26 May 2017

On This Day: 26 May 1765

On this day, 26 May 1765, the Volga Mother colony of Holstein was founded on the banks of the Galka River.  A Lutheran colony, it was a part of the Galka parish.

Holstein was one of the Lower Volga colonies, a cluster of nine Lutheran villages settled between 1764 and 1767 on the west side of the lower part of the Volga River.

For more information about Holstein, visit the following sites: 
Center for Volga German Studies - Holstein
Volga German Institute - Holstein
The Lower Volga Project - Holstein


Holstein, currently known as Verkhnyaya Kulalinka, Volograd, Russia.




2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.







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25 May 2017

New Map: Bukovina

We're very pleased to announce the release of a new map of Bukovina that, along with Galizien, was a part of the Austrian Empire, western neighbors to the Russian Empire.

Bukovina, whose name in all languages (Romanian: Bucovina; German: Buchenland; Polish: Bukowina; Ukrainian: Буковина) means land of beech trees, is a historical geographic area in east central Europe located on the northern slopes of the Carpathian mountains and the adjoining plains, currently straddling Romania and Ukraine. Formerly a part of Moldavia, in 1775, it became a part of the Austrian Empire.

The area is very rich and diverse in terms of ethnicity and religion. Three major German groups –Swabians from southwestern Germany, Bohemians from the Bohemian Forest and Zipsters from upper Hungary – settled colonies in the area and also joined many villages that already existed, some of which became more German in character as a result.  Some spent time in Galizien before moving to Bukovina.

One interesting thing you may notice when looking at these locations is that there is rarely only one religion noted for a colony.  Austria and the Habsburg Monarchy were officially Roman Catholic, but one particular source,  Gemeindelexikon der im Reichsrate vertretenen Königreiche und Länder (Gazetteer of the Crown Lands and Territories Represented in the Imperial Council), enumerated separately both Roman Catholic and Greek Catholic residents along with Jewish and "other."  The "other," it turns out, was anything of the Protestant faith, Lutheran and/or Reformed. Evangelische parishes were found for some colonies and are noted on the map with a (P) after the parish name.

If this is your area of research or if you're interested in learning more about it, I urge you to check out the sources below that were used to populate the map.  The history and chronology by Sophie A. Welisch are in English and excellent places to start.

The following maps are now available and updated: 
All of the maps associated with this site along with their descriptions can be found on the Maps page.

Bukovina Sources:




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On This day: 25 May 1767

On this day, 25 May 1767, the Volga Mother colony of Göbel was founded. It was a Roman Catholic colony and was named for the first leader of the colony.  By decree on 26 February 1768, it was given the Russian name of Ust-Gryaznukha for the river by which it was located.  

For more information about Göbel, visit the following sites: 
Center for Volga German Studies - Göbel
Volga German Institute - Göbel
Find A Grave - Goebel Virtual Cemetery of Immigrants (Burials of Göbel immigrants in the U.S. and Mexico.)

Göbel, still known by the Russian name it was given in 1768, Ust'-Gryaznukha, Volgograd, Russia.




2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.






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24 May 2017

Map Refresh: Galizien Colonies

The village data for Galizien has been updated and posted.  Changes include updates to a few coordinates and current village names as well as some on-going validation of source links to all villages.  The villages with location updates include the following:
Alt-Huziejow, Alt-Oleksice, Hirschbach, Brody, Brunndorf, Burgau, Burgthal, Demnia-wyzna, Deutsch-Dabrowka, Engelsbrunn, Ernstdorf, Flehberg, Gassendorf, Gillershoff, Hartfeld, Hohenbach, Hundstal, Kaltwasser, Kalusz, Karlsdorf, Kleindorf, Knihinin, Kolpiec, Konstantówka, Korost, Sitauerówka, Slawitz and Sporysz.
Much gratitude goes to Dave Gorz and John Kaminski of the Galizien German Descendants society for their continued work on this area and for being my second and third set of eyes.  

The following online maps are now available: 

All of the maps available with their descriptions can be found on the menu to the right and on the Maps page.

