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| Locations of Kutter and Schwab on Karte der deutschen Siedlungen im Wolgagebiet (Map of the German Settlements in the Volga region, AHSGR map #6) |
Two Volga Mother colonies were founded by the Russian government on this day, 8 July 1767: Kutter and Schwab.
Kutter
Kutter, also known as Brehning-Khutor and officially named Popovka on 26 February 1768, was founded as a Reformed Lutheran colony. By1900, it was considered "the heart of the Sabbatarians," the Seventh Day Adventists, which was founded in 1864 in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States.
Schwab
Schwab was founded as a Lutheran colony with 45 households and 132 colonists on the west side of the Volga between Galka and Shcherbakovka. Within the first two years, it was recorded as having sown rye in 1768 for harvest in 1769 and had 102 horses, 24 oxen, 87 cows and calves, 115 sheep and 71 pigs.
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| Location of the Volga colony Kutter, known today as Karamysh, Saratov, Russia |
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| Location of the Volga village Schwab, known today as Butkovka, Volograd, Russia. |
Learn More:
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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