1765
Shcherbakovka, also known as Deutsch Tscherbakowka and Mühlberg between 1917 and 1941, was founded as a Lutheran colony on 15 June 1765 by the Russian Government on the lower Volga River. It was named in honor of Mikhail Shcherbatov, a noble, writer and promoter of Russian Enlightenment during the time of Catherine the Great.Most of the immigrants were farmers, but by 1798, there were several craftsmen including a joiner, a blacksmith, a tailor, a cobbler and two weavers.
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| Location of the Volga colony Shcherbakovka (Mühlberg). Today it's still known as Shcherbatovka, Volgograd, Russia |
1766
Louis was founded on 14 June 1766 by LeRoy and Pictet, a co-operative company commissioned by Catherine the Great to recruit and settle Germans in Russia, as a Roman Catholic colony. The colony had a cooperative store, an agriculture kolkhoz (cooperative) founded with loans and a school with grades 1 through 4. |
| Location of the Volga colony Louis, now known as Stepnoje, Saratov, Russia. |
1767
Pfeifer, a Roman Catholic colony, was founded on the right bank of the Ilava River on 15 June 1767 by the Russian Government. The colony had a cooperative store, an agriculture kolkhoz (cooperative) founded with loans and a school with grades 1 through 4. |
| Location of the Volga colony Pfeifer, currently known as Gvardeyskoye, Saratov, Russia. |
Learn More:
Center for Volga German Studies - Louis, Pfeifer, Scherbakovka
LeRoy and Pictet
The Lower Volga Project - Shcherbakovka
Volga German Institute - Louis, Pfeifer, Scherbakovka
Volga Germans Germans from Russia - Louis, Pfeifer
Wolgadeutsche (History of the Volga Germans) - Louis, Pfeifer, Mühlberg (Scherbakovka)
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.
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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