Project: Volga German/Colonies
Categories: Volga German Project
Colonies (work in progress)
The original 106 colonies established between 1764 and 1772 along the Volga River near Saratov were "Mother colonies". After populations grew, later colonies were settled from the mother colonies and were called "Daughter colonies". The first colony founded was Dobrinka in 1764.
On February 26, 1768, the government issued a command that all of the German colonies be given a Russian name. With the exception of 8 colonies of the original 104, the colonists continued to use the German names.
West (West Bergseite = hilly side); East (Öst Wiesenseite = meadow side) These are descriptive as well as indicate which side of the Volga they were situated on.
Link to settlers & resident profiles of all the colony villages
Description of all colonies here: http://www.germanrussian.info/Volga_facts/Volga_Region_Village_Facts.pdf
| Colony Name | Founded | Religion | West or East | Origin | Province |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ÄHRENFELD (KRATZKI) | 1855 | Lutheran | West | daughter colony of Dittel, Hussenbach, Merkel, Bauer, Doennhof | |
| ALEXANDERHOEH | 1860 | Lutheran | West | 2 daughter colonies combined: Alexanderdorf and Höh | |
| ALEXANDERTAL | 1853 | Lutheran | West | daughter colony of Schilling (thus also called Neu Schilling) | |
| ALT-WEIMAR | 1861 | Lutheran | West | daughter colony of Galka, Stephan, Schwab, Dobrinka, Moor. | |
| ANTON | 1764 | Lutheran | West | ||
| BALZER | 1765 | Lutheran | West | Baden, Hesse, Rhineland, Palatinate, Württemburg,Switzerland | |
| BANGERT | 1767 | Lutheran | East | ||
| BASEL | 1767 | Lutheran | East | ||
| BAUER | 1766 | Lutheran | East | ||
| BAUM | 1767 | Lutheran | East | ||
| BEAUREGARD | 1766 | Lutheran | West | ||
| Beideck [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Bern [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Bettinger [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Biberstein [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Boisroux [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Brabander [[Space:|Space:]] | 26th June 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Brunnental [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Cäsarsfeld [[Space:|Space:]] | 3rd August 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Chasselois | 2nd August 1766 | Catholic | East | ||
| Degott [[Space:|Space:]] | 18th July 1766 | Catholic | |||
| Dehler [[Space:|Space:]] | 1st July 1767 | Catholic | |||
| DIETAL | 1 July 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| DINKEL | 12 May 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| DOBRINKA | 1764 | Lutheran | West | ||
| DÖNHOF (Alt-Dönhof, Alt-Gololobowka, Denhoff, Doenhof, Dönhof, Dönnhof, Gololobovka, Gololobowka, Vysokoye) (Денгоф) | 21st July 1766 | Lutheran | |||
| DREISPITZ | September 16, 1767 | Protestant | |||
| Eckheim [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Enders [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Ernestinendorf [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| FISCHER | 25 July 1765 | Lutheran | East | Fischer was founded as a Lutheran colony on 25 July 1765 by the Government. | |
| FRANK (Medeveditskii Krestovyi Buyerak), (Франк) | 16 May 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| Franzosen [[Space:|Space:]] | 28th July 1765 | Catholic until 1834 | |||
| Friedenberg [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| GALKA | 12 August 1764 | Lutheran | |||
| Göbel [[Space:|Space:]] | 25th May 1767 | Catholic | |||
| GNADENFELD (NEU-MOOR) | 1855 | Lutheran | East | (Daughter Colony) Moor, Balzer, Hussenbach, Norka, Donhoff, and other colonies. | |
| GRAF (Krutoyarovka, Krutojarowka, Krutojarovka), (Граф) | 10th June 1766 | Catholic | East | Samara | |
| GRIMM (Kamenskiy; Lesnoi Karamysh; Lesnoi Karamysch; Lesnoj Karamysh; Lesnoy), (Гримм) | July 1, 1767 | Reformed Lutheran | West | ||
| HERZOG (Susly), (Герцог) | 14th June 1766 | Catholic | East | ||
