Suwalki, town in Bialystok province, N.E. Poland. The town began to develop toward the end of the 18th century under Prussian rule; Jews then settled there, numbering 44 (3.5% of the total population) in 1808. In 1815 Suwalki was incorporated within Congress Poland and between 1823 and 1862 restrictions of residence in some of the sections of the city were imposed upon a number of Jews. An organized community was formed at the beginning of the 1820s, and in 1827 numbered 1,209 (32% of the total population). A synagogue was built in 1821. During the 19th century Jews in Suwalki developed trade relations with Germany, in particular for agricultural produce, timber, and horses. They also engaged in retail trade and crafts including tailoring, shoemaking, building, and transportation. In the second half of the 19th century, Jews in Suwalki engaged in the manufacture of prayer shawls, fulling, and tanning. During the Polish uprising in 1863 many Jews in Suwalki and the surrounding area took an active part in the struggle against the Russian army. Two of them, Leib Lipman and Leib Lejbman, were executed by the czarist authorities. Following persecutions and disasters of nature Jews emigrated from Suwalki. Among distinguished rabbis who served in Suwalki in the second half of the 19th century were R. Isaac Eisik Wildmann (Haver) (1850–53); R. Jehiel b. Aaron Heller (1853–57); R. Samuel b. Judah Leib Mohilewer (1860–68); and R. David Tevel Katzenellenbogen (in the 1890s).