A History of the Brucker Family
originating in Radauti, Romania

In 1792, Joseph II, the Emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, required that all people must have German surnames (no doubt for tax purposes).  A number of people in the village of Radautz, Bukovina, Austro-Hungary (now Radauti, Romania), were given or adopted the name Brucker (possibly meaning "those who lived or worked by a bridge"). 

The Brucker family from Radauti appears in birth and death records of the Jewish community as early as 1857/58.  While it isn't known where these early Bruckers were born, we can trace their year of birth back to the mid-to late-1700's.  There were approximately 150 Jews in Radauti in 1807 and perhaps 15 to 20 families.  By the 1880's there were 3452 Jews and 526 families in Radauti.

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Go to the "History of the Jews in Bukovina" and specifically Radautz by Hugo Gold and assistance by Bruce Reisch.

Go to The Jews of Bucovina by David Shaari.  Scroll down to the paragraph that begins with the "Hapsburg Rule 1774 to 1914".

 

A Brief History of Galicia and the Jews of Galicia
 

This is consistent with the research item that Bruce Reisch came up with indicating that surnames were required in 1792.

 

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Drohobycz/dz_galaciahis.htm

 

The following table shows the events around 1790 that were probably the reason surnames were required.  As one would expect, they were political and therefore concerned with territory, control and money (taxes).

 

1772	Austria under empress Maria Theresa (reigned 1740-1780) claims Galicia and Volhynia in  the first partition of Poland. They become crown lands of the empire.  A new code of regulations is established under which the Jews of Galicia are to be governed and a system of congregational districts is established under a general administration (Generaldirektion) headed by the Chief rabbi of the entire community.
1774	Bukovina with 75,000 inhabitants becomes a crown land of Austria.
1776	There are 144,200 Jews in Galicia.  Three quarters of them live in the eastern part, mainly in cities and towns.  A significant part of the population of Drohobycz is Jewish.
1780-1790	Reign of Joseph II.
1781	Serfdom is abolished.  Land continued to be held by the Polish ruling class.  The Austrians also decide that Galicia should remain an agricultural region to supply food to the empire and remain a market for the products made in the western, industrialized parts of the empire.
1783	Galicia is divided into circles (Kreise) for government administration.
1786	Joseph II abolishes the Jewish Generaldirektion and rabbinical law as well.
	There are 2,797,000 inhabitants in Galicia.
1789	The Toleranzpatent establishes a new status for Jews. Joseph II wishes  to make all minorities in his empire equal.  Therefore Jews are to be assimilated, pay the same taxes as other citizens, serve in the army, and speak and be educated in German.     Web site note: We assume that German "given names" were established about this time.
1792	Joseph II establishes 100 German schools in Galicia.