ALLENSTEIN:
Town in the district of Königsberg, eastern Prussia. The small Jewish community there was established Feb. 25, 1862. Before that date there were only a few families in the town, and they rented a room for divine services. The community possessed a cemetery, in which the oldest tombstone is dated 1872. The synagogue was built in 1877; and a rabbi, Dr. Olitzki, was appointed in 1892. The following societies have also been organized: Society for the Care of the Sick and the Burial of the Dead (Ḥebra ḳ;adisha); Women's Society; Society for the Prevention of Vagrancy; Jewish Historical and Literary Society. In 1880 Allenstein contained forty Jewish families. In 1900 there were one hundred families, or about 450 souls.
