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The legend of the founding of Rokiskis tells about a hunter called Rokas who had been hunting for hares (in Lithuanian "Kiskis"). The town was founded in 1499. The princes Krosinskas settled here in 1523. Later on Rokiskis Manor was the property of the Counts Tyzenhauz and Psezdecky. All these dynasties were linked, but the Tyzenhauses left more of an imprint on the town's history as they had built the centre of the town as the most expressive urban monument of the classical epoch in Lithuania. They initiated construction of the Church of St Matthias, the most beautiful example of the Neogothic style in the country. There is also a beautiful palace which has been used as the Regional Museum since 1933.