Metadata: Trakai County court of Vilnius province
Collection
- Country:
- Lithuania
- Holding institution:
- Lithuanian State Historical Archives
- Holding institution (official language):
- Lietuvos valstybės istorijos archyvas
- Postal address:
- Mindaugo 8, 03107 Vilnius
- Phone number:
- +370 5 219 5320
- Email:
- istorijos.archyvas@lvia.lt
- Reference number:
- 483
- Title:
- Trakai County court of Vilnius province
- Title (official language):
- Vilniaus gubernijos Trakų apskrities teismas
- Creator/accumulator:
- Trakai County court of Vilnius province
- Date(s):
- 1803/1877
- Language:
- Russian
- Extent:
- 1,196 files
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- good
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains records of the Trakai County court of Vilnius province on different public, political and judicial matters. It includes: the courts’ circulars and orders, minutes of court meetings, materials of landowners seizing land, enslaving free peasants, complaints of peasants about ill treatment by landowners, papers on land disputes and on the sale of estates, papers on charging individuals for outstanding money claims, etc.
The collection includes materials on disputes between Jews and non-Jews. For example, the file from 1836 contains papers of the recovery of money from Leiba Zundelevich in favour of the landowner Kvint (inventory 1, file 59), and the file from 1857 contains records of a monetary claim by Zhizhmora Rabinovich against Roma (inventory 1, file 316). The collection also contains materials on property disputes between Jews. The file from 1851 includes materials on a dispute regarding a house in the town of Buturmantsy between Pertsykovichs and Kogan (inventory 1, file 230), and another file deals with the money claim of Sara Ryndziunskaia against Borukh Rydziunskiï regarding the refusal to honour a promissory note (inventory 1, file 252).
The collection also includes materials that relate to the investigation of criminal cases. The file from 1863 contains papers on the accusation of alcohol smuggling against Ioga Kal’man (inventory 1, file 403). The file from 1856 includes records of the proceedings regarding the robbery of Iudel Meerovich in the forest near the village of Kursha, by the residents of the estate of Olkeniki - Kogan and others (inventory 1, file 279).
The collection also contains documents showing interreligious relations and conflicts between Jews and Old Believers. The file from 1867-1871 deals with Old Believers insulting Jewish religious rites in the town of Zhizhmora (inventory 1, file 502). In addition, the collection contain papers on the origins of Abram Itskovich and Yankel Tokar' (inventory 1, file 327).
- Archival history:
- In 1840 materials of the Trakai County court of Vilnius province were transported to the Archives of the Supreme Tribunal of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in Vilnius, which was at the time located in a Basilian monastery. In 1843 these files were returned to the Trakai County Court and in 1853-1855 they were handed over to the Vilnius Central Archives of Ancient Acts. In the late 1940s these records were handed over to the Central State Archive of the Lithuanian SSR.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The Grodski courts in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (the County courts) were established after the judicial-administrative reform implemented in 1564-1566. The Trakai Grodski court (Trakai County court of Vilnius province) was the lower court that handled the criminal affairs of the nobility, for example raids on noble estates, rape, robbery, theft, destruction of church property, forgery of documents, witchcraft, murder or injury of a nobleman, etc. as well as serious criminal offences. Cases of runaway peasants and servants, at the discretion of their owner, could be decided by either the Grodski or Zemski courts. The Grodski court was the only institution in the district whose officials were not elected but appointed. From the beginning of the 17th century, Trakai County court meetings were held in the Trakai peninsula castle. In 1792, the Trakai County courts were abolished and their functions were transferred to the land courts. In accordance with the royal decrees of 30 October 1794 and 6 February 1797, the Trakai County courts were again restored and legitimised. In Lithuania, they operated until 1831.
- Access points: locations:
- Buturmantsy
- Kursha
- Vilnius
- System of arrangement:
- The collection consists of one inventory organised in thematic-chronological order.
- Finding aids:
- Detailed inventories are available for free online access on the website of the Lithuanian Chief Archivist Service.
- Links to finding aids:
- https://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:
- Anastazja Wachowska, Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People, 2019.
