Bessarabia villages. The village was initially granted about 14,000 acres of land. Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Village Coordinators: Volunteer Needed From Bessarabia: German Colonists on the Black Sea, by Ute Schmidt, trans. R. The 1900s-era town names are consistent with the clickable maps of 1910 that we feature on our website. [3] Following Romania’s alliance with Nazi Germany, Romanian authorities ordered the mass deportation of Jews from Bessarabia, Bukovina, and parts of Romania into the occupied territory of Transnistria, a barren region between the Dniester and Bug rivers. Most of the letters were written by village correspondents to German-language newspapers published in the United States. Prospering through agriculture The land available for farming also expanded. Bessarabia is a favoured area for agriculture, chiefly for cereals, fruit, and wine. Less than half of its people identified as Ukrainian. The colonists remained in Bessarabia for about hundred and thirty years, keeping their German identity (even their dialects, different from one village to another), while the province was going on with its history. Between 1861 and 1919 the German population of Bessarabia rose from 33,000 to 79,000, accounting for three percent of the total. It created profound shock in the German villages that soon paralyzed the entire… After arriving in Bessarabia, Bulgarians and Gagauzians founded their own towns, such as Bolhrad (1819) and Comrat, and around 64 (according to some sources [citation needed]) or 43 (according to other sources [4]) villages. The