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This project seeks to collect all of the Jewish families from the town of Rēzekne, Latvia. The Latvian name of the city is Rēzekne, the old German name is Rositten, and the old Russian name is Rezhitsa, the Jewish name is Rezhitse, other used names are Rezekne, Rezehne, Rezhitza, Rezitza, Rjeshiza, Rjetschiza, and Rzezyca.
See A History of Jewish Rēzekne on JewishGen.
Rēzekne is in Latgale, which at one time was part of the Vitebsk Gubernia (gubernia is a province of the Russian Empire). Latgale is in the eastern part of Latvia, and was from 1561-1772 part of the Lithuanian-Polish Kingdom. From 1772 it was part of the Polotsk Gubernia of the Russian Empire, and from 1802 was assigned to Vitebsk Gubernia. Latgale was divided into four uyezds (districts), namely Ludza, Vilaka, Rēzekne and Daugavpils. Jews arrived either at the end of the 16th century or during the 17th century, following pogroms in Poland. The Jewish population was small and at the end of the 18th century numbered about 3,698 Jews out of a total population of 168,000. Vitebsk Gubernia, including Latgale, was part of the Pale of Settlement, which is where Jews were allowed to live. The rest of the Latvian territory was not part of the Pale. The population of Russia was divided into Estates: nobility, merchants, petite bourgeoisie (this included artisans and small traders), peasantry and others. Most Jews lived in towns and villages and worked in industry. Rēzekne began to grow after 1836, when the St. Petersburg –Warsaw highway was built through it. In 1897 there were 6,478 Jews in Rēzekne. In 1935 there were 3,342 Jews in Rēzekne.
See Jewish Family Lists of Rēzekne on JewishGen.