Alternate names: Bauska [Latv], Bausk and Бауска [Rus], Bauske [Ger], Boisk and בויסק [Yid], Bauskė [Lith], Bowsk [Pol], Bosko. 56°24' N, 24°11' E , 38 miles S of Rīga, 25 miles SE of Jelgava, 20 km from the Lithuanian border. Jewish population: 3,631 (1881), 604 (1920). The town in Bauska municipality in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia is situated at the confluence of the rivers Mūsa and Mēmele where they form the Lielupe River.
A thriving Jewish community in the 19th century include scholars, bakers and distillers. Notable rabbis included Abraham Isaac Kook, the future chief rabbi of Israel, and Mordechai Eliasberg. In 1850, Jews made up 50% of Bauska's population but by 1920, the Jewish population had dwindled. In 1941, following the Nazi invasion, the remaining Jews of Bauska were executed. Following a conference on Jewish "cultural heritage" in Bauska in the 1990s or so, the town's Jewish history became the subject of an exhibit in Bauska.
- Encyclopedia of Jewish Life (2001), pp. 92-93: "Bauska".
- Pinkas HaKehilot, Latvia and Estonia (1988), p. 63: "Bauska"
- JewishGen Latvia SIG
Former synagogue building now houses a real estate agency. A plaque confirms its original function.
In Bauska County in the Zemgale region of southern Latvia situated at the confluence of the rivers Mūsa and Mēmele where they form the Lielupe River, the town also known as Boisk is located 66 km from Riga and 20 km from the Lithuanian border. The Jewish minority came to Bauska in the 18th century or possibly earlier. Over the 19th century, the Jewish community in Bauska layed a significant role in economic life of the town with scholars and bakers and distillers. In 1850, Jews were 50% of the population, but by 1920, the Jewish population dwindled. Following the 1941 Nazi invasion, the remaining Jews of Bauska and environs were tortured and executed. Town history. Notable rabbis of Bauska included Abraham Isaac Kook, the future chief rabbi of Israel, and Mordechai Eliasberg. Bauska almost entirely lost its Jewish population during the Holocaust of 1941. At present, descendants of around 79 Bauska surviving Jewish families live throughout the world. The town's Jewish history became the subject of an exhibit "'Jews in Bauska until World War II' discussed at the research conference on the cultural heritage and history of Bauska in central Latvia sponsored by the Latvian Academy of Sciences and the Bauska town council.Today the exhibition "Jews in Bauska" is on display, while more initiatives on preserving of Bauska Jewish cultural heritage and commemorating the Holocaust are under way." Source [March 2009] Town history [March 2009]
OLD Jewish Cemetery: established on the right bank of the Memele river in the early 18th century.
NEW Jewish Cemetery: established In the mid-19th century by a crossroads in the city.
See burial list All Latvia Cemetery List [March 2009] and Burial list. [January 2011]
Jewish cemetery destroyed in the 1960s. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Kahovkas 2-12 LV-1021, Riga, Latvia
MASS GRAVE: Vecsaule. The mass gravenear the town of Vecsaule is in a place called "Likvertenu sils" (trans, pine forest with no signs. Take the road from Bauska to Vecsaule for 8 km. Turn right into the forest for 1 km.