There was a vibrant Jewish community in Rokiškis () for hundreds of years. The first Jewish settlement may have been prior to 1574 and was located at the present site of the old Jewish cemetery (about half a kilometer southwest from the market square) until the mid-1700s, when the community moved to the area near the market square and Kamai Street (now Respublikos gatvė). In 1847 there were 593 Jews in the town and in 1897 2,067 (75% of the total population).