You may notice that on the main GRSL map, Galizien has been moved into a layer named "Austrian Empire." There will be another group of villages joining it very shortly: Bukovina.

Galizien and even earlier, Dobrudscha, altered the scope of the project from being ethnic German villages in the Russian Empire only.  The project started out as a handful of Black Sea colonies with emphasis on Bessarabia and with perhaps the restrictive name of "Germans from Russia" settlement locations, but it grew into something more inclusive, and, I think, more useful for researchers whose families may have moved between those border regions. Nonetheless, I wanted to be clear that the Austrian empire was represented in the larger map for less experienced researchers.

And for now, the project name stands as it is.  When we're "done" (whatever that means), the map as a permanent source may undergo a name change that is more reflective of whatever we end up with. Until then, it remains the Germans from Russia Settlement Locations project.

Enjoy!



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20 May 2017

On This Day: 20 May 1767

On this day, 20 May 1767, the Volga Mother colony of Kautz was founded and named for its first mayor, George Jacob Kautz.  The colony received it's official Russian name of Vershinka on 26 February 1768, 

Today, the village no longer exists.

For more information about Kautz, visit the following sites: 
Center for Volga German Studies - Kautz
Volga German Institute - Kautz
Find A Grave - Kautz (Werschinka) (very nice job on recording this cemetery!)

Kautz. This village no longer exists.






2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.





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16 May 2017

On This Day: 16 May 1767

On this day, 16 May 1767, the Volga Mother colonies of Frank and Hussenbach were founded 22 kilometers (13.7 miles) apart on the east side of the Medveditsa River, a tributary of the Don River. Medveditsa means she-bear, and according to legend (and Wikipedia), there were large populations of bears in the area.

Frank, now known as Medveditsa, Volgograd, Russia.

Hussenbach, now known as Linjowo, Volograd, Russia.



2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.



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14 May 2017

On This Day: 14 May 1767

On this day, 14 May 1767, two Catholic Volga colonies were founded: Hildmann and Leichtling. They were located about 6.4 km (approximately 4 miles) apart with Hildmann in the north and Leichtling to the south.

Hildmann, now known as Panovka, Volgograd, Russia.

Leichtling, now known as Ilovlinka, Volgograd, Russia.



2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.


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13 May 2017

On This Day: 13 May 1767

On this day, 13 May 1767, the Volga Mother colony of Kolb was founded.  Not long after, on 26 February 1768,  by decree the colony was renamed Peskovatka for the name of the river by which it was settled. That name remains today.





2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.



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12 May 2017

On This Day: 12 May 1767

On this day, 12 May 1767, six of the 104 Mother colonies in the Volga were founded.  Of these, three continue to exist today.  


Dinkel. Now known as Tarlykovka, Saratov, Russia.

Keller. This village no longer exists.

Letsinger. This village no longer exists.

Preuss.  This village no longer exists.

Straub, now known as Skatovka, Saratov, Russia

Warrenburg, now known as Privolnoye, Saratov, Russia



























2017 marks the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Mother colonies along the Volga River. There are many events throughout the year to commemorate the anniversary, and the Germans from 
Russia Settlement Locations project joins in the celebration of this rich Volga German heritage.  

The German immigrants that came to the Volga region were among first colonists to take up Catherine the Great on her manifesto. They came from Hesse, the Rhineland, the Palatinate and Württemberg.  They are also among the most well researched and documented groups of German colonists in Russia. Thus far, the Volga Mother colonies settled between 1764 and 1767 are the only colonies that have precise dates they were settled.  

For more historical and current events related to Germans from Russia, see our calendar page or link to our public Google calendar.



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11 May 2017

AHSGR 2017 International Convention

Note: Updated 16 May 2017 with dates and times.



The Germans from Russia Settlement Locations project will be presented at the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia convention in Milwaukee, WI in August. There will be a session held on August 30 from 1:15 -2:15 p.m. and a repeat performance on August 31 from 2-3 p.m. Hope to see you there! For more about the convention, see AHSGR's website.

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