Archive of the Town of Rokytnice v Orlických Horách

Collection

Holding institution (official language):: Státní okresní archiv Rychnov nad Kněžnou

Scope and content:: The fonds includes documents of the municipal self-government of Dolní Rokytnice, Horní Rokytnice, Prostřední Rokytnice and Panské Pole, which merged in 1852 to become the town of Rokytnice v Orlických Horách. A list of the inhabitants of the manor was made around 1809, in which Jewish families are recorded with dates of birth. Another important source is the town chronicles written by Benedikt Hunke in 1860–80 in which dozens of pages concern Jews and the Jewish community. Attention should also be paid to land and parcel books (1748–1930), population registers (1930–38), books of deaths (1893–1943), books of domicile right (1855–1938), cadastral maps of the town (1840–50), plans of individual houses (1910–45) and photographs of the town (1880–1945).

Archival history:: The materials were acquired by the state district archive in Rychnov nad Kněžnou beginning in 1964 during appraisals at the municipal national committee of Rokytnice v Orlických Horách. The fonds is fragmentary, with significant gaps in individual groups of records. A great deal of material was destroyed or stolen, especially during the German administration of 1939–45.

Administrative/biographical history:: The first record of Rokytnice dates from 1318. In 1627 the manor was bought by the German Nosticz family, which resulted in the acceleration of the Germanisation process there. This family lived in Rokytnice nad Orlicí until the 1920s. The first eight Jewish families settled there in 1680–90. In 1852 Rokytnice was given town status, which also included the local Jewish community. In 1918, when the Czechoslovak Republic began, the German majority of the population demanded incorporation into the separatist region of the Sudetenland. To calm the situation the town was occupied by the Czechoslovak army. After the Munich Agreement of 1938, Rokytnice v Orlických Horách was attached to the German Reich until the liberation from the Nazis in 1945.

Access points: locations:: Dolní Rokytnice; Panské Pole; Prostřední Rokytnice; Rokytnice v Orlických Horách

Subject terms:: Jewish community; Land registries; Maps; Photographs; Real estate; Residency issues of Jews; Vital records; Vital records--Death records

System of arrangement:: The fonds is arranged as follows: I. Charters, II. Official books, III. Files: a) auxiliary books, b) files, IV. Accounting material, V. Maps and plans, VI. Photographs.

Finding aids:: Juza Josef, Archiv města Rokytnice v Orlických horách 1636-1945. Inventář, 1981, 16 s., ev.č. 59.