Kaunas, Lithuania (ALTSCHULL, SHNAYDER)
Kaunas, Lithuania Surnames: ALTSCHULL, SHNAYDER Jewish Population: 1897: 9,468 (60% of 15,780 population) Family Members: Rabbi Barukh Leyb Altschull, 5x GGFather (father of Reizel Kriger) B ~1760 Latvia; M Khana Reyza Altschul ; D 1855 Vilkija, Kaunas Gershon Shnayder, 5x GGFather (father of Morkhel Shnayder) B ~1785 Kaunas History: Kaunas is the second-largest city in Lithuania and the historical centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the biggest city and the centre of a county in Trakai Municipality of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania since 1413. The town of Kovno was established in the year 1030 by the Lithuanian prince Koinas. Jaroslav, a Russian prince, ultimately defeated Koinas, however. Koinas originally established a fortress and palace on a peninsula in the area where the river Vilya joins the Nemun, in the west. This eventually became Kovno. From 1031 until 1280, no written records regarding Kovno exist. For the duration of t