History of Rokiskis

Poland-Lithuania (Rzeczpospolita) until 1795, when Lithuania was annexed by the Russian Empire. Rokiškis was included in the Vilna Governorate until 1843, when the Novo-Alexandrovsk district (uyezd) was transferred to the newly established Kovno Governorate.

The city started to grow in 1873 when a railroad was built which connected Dvinsk/Dunaburg/Daugavpils to the east with the ice-free Baltic port of Libau/Liepaja.

In the summer of 1915, the German army occupied the city. When the war ended, the area became part of the new Republic of Lithuania. Rokiškis was granted city rights in 1920. Because of strained relationships between Lithuania and the nearby newly created Republics of Poland and Latvia, Rokiškis was economically isolated during the inter-war period