statistical reports on the number of Jews living in the province (dated 1874, 1885 and 1886). There is also one common record document dated 1825-1864: “Case with regard to Jews” (“Akte betreffend die Hebräer”). The police supervision of Jews is mentioned as well in an earlier case dated 1819. The majority of the Jewish-related cases in this collection refer to Jews accused of dealing in illegal trade and smuggling. For example, in one case illegal tobacco production is specified (dated 1871-1872). In several cases Jewish itinerant pedlars (German: Hausierer) are mentioned. One individual case refers to the arrest of a Jew without a residence permit (1865). The rest of the Jewish-related cases belong to the section “Offences against property” such as thefts (specifically, two cases of horse thefts (1875, 1876), and one case of pocketbook theft (“Taschenbuchdiebstahl”, dated 1883). In two records, Jews are also accused of counterfeiting (1858-1859, 1881). In another case, a Jew is accused of slander. (1881).
Additional examples of Jewish-related files: Cases of investigation against the Jew Jossel Schmämann for preparing tobacco, 1871/1872 (inventory 2, file 1012); Cases against the Jew Abraham Goldblatt listed for the Schaulen [Šiauliai] municipality because of his illegal trading, 1873 (inventory 2, file 1015); Lawsuits filed by Schai Jossel Brenner against the Jew Michel Brenner from Pernau for arbitrariness, 1883 (inventory 2, file 2867); Cases of investigation against the Jew Itzig Abraham Casimir from Tuckum [Tukums] and the farmer Mart Glöckner from Testama [Tõstamaa] for horse theft, 1875 (inventory 2, file 3790); Documents relating to the residence of Jews in Pernau [Pärnu], 1858 (inventory 1, file 951); Cases of investigation against the Jew Israel Slizig from Rovno for smuggling, 1857 (inventory 2, file 988); Cases against the Jew Marduch Kuchmar for issuing a fake 25-ruble credit ticket, 1881 (inventory 2, file 4714); Files against the Jew Hirsch Markus from Schaulen for violating the trade regulations, 1866 (inventory 2, file 1000).
- Archival history:
- Initially records from the province (Governorate) of Livonia were stored in its capital, Riga. After 1914, a part of the records were moved to Tartu and Riazan. Currently the entire collection is split between the Estonian Historical Archives and the Latvian State Historical Archives, although most of the Estonian-related cases are kept in the National Archives in Tartu.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Police Court of Pärnu County (German: Pernausches Ordnungsgericht; Estonian: Pärnu sillakohus) was the lowest court which dealt with misconducts (minor crimes) and civil cases. It was also in charge of public order and domestic trade, taxes and fines.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is arranged thematically. The thematic categories are in Estonian while the records themselves are in High German. The Jewish-related cases are found in the section of “Submissions and Reports” (“Esildised ja aruanded”), subsection “Materials on Statistics” (“Materjalid statistika kohta”). The rest are located in the section “Proceedings” (“Kohtutoimikud”) in the subsections “Offences against property” (“Omandivastased kuriteod”), “Crimes against public order” (“Avaliku rahu ja korra rikkumine”), namely in the subsection “Offences in trade, excise and industrial policy” (“Kaubandus-, aktsiisi- ja tööstuseeskirjade rikkumine”) and “Crimes against private persons” (“Isikuvastased kuriteod”).
