1897Census of Rezhitsa

In 1897, Rēzekne — known at the time by its Russian name Rezhitsa — had been an official uyezd town since 1773, and from 1802 served as one of the administrative centers of the Vitebsk Governorate, within the Pale of Settlement. Its growth accelerated after the St. Petersburg–Warsaw highway (1836) and railway (1860) reached the town, making it one of Latgale's key transport and trade hubs. Rēzekne had a substantial Jewish population engaged in trade and crafts, alongside Latgalian Catholic peasants, Russian Orthodox and Old Believer residents, and Polish and German townspeople drawn by the town's administrative and commercial life. As one of the region's official uyezd towns, Rēzekne's 1897 census records are an important source for genealogical research in the Latgale region.