| Hildmann [[Space:|Space:]] | 14th May 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Hockerberg [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Hoffental [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| HOLSTEIN | May 26, 1765 | Evangelical | East | ||
| Hölzel [[Space:|Space:]] | 11th September 1767 | Catholic | |||
| HUCK | 1 July 1767 | Reformed | West | Isenberg, Hesse | |
| Hummel [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Husaren [[Space:|Space:]] | 13th June 1765 | Catholic | |||
| HUSSENBACH | 1767 | Lutheran | West | Brandenburg, Saxony,Palatinate,Darmstadt | |
| Josefstal [[Space:|Space:]] | Catholic | ||||
| KAMENKA (Bähr), (Каменка) | 16th September 1764 | Catholic | West | ||
| Kaneau [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Katharinenstadt [[Space:|Space:]] | 27th June 1766 | variety | |||
| Kautz [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Keller [[Space:|Space:]] | Catholic | ||||
| Kind [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Köhler [[Space:|Space:]] | 10th August 1767 | Catholic | |||
| KOLB | 13 May 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| KRAFT (Grjaznucha, Verchnjaja Grjaznucha, Verkhnaya Grasnukha, Verkhnyaya Gryaznukha, Werchnaja Gräsnucha), (Крафт) | 1767 | Lutheran | West | ||
| Krasnoyar [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| KRATZKE | 7 August 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| KUKKUS | 26 June 1767 | Lutheran | East | Braunfels, Kurpfalz, Hesse, Dierdorf, Weisbaden, Worms, Baubach, Isenburg, Baden-Durlach | |
| KUTTER | 8 July 1767 | Lutheran | West | Isenburg, Hesse, Prussia | |
| LAUB | 12 July, 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| LAUWE | August 19, 1767 | Lutheran | Nüremberg, Baden, Darmstadt, Neu-Isenburg, Palatinate, Rhineland, Saxony, Brandenberg. | ||
| Leichtling [[Space:|Space:]] | 14th May 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Leitsinger [[Space:|Space:]] | 12th May 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Louis [[Space:|Space:]] | 14th June 1766 | Catholic | |||
| Luzern [[Space:|Space:]] | 20th June 1767 | Catholic | |||
| MARIENTAL (Tonkoschurovka), (Мариенталь) | 16th June 1766 | Catholic | East | ||
| Meinhard [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| MERKEL | August 28, 1766 | Lutheran | West | ||
| MESSER | July 7, 1766 | Reformed | West | Pfalz, Hessen, and Prussia | |
| Moor [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Müller [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Näb [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Neu-Messer [[Space:|Space:]] | 1863 | Daughter Colony of Messer | |||
| NIEDER-MONJOU | 7 June 1767 | Lutheran | |||
| NORKA (Nekrasovo, Norka, Weigand), (Норка) | 15th August 1767 | Reformed/Lutheran | |||
| OBERMONJOU (Krivovskoye, Ober-monjou, Krivovka, Kriwowskoje), (Ней-Обермонжу) | 7th June 1767 | Catholic | East | Hesse | Samara |
| Orlovskaya [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Paulskaya [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| PFEIFER (Gnilushka), (Пфейфер) | 15th June 1767 | Catholic | East | ||
| Philippsfeld [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Pobochnaya [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Preuss [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Reinhard [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Reinwald [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| ROHLEDER (Raskaty), (Роледер) | 14th June 1766 | Catholic | East | Samara | |
| ROSENBERG (Umet) | 1847 | Lutheran | West | Daughter colony of Grimm, Balzer, Dreispitz, Shcherbakovka, Stephan, Holstein, Galka, Kutter | |
| Rosenheim [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Rothammel [[Space:|Space:]] | 21st August 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Schäfer [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Schaffhausen [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| SCHILLING | 1764 | Lutheran | East | ||