- Finding aids:
- General data on the collection is available on the web page of the Historical Archives of Estonia: www.ais.ra.ee
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Antonina Martynenko
- Reference number:
- EAA.951
- Title:
- Police Court (Ordnungsgericht) of Pärnu County
- Title (official language):
- Pärnu Sillakohus
- Creator/accumulator:
- Police Court of Pärnu County
- Date(s):
- 1720/1889
- Language:
- German
- Extent:
- 9,947 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The Police Court of Pärnu County (German: Pernausches Ordnungsgericht; Estonian: Pärnu sillakohus) was the lowest court in Livonia, which dealt mainly with police and crime cases. The collection's documents date from 1720-1889 relating to the period when Pärnu County belonged to the Russian Empire as a part of the Governorate of Livonia (Russian: Лифляндская губерния), ending when the German court system in the Baltic region was dissolved. The collection includes 34 Jewish-related cases from 1819 to 1886. In addition to individual court records on particular cases, there are three statistical reports on the number of Jews living in the province (dated 1874, 1885 and 1886). There is also one common record document dated 1825-1864: “Case with regard to Jews” (“Akte betreffend die Hebräer”). The police supervision of Jews is mentioned as well in an earlier case dated 1819. The majority of the Jewish-related cases in this collection refer to Jews accused of dealing in illegal trade and smuggling. For example, in one case illegal tobacco production is specified (dated 1871-1872). In several cases Jewish itinerant pedlars (German: Hausierer) are mentioned. One individual case refers to the arrest of a Jew without a residence permit (1865). The rest of the Jewish-related cases belong to the section “Offences against property” such as thefts (specifically, two cases of horse thefts (1875, 1876), and one case of pocketbook theft (“Taschenbuchdiebstahl”, dated 1883). In two records, Jews are also accused of counterfeiting (1858-1859, 1881). In another case, a Jew is accused of slander. (1881).
Additional examples of Jewish-related files: Cases of investigation against the Jew Jossel Schmämann for preparing tobacco, 1871/1872 (inventory 2, file 1012); Cases against the Jew Abraham Goldblatt listed for the Schaulen [Šiauliai] municipality because of his illegal trading, 1873 (inventory 2, file 1015); Lawsuits filed by Schai Jossel Brenner against the Jew Michel Brenner from Pernau for arbitrariness, 1883 (inventory 2, file 2867); Cases of investigation against the Jew Itzig Abraham Casimir from Tuckum [Tukums] and the farmer Mart Glöckner from Testama [Tõstamaa] for horse theft, 1875 (inventory 2, file 3790); Documents relating to the residence of Jews in Pernau [Pärnu], 1858 (inventory 1, file 951); Cases of investigation against the Jew Israel Slizig from Rovno for smuggling, 1857 (inventory 2, file 988); Cases against the Jew Marduch Kuchmar for issuing a fake 25-ruble credit ticket, 1881 (inventory 2, file 4714); Files against the Jew Hirsch Markus from Schaulen for violating the trade regulations, 1866 (inventory 2, file 1000).
- Archival history:
- Initially records from the province (Governorate) of Livonia were stored in its capital, Riga. After 1914, a part of the records were moved to Tartu and Riazan. Currently the entire collection is split between the Estonian Historical Archives and the Latvian State Historical Archives, although most of the Estonian-related cases are kept in the National Archives in Tartu.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Police Court of Pärnu County (German: Pernausches Ordnungsgericht; Estonian: Pärnu sillakohus) was the lowest court which dealt with misconducts (minor crimes) and civil cases. It was also in charge of public order and domestic trade, taxes and fines.
- System of arrangement:
- The collection is arranged thematically. The thematic categories are in Estonian while the records themselves are in High German. The Jewish-related cases are found in the section of “Submissions and Reports” (“Esildised ja aruanded”), subsection “Materials on Statistics” (“Materjalid statistika kohta”). The rest are located in the section “Proceedings” (“Kohtutoimikud”) in the subsections “Offences against property” (“Omandivastased kuriteod”), “Crimes against public order” (“Avaliku rahu ja korra rikkumine”), namely in the subsection “Offences in trade, excise and industrial policy” (“Kaubandus-, aktsiisi- ja tööstuseeskirjade rikkumine”) and “Crimes against private persons” (“Isikuvastased kuriteod”).
- Finding aids:
- General data on the collection is available on the web page of the Historical Archives of Estonia: www.ais.ra.ee
- Yerusha Network member:
- Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People
- Author of the description:
- Antonina Martynenko
