10 June 2017

On This Day, 10 June 1766

The Roman Catholic colony of Graf was founded on this day, 10 June 1766 on the "Wiesenseite" (the meadow side) of the Volga River.

It was founded with the assistance of the LeRoy and Pictet, a co-operative company commissioned by Catherine the Great to recruit and settle Germans in Russia.  By the end of the first year, there were 48 households in Graf.

The colony no longer exists.


Plat map of Graf, circa 1930. 
Map courtesy of Volga Germans from Russia website.
Location of defunct village of Graf.
The last known name for it was Krutoyarovka.



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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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