| SCHÖNCHEN (Panino, Paninskaya), (Шенхен) | 3rd August 1767 | Catholic | East | Samara | |
| Schuck [[Space:|Space:]] | 18th July 1766 | Catholic | |||
| Schulz [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Schwab [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Schwed [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Seelmann [[Space:|Space:]] | 15th July 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Semenovka [[Space:|Space:]] | 24th June 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Sewald [[Space:|Space:]] | 20th August 1767 | Catholic | |||
| SHCHERBAKOVKA (Scherbatovka, Mühlberg, Deutsche-Schtscherbakowka, Schtscherbakowka, Shcherbakovka, Shcherbatovka, Stricker, Tscherbakowka), () | 15 June 1765 | Lutheran | |||
| STAHL-am-Karaman | 9 July 1766 | Lutheran | East | There is another Stahl...a different place! | |
| STAHL-AM-TARLYK | 13 August 1767 | Lutheran | East | Otherwise called Stepnoje. | |
| STEPHAN | August 24,1767 | Lutheran | |||
| Streckerau [[Space:|Space:]] | Catholic | ||||
| Susannental [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| UNTERDORF | 1852 | Lutheran | West | ||
| Urbach [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Volmer [[Space:|Space:]] | 18th July 1766 | Catholic | |||
| VOLHYNIA AREA (Volhynia Project) | See Volhynia Project page | ||||
| WALTER | 25 August 1767 | Lutheran | West | Mother colony. Neu-Walter is a later daughter colony from many villages | |
| WARENBURG | 12 May 1767 | Lutheran | East | Darmstadt, Brandenburg, Prussia, Württemberg, Holstein. | |
| WITTMANN (Solothurn), (Витманн) | 3rd August 1767 | Catholic | East | ||
| Yagodnaya Polyana [[Space:|Space:]] | |||||
| Zug [[Space:|Space:]] | 10th August 1767 | Catholic | |||
| Zürich [[Space:|Space:]] |
Mennonite Colonies - Am Trakt Settlement (work in progress)
The Russian government granted permission to 100 West Prussian Mennonite families to establish a colony in the Russian province of Samara in 1853. These 100 families came primarily from the Ladekopp and Furstenwerder congregations and were led by Johann Wall and Claus Epp Sr., the Mayor of Furstenwerder. As a whole, the area in which they were to settle was called the Am Trakt Settlement, a name derived from the road near the settlement known as Salztrakt, or salt road, which had been used to haul salt from the Elton Sea for many years.
After wintering in the nearby village of Warenburg, the Mennonites began building in the spring of 1854.
| Colony Name | Year Founded | Religion | West or East | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FRESENHEIM | 1860 | Mennonite | ||
| HAHNSAU | 1854 | Mennonite | ||
| HOHENDORF | 1861 | Mennonite | ||
| KÖPPENTAL | 1855 | Mennonite | ||
| LINDENAU | 1858 | Mennonite | ||
| LYSANDERHÖH | 1864 | Mennonite | ||
| MEDEMTAL | 1874 | Mennonite | ||
| ORLOF | 1871 | Mennonite | ||
| OSTENFELD | 1872 | Mennonite | ||
| VALUYEVKA | 1875 | Mennonite |
Samara Colonies - Alexandertal Settlement (work in progress)
Beginning in 1859, a number of colonies were settled in the Volga Region above the city of Samara about 45 miles from the Volga River. Originally 10 colonies were established in a cluster called the Alexandertal Settlement and inhabited almost exclusively by Mennonites from West Prussia. In 1863, a number of Lutheran colonists arrived, mostly from Poland and Silesia, and were settled in colonies clustered around the original Mennonite colonies.
In later years, both of these colony groups (Mennonite and Lutheran) attracted those resettling from the lower Volga colonies and the Black Sea region. Thousands of Black Sea Germans also lived in these colonies as they were moving to areas east of the Ural Mountains where they were seeking better farming opportunities.
These 28 colonies were located in a cluster north and east of Samara.
| Colony Name | Year Founded | Religion | West or East | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [[Space:|Space:]] | 1859 | [[Space:|Space:]] |
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