South Russia
Novorossiya (New Russia) is a historical term of the Russian Empire denoting a region north of the Black Sea that was conquered from the Crimean Khanate. Like other areas in Russia when they were new, it was called "New Russia" and "Little Russia." South Russia (Süd Rußland) was coined in 1804 when Tsar Alexander I opened up the new area for settlement. South Russia has been used to identify the Black Sea area and the German colonies established there. Black Sea Area and South Russia are often used interchangeably. Additionally, "the Odessa area” is often used to describe South Russia, although the majority of German colonies in South Russia are not near Odessa and were never a part of the Odessa district or province.
Well before the invitation to settle by Alexander I in 1804, the first Germans to settle colonies in South Russia did so in Danzig (1787) in the province of Kherson (today Karlivka, Kirovohrad Oblast, Ukraine). In Ekaterinoslav Province, Josefstal (1789) and Jamburg (1789) and Fishersdorf (1791) were founded (respectively Samarivka, Dniprove and Rybal's'k, all in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine). Unlike other regions of German settlement, South Russia has numerous named German enclaves and Mennonite colonies that descendants of those settlers still use today as a part of their identity. A special Black Sea Region map is available that includes the additional areas.
Administratively, by 1914, South Russia (also still New Russia or Little Tartary) consisted of four provinces: Bessarabia, Don Cossacks Host, Ekaterinoslav, Kherson and Taurida. By this time, the Dobrudscha region of Romania and Bulgaria was no longer a part of Russia. It is included in this area because of its deep connections to colonies in Bessarabia and Kherson. Geographically, the Caucasus region borders the Black Sea, and genealogically it has been considered a part of the Black Sea area/South Russia, although it is a part of Asian Russia and not European Russia.
The provinces of Bessarabia, Kherson, Ekaterinoslav and Taurida were also a part of the the Pale of Settlement, an area in western Russia where Jews were allowed by Catherine the Great to permanently settle. There were a number of Jewish Agricultural colonies in these areas where Mennonite German colonists were initially model farmers for the Jewish immigrants, but the population was primarily Jewish. In urban areas, many religious confessions coexisted.
Today, what was South Russia is the majority of the country of Ukraine, all of Moldova and parts of Romania, Bulgaria and Russia.
This is a work in progress and a living document.
View Maps
Region Map • Historical Maps
__________
Bessarabia Province
(1812–1917)
German immigrants who settled in the Bessarabia Province were colonists who had initially immigrated to central Poland between 1796 and 1806. The Napoleonic Wars made life very difficult for the German settlements because they were in the path of the Napoleon's invasion of Russia. When the Russian invitation came to re-settle in Bessarabia, more than 1,500 families made the move between 1814-1815. The 25 Mother colonies were founded between 1814 and 1842: Alt-Arzis, Alt-Elft, Alt-Posttal, Beresina, Borodino, Brienne, Dennewitz, Friedenstal, Gnadental, Hoffnungstal, Katzbach, Klöstitz [Kloestitz], Krasna, Kulm, Leipzig, Lichtental, Neu-Arzis, Neu-Elft, Paris, Plotzk, Sarata, Schabo-Kolonie, Tarutino, Teplitz and Wittenberg. All of the colonies in Bessarabia were Protestant except one Catholic colony, Krasna. In 1918, Bessarabia became a part of Romania.
According to the Imperial Census of 1897, there were 1,935,412 inhabitants in Bessarabia Province, with 99,1239 males and 94,4173 females. Of those, 60,206 (3.11%) were native German speakers.
View Maps
Province Map • Historical Maps
__________
Dobruja Region
(1878-1913)
The historical area known as Dobruja or Dobrudscha, which is now Romania and Bulgaria, was an area to which Germans migrated rather than immigrated. In other words, they had already left the Germanic states behind a generation or two prior, but when Russia instituted military conscription, they left the Russian Empire for the Ottoman Empire. They came from South Russia, from the provinces of Bessarabia, Kherson, Ekaterinoslav and Taurida, Russian Poland, Volhynia and also Galizien, Bukovina and Hungary from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
This region was a part of Russia only between 1878 and 1913, but it has significant ties to the German colonists who lived in provinces of South Russia. The 24 Mother colonies were founded between 1842-1891: Akpunar, Anadolchioi, Atmadscha, Cogealac, Colelia, Fachri, Gross Mangeapunar, Hasarlac, Horoslar, Jakobsonsthal, Karamurat, Katalui, Kobadin, Kodschalie, Konstanza, Malkotsch, Mamuslie, Manealia, Ortachioi, Osmancea, Sarighiol, Sulina, Tariverde, Tschukurow and Tulcea.
View Maps
Region Map • Historical Maps
__________
Ekaterinoslav Province
(1802–1925)
Ekaterinoslav Province was a major settlement area for Germans, in particular Mennonite farmers who first arrived in the Ekaterinoslav Viceroyalty in 1787. The Province was created in 1802 out of the Ekaterinoslav Viceroyalty. It bordered the Poltava and Kharkov provinces to the north, Kherson Province to the west and southwest, Taurida Province and the Sea of Azov to the south and the Don Host to the east.
According to the Imperial Census of 1897, there were 2,113,674 inhabitants in Ekaterinoslav Province, with 1,091,715 males and 1,021,959 females. Of those, 80,979 (3.83%) were native German speakers.
German enclaves in the province of Ekaterinoslav include Bartov, Bergtal, Borissovo, Borozenko, Chortitza, Ignatyevo, Jakowlewo, Jewish Agricultural, Kronau, Mariupol (Planar, Grunau), Markuslandt, Memrik, Nepluyevka, Neu Rosengart, Schlachtin, Schönfeld, Tcheroglas and Yazykovo.
View Maps
Province Map • Enclave Maps • Historical Maps
__________
Kherson Province
(1803–1922)
Kherson Province was a major settlement area for Germans, in particular Catholic and Protestant farmers who began arriving in recruited groups as well as on their own account in 1803 in anticipation of settling South Russia. The province was situated between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers. It was originally a part of the Novorossiya Province and known as the Nikolayev Province until 1803 when the governing city was changed from Nikolayev to Kherson. The province name was also changed to Kherson. It bordered the Bessarabia Province to the west, the Podolia and Kyiv provinces to north, Ekaterinoslav Province to the east, and Taurida Province and the Black Sea to the south.
According to the Imperial Census of 1897, there were 2,733,612 inhabitants in Kherson Province, with 1,400,981 males and 1,332,631 females. Of those, 123,453 (4.52%) were native German speakers.
German enclaves in the province of Kherson include Beresan, Glückstal, Jewish Agricultural, Kronau, Kutschurgan, Liebental, Schwedengebiet and Zagradovka.
View Maps
Province Map • Enclave Maps • Historical Maps
__________
Don Cossacks Host
(1786–1920)
The German colonies established in the Don region were all daughter and chutor colonies whose founders came from the Mariupol, Hoffnungstal and the Molotschna colonies. The name of the area has changed over time, beginning with the Province of the Don Cossack Host (Russian: Область Войска Донского, Oblast’ Voyska Donskogo). At the time Germans started settling into the area in 1870, it was called the Don Host Province. It bordered Ekaterinoslav Province to the west. Voronezh Province to the northwest, Saratov Province to the northeast, Astrakhan Province to the east and the Caucasus to the south.
According to the Imperial Census of 1897, there were 2,564,238 inhabitants in Don Host Province, with 1,294,320 males and 1,269,918 females. Of those, 34,855 (1.36%) were native German speakers.
View Maps
Province Map • Enclave Maps • Historical Maps
__________
Taurida Province
(1802–1921)
Taurida Province was a major area of settlement for Germans, in particular on the Crimean peninsula, where Germans who had wine making experienced were settled in 1803. The province of Taurida included the Crimean peninsula as well as the mainland between the lower Dnieper River and the coasts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. It was named after the Ancient Greek name of Crimea—Taurida.
According to the Imperial Census of 1897, there were 1,447,790 inhabitants in Taurida Province, with 762,804 men and 684,986 women. Of those, 78,305 (5.41%) were native German speakers.
German enclaves in the province of Taurida include those on the Crimean peninsula, Fürstenland, Molotschna and Prischib.
View Maps
Province Map • Enclave Maps • Historical Maps
__________