13 August 2017

On This Day, 13 August 1767

On this day, 13 August 1767, two Volga Mother colonies were founded: Schaffhausen by Baron Caneau de Beauregard and Stahl am Tarlyk by Leroy and Pictet. Both were Lutheran colonies.

The location of Schaffhausen on 
Karte der deutschen Siedlungen im Wolgagebiet 
(Map of the German settlements in the Volga Region, 
AHSGR map #6).
Schaffhausen was one of the northern most colonies on the Volga. After collectivization was enforced, the colony had a cooperative store, an agricultural kolkhoz founded with loans, a school with grades one through four, a reading room and also a tobacco factory (1926).


Schaffhausen was home to the first stone Lutheran church build on the Volga in 1832, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Holy Trinity.  Some of the ruins still stand today.

The ruins of the Lutheran church in Schaffhausen.
Photo courtesy of Wolgadeutsche.
Location of the Volga village Schaffhausen, known today as Volkovo, Saratov, Russia.


The location of Stahl am Tarlyk on 
Karte der deutschen Siedlungen im Wolgagebiet 
(Map of the German settlements in the Volga Region, 
AHSGR map #6).
Stahl am Tarlyk, noted just as "Stahl" on the Stumpp map, was founded on the banks of the Tarlyk River (hence it's more common name) where it fed into the Volga River. When the Volga Hydroelectric Power Station was constructed (1950-1961) as a post-war industrialization effort, the Volograd Reservoir was created and ended up flooding several Volga German colonies.  The colony relocated just to the east, with the old part still remaining in the floodplain.


Plat map of Stalh am Tarlyk, AHSGR map #59.



After collectivization was enforced, this colony also had a cooperative store, an agricultural kolkhoz founded with loans, a school with grades one through four, along with an orphanage and a hospital (1926).








Location of the Volga colony Stahl am Tarlyk,presently known as Stepnoye, 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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