Mother Colonies in Russia

Between 1764 and 1772, 106 colonies were established along the Volga River near Saratov. Historically, these colonies became known as "Mother Colonies". Colonists were assigned to settlements according to their religious confession.

• Anton
• Balzer
• Bangert
• Basel
• Bauer
• Beauregard
• Beideck
• Bern
• Bettinger
• Biberstein
• Boisroux
• Brabander
• Cäsarsfeld
• Chasselois
• Degott
• Dehler
• Dietel
• Dinkel
• Dobrinka
• Dönhof
• Dreispitz
• Enders
• Ernestinendorf
• Fischer
• Frank
• Franzosen
• Galka
• Göbel
• Graf
• Grimm
• Herzog
• Hildmann
• Hockerberg
• Holstein
• Hölzel
• Huck
• Hummel
• Husaren
• Hussenbach
• Jost
• Kamenka
• Kaneau
• Katharinenstadt
• Kautz
• Keller
• Kind
• Köhler
• Kolb
• Kraft
• Krasnoyar
• Kratzke
• Kukkus
• Kutter
• Laub
• Lauwe
• Leichtling
• Leitsinger
• Louis
• Luzern
• Mariental
• Meinhard
• Merkel
• Messer
• Moor
• Müller
• Näb
• Neu-Kolonie
• Nieder-Monjou
• Norka
• Ober-Monjou
• Orlovskaya
• Paulskaya
• Pfeifer
• Philippsfeld
• Pobochnaya
• Preuss
• Reinhard
• Reinwald
• Rohleder
• Rosenheim
• Rothammel
• Schäfer
• Schaffhausen
• Schilling
• Schönchen
• Schuck
• Schulz
• Schwab
• Schwed
• Seelmann
• Semenovka
• Sewald
• Shcherbakovka
• Stahl am Karaman
• Stahl am Tarlyk
• Stephan
• Straub
• Susannental
• Urbach
• Volmer
• Walter
• Warenburg
• Wittmann
• Yagodnaya Polyana
• Zug
• Zürich

As the colonies grew, they became overcrowded, and beginning in the 1850s a series of "Daughter Colonies" were formed (see sidebar).

Read more about the colonists arrival in Russia.

 

Daughter Colonies in Russia

When the German colonies were established along the Volga River in the 1760s, each colony was alloted a certain amount of land. This land allotment changed little over time. During the early years, the land was periodically redistributed according to the number of men of the colony who were of a certain age. Consequently the amount of land allotted to each person decreased substantially as the colony’s population grew.

By the 1850s, this land shortage was becoming critical. Additional land was allotted east of the Volga and east-southeast of the original settlements for expansion.

• Ährenfeld
• Alexanderfeld
• Alexanderhöh
• Alexandertal
• Alte-Brunnen
• Alt-Weimar
• Alt-Zürich
• Altenau
• Bauer-Graben
• Bergtal
• Beloserka
• Birkenheim
• Blumenfeld
• Blumenheim
• Bock
• Braunschweig
• Brott
• Brunnen
• Brunnental
• Daheim
• Darmstadt
• Dreispitz-Chutor
• Dubowka
• Eckheim
• Eckstein
• Einigkeit
• Erlenbach
• Erlenbach (Baseler)
• Endera
• Fink
• Fink
• Fink (Bock)
• Finkenheim
• Frankreich
• Franz
• Fressenheim
• Fresental
• Friedenberg
• Friedenfeld
• Fritzendorf
• Gattung
• Geibel
• Gmelinka
• Gnadendorf
• Gnadenfeld
• Gnadenflur
• Gnadentau
• Grabenheim
• Hahnsau
• Harn
• Heinrichsdorf
• Herzenreder
• Hoffental
• Hohendorf
• Holzgraben
• Isenburg
• Jablonja
• Jewgenjewka
• Josefstal
• Kalmückenberg
• Kano
• Karlsberg
• Katherinental
• Krachmal
• Krasny-Kut
• Konstantinowka
• Köppental
• Kukkus
• Kunz
• Kuschum
• Langenfeld
• Lindenau
• Liebental
• Lillenfeld
• Leninfeld
• Liebigs-Chutor
• Lysanderhöh
• Maidorf
• Majanga
• Mannheim
• Marienberg
• Marienfeld
• Medemtal
• Morgentau
• Morgentau (Sujetino)
• Müllersfeld
• Neudorf
• Neu-Ährenfeld
• Neu-Balzer
• Neu-Bauer
• Neu-Beideck
• Neu-Boaro
• Neue-Brunnen
• Neuer-Damm
• Neu-Galka
• Neu-Norka
• Neu-Dönhof
• Neu-Galka
• Neu-Hussenbach
• Neu-Jagodnaya
• Neu-Laub
• Neu-Lippers
• Neu-Marienburg
• Neu-Mariental
• Neu-Messer
• Neu-Mühle
• Neu-Müller
• Neu-Obermonjour
• Neu-Schilling
• Neu-Schoenfeld
• Neu-Straub
• Neu-Schaffhausen
• Neu-Schulz
• Neu-Urbach
• Neu-Weimar
• Neu-Walter
• Neu-Zürich
• Niedens
• Oberdorf
• Oktoberburg
• Orlow
• Osterfeld
• Pallasowka
• Pflaumer
• Propp
• Raith
• Reinhard
• Reinwald
• Riga
• Rogtal
• Rosenberg
• Rosendamm
• Rosenfeld am Jeruslan
• Rosenfeld am Nachoi
• Rosental
• Schambowka
• Schoenfeld
• Schoendorf
• Schoental
• Schweder Chutor
• Seifert Einst
• Seifert Zwei
• Sichelberg
• Stalinberg
• Starizerfeld
• Strassburg am Torgen
• Stassendorf
• Strasserfeld 1, 2, 3, 4
• Strecherau
• Tal-Zu-Basel/Zürich
• Tischanka
• Trippelsdorf
• Trott
• Tschardym
• Unterdorf
• Urans
• Urbach Station
• Waluyewka
• Wiesenfeld
• Wiesenmüller
• Wiesental
• Weizenfeld
• Wosnesenka

For colony spelling and name variations see the Volga German Gazetteer

Volga Colony Index by Ray Heinle

Volga Village Chart by Patrice Miller

In 1898, A. N. Minkh, a member of the Saratov Scientific Archive Commission wrote a series of articles about the German colonies on the Volga for the Russian Encyclopedia and Historical Geographic Dictionary of the Saratov District.