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They began to turn their eyes to the east, towards the Holy Land in hopes of escaping the plaugues that would afflect mankind at the end of the world. Although the Wuertemberg govenment had forbidden immigration in general, they were glad to see some of the religious fanatics leave. So in September of 1816, a group of 40 families left Wuertemberg for the Holy Land. They traveled down the Danube to Ismael on the borders of Russia. It was here that their provisions gave out and they were kept alive by the charity of the Greek merchants in Ismael. By Christmas of 1816 they had reached the colony of Grossliebenthal, and spent the winter there. They did not receive government permission to proceed further until July of 1817, so they remained in Grossliebenthal until then. Thirty one of the forty families then traveled along the Black Sea coast to Kherson, then toTaganrog, then to Rostov, to Stavropol, and finally across the Caucasus mountains to Tiflis which is located in the South Caucasus. Here the Russian government stopped them and they founded the village of Marienfeld. When the Separtists who remained in Wuertemberg heard of the arrival of the first group in the S. Caucasus, the began to organize for emigration. Many non-Separtists who had been unable to emigrate due to the government joined the group so they would be permitted to leave Wuertemberg. The group assembled in the city of Ulm on the Danube. Seven to eight thousand people left at intervals during the summer of 1817. However, disease broke out and killed hundreds of the emigrants. Some lost heart and left the group in Hungary. After the remaining group left Hungary, an epidemic hit and killed 1,200 people in a 24 day period. The tattered remains of the group continued on to Ismael after the quarantine period from the epidemic was over. By the time the group had reached Ismael, it had shrunk from 8,000 people to about 5,000. Some of the 5,000 were settled in Bessarabia where they formed the villages of Teplitz (98 families), north of Odessa another 64 families founded Hoffnungstal, and another 100 families formed 4 villages in the Beresan. Others took vacant places in the Liebental and Glueckstal villages. The remainder insisted on traveling futher east to meet the Lord. They arrived in the South Caucasus in the late fall of 1818. Many wished to continue on to Jerusalem, but the Russian governent would not allow them to. They were forced to stay where they were in the S. Caucasus. In addition to the 500 families who left Wuertemberg in 1817, another group left of 450 families left Wuertemberg between the years of 1818 and 1823. This group contributed most of the families of the village of Sarata (20 Bavarian families also settled here) and four new colonies in the Beresan region, as well as three Separatist colonies in the Berdjansk. After 1824, the emigrants began to taper off, however, in the years of 1830 to 1833, fifteen families went to Ludwigthal (which was a Lutheran colony) in the Mariupol area (Ludwigstal was formed in 1828), and 14 families founded Neu-Stuttgart (Separatist) in the Berdjansk district in 1831. In 1842, another 40 families from Hesse-Darmstadt founded Darmstadt and Marienfeld in the Mariupol region (both colonies were predominantly Lutheran). The villages of Sarata and Teplitz in Bessarabia soon became Lutheran colonies. (It is also my understanding that Lichtental, Bessarabia was at one time associated with the Separtist colonies, however, in the later years was completely Lutheran). However, the colonies in Berdjansk remained Separatist. Many of the landless sons from the Separatist Berdjansk colonies migrated to the Crimea and formed villages there such as Schoenbrunn, which was the parish seat for the Separatist colonies in the Crimea. The villages in the Crimea that were part of the Schoenburnn parish were as follows: Schoenfeld (Koltamak)
Annenfeld (Tschurtscha)
Neu-Wasserreich (Neu-Kerleut)
Alt-Wasserreich (Alt-Kerleut)
Hebron (only partially populated by Separatists)
Neuman (only partially populated by Separatists)
Krauter Estate
Possibly also the following colonies:
Westheim
Mamut
Tarchanlar
Kopan
Ak-Scheich
Toi-Tebe
Abakly
Some other smaller colonies that are unamed
According to the article, “Schoenbrunn” by E.K. originally published in the Heimutbuch 1960, Landsmannschaft der Deutschenaus Russland and republished in the Heritage Review, 27: 2, 1997, the Separatist congregation elected their own clergy and were independent of the Lutheran church [in Russia]. The clergy did not wear a robe during performance of the offical acts of the office. The elders conducted worship services in the absence of the pastor who was visiting other congregations. (This practice was also true of the Lutheran pastors in Russia who sometime had up to 30 villages in their parish to minister to.) Confirmation instruction for the entire parish was conducted in Schoenbrunn and lasted 4 to 5 weeks.
In the late 1800’s, the Separatist colonies were encouraged by the government to join the Lutheran church and be brought under the jurisdiction of the Lutheran Consistory in St. Petersburg. By the 1890’s not only Hoffnungstal, Odessa, but also three of the four Berdjansk colonies had officially become Lutheran. Some of the daughter colonies had also joined the Consistory, however, the names of these colonies were not listed. Three of the colonies however, remained Separatist until they were disbanded. These three were Neuhoffnung*, Berdjansk, Schoenbrunn, Crimea, and Ostheim, which was located northeast of Mariupol. *It is interesting to note that Dr. Karl Stumpp lists Neuhoffnung, Neu Stuttgart, Rosenfeld, and Neuhoffnungstal, Berdjansk as Evangelical Lutheran colonies. There were Evangelical Lutherans living in this colony, the St. Petersburg records reflect their records. However, they were minstered to by the Pastor from the parish of Grunau, and possibly did not have a church of their own in these villages. Primary Sources: “From Katherine to Kruschev,” by Adam Geisinger
“Schoenbrunn,” by E.K.
“Emigration of Germans to Russia in the Years 1762-1862,” by Karl Stumpp |
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