Magistrat of Tartu
Historical Archives of Estonia
Holding institution (official language):
Eesti Ajalooarhiiv
Tartu, J. Liivi 4, 50409
https://www.ra.ee/et/kes-me-oleme-2/
rahvusarhiiv@ra.ee
Title (official language):
Tartu Magistraat
Creator/accumulator:
German Russian Estonian
Textual material Photographic images
Physical condition:
The Magistrat (municipal authority) of Tartu, 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 1547 and 1889. Several dozen files, including annual bulletins and minute books, include Jewish-related materials.
Files from the first half of the 19th century mention a number of Jews who resided in Tartu before a Jewish community existed there: Ruben Lewy, Marcus Lewin Kratzner and Michal Hartuch or Hartog (the latter, an optician, became a Russian subject and a resident of Tartu in 1811). Other files – annual books and minutes of the Magistrat – include data on Jewish merchants visiting the town's fair and Jews who visited the town illegally (the residence of Jews in Tartu, and in the Governorate of Livonia as a whole, was restricted, as it was not a part of the Pale of Settlement), and were illegally engaged in trade; the files also include data on the legislation regarding the Jews' residence and trading rights in the area.
Files from the second half of the 19th century also include data on the Jewish residents of Tartu, including lists of names and addresses from the years 1878-1889; in most cases, the Jewish residents are mentioned in judicial documents: charges of assaults, theft and other offences and correspondence on investigations and verdicts related to the Jewish residents. A file from 1889 mentions a break-in at the Jewish prayer house in Tartu.
Archival history:
Until the end of the 19th century the papers of the Magistrat were kept by the Magistrat or at the archive of the local Rathaus (town hall). In 1900 they became part of the newly established city archive, and after World War II were transferred to the Estonian Historical Archives.
Administrative/biographical history:
Access points: locations:
Access points: persons/families:
Hartuch, Michal
Lewin Kratzner, Marcus
Lewy, Ruben
Legal records
Residency issues of Jews
Trade and commerce
System of arrangement:
The collection consists of three inventories, arranged in thematic-chronological 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, 83-86; Ajalooarhiiv, Arhiivijuht III, Vabad ühendused. Ettevõtted. Kollektsioonid. Tartu, 2010, 415-420.
Basic data on the collection is available at the web portal of the National Archives of Estonia: http://ais.ra.ee, Detailotsing – Leidandmed – EAA.995.
Links to finding aids:
http://ais.ra.ee
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