Bergdorf - 1848 Village History
Copyright 1996, GRHS
Notes: Please see the Introduction to the
Village History Project for
additional information.
BERGDORF
1. In 1809, under the glorious reign of His Majesty the late Alexander, the
colony of Bergdorf was founded and the construction of houses begun.
2. The colony of Bergdorf lies in a valley which begins about 2 versts to the
north and continues westward another 25 versts till it reaches the vicinity of
Grigoriopol. This valley has the name Kalossova from its first inhabitant, a
certain Armenian Kalos who was farming here and raising livestock until the
arrival of the colonists. The valley is called Karamanovka by the colonists of
Neudorf, but the colonists of Glueckstal, 5 versts farther on, call it
Trehonenko. The distance from Bergdorf to Tiraspol is45versts, and 260versts to
Odessa. The colony has 3,925 dessiatines of land, which consists mostly of hill
and dale, with a few level tracts. The uplands have fertile black humus, two
feet deep; likewise the valleys, except for some sandy spots. On the whole, the
soil is of good quality and all kinds of winter and summer wheat, as well as
fruits and vegetables, thrive well, provided the weather is favorable.
The woods which existed when the colonists arrived have been developed and
increased by surrounding them with protective enclosures. In various places
there are 460 dessiatines of fine growth. The most important types are oak,
blackthorn, whitethorn, alder, and to a lesser extent ash trees. There is also
the "Farbe-Holz" which is used to furnish morocco leather dye. The common
acacias and willows planted along the main street of the colony exhibit fine
growth.
In suitable locations grapevines have been planted which, in 1848, numbered
241,880. In favorable years these furnish a rewarding harvest for the
planters. Also orchards with various kinds of trees were planted in the early
years, and no doubt also flourished. But the dry years have destroyed a large
part of them. The present number of fruit trees is 25,193.
The colony has no quarries, but has to haul its stone 20 to 25 versts from the
neighborhood of Grigoriopol, not far from the Dniester.
3. The former assistant Councilor von Rosenkampf gave the colony its name
Bergdorf, in view of its location between the hills.
4. The immigrants who were originally settled here consisted of 68 families,
with a total of 263 persons (136 males and 127 females). They came from the
following countries: from the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg, 35; from Elsass, 21; from
the Grand Duchy of Baden, 4; from the Pfalz, 1; from Prussian Poland, 1: from
Hungary, 1; from Hamburg, 1; from Hesse, 1. In all, 68 families.
5. The settlers arrived in 1808 and 1809 in smaller or larger parties, without
leaders, under the privileges of the Russian imperial crown.
6. Upon their arrival on the steppe the settlers found a few isolated farms that
were inhabited by Armenians from Grigoriopol who carried on agriculture
and animal husbandry. There were a few wells available, but no houses had been
prepared for the immigrants.
7. The settlers received the following financial aid from the Russian
government:
For provisions 32,160 rubles
For settlement 26,225 rubles
For seed grain 2,080 rubles
Total
60,465 rubles banco
The assets owned by the immigrants upon arrival amounted to approximately 3,000
rubles.
8. Among the factors and incidents that had an unfavorable influence upon the
development of the colony were the locusts that caused a great deal of damage to
the crops in 1828 and 1846. In July, 1820, a hail storm passed over the grain
fields causing complete destruction of an area 4 versts long and 2
versts wide. The years 1833 and 1834 produced no crops whatsoever. Livestock
epidemics raged in 1828 and 1833 and destroyed most of the animals. The year
1847 was so dry that there was a great shortage of grass and hay, so that the
livestock could be but poorly fed through the winter months. Even though large
sums were spent in buying fodder, a large part of the livestock perished,
whereby the settlers were in dire straits. The marching through of military
troops in 1828,1829, and 1830, to fight the Turks placed a great burden on the
colony. Since Bergdorf was only 1 1/2 versts from the army road that leads from
Balta to Tiraspol, the colonists had to provide billeting and undertake
transport duties with horses and wagons.
9. The colony owes its prosperity to a number of favorable factors and
conditions. Particularly beneficial for the education of the young people was
the construction of a school soon after the settlement was completed. This first
building, however, soon became too small and had to be torn down. In 1832 school
was held in the newly constructed stone church, and this situation prevails to
this day. But the community is planning to build a new church, and a
considerable portion of the building stone has already been hauled to the site.
But since the people are at present incapable of providing the necessary funds,
they are hoping for the support of the Welfare Committee and for more favorable
times.
A most productive year was 1817, when the crops were good and the price of grain
was high. Other good years were 1837 and 1838. Both the raising of livestock and
the growing of wine is profitable. In the dry years, when we had total crop
failures of wheat, we still had very fine grape harvests and were able to buy
the necessities of life and pay our taxes.
We have a communal granary from which the needy colonists can obtain grain in
years of scarcity. Thanks to the pure preaching of the Gospel, the colony also
enjoys great moral improvement and, with it, growing prosperity.
Bergdorf, May 4, 1848
Schoolmaster: Johann Seb. Scheuffele (author)
Mayor: Wolff
Burgomasters: M. Weiss; Herrmann
Scanned by Dale Lee Wahl
Coordinated with GRHS Village Research Clearing House
Coordinated with AHSGR/GRHS Translation Committee Chairman
This document may be freely used for personal,
nonprofit purposes or linked by other WWW sites. It may also be
shared with others, provided the header with copyright notice is included.
However, it may not be republished
in any form without permission of the copyright owner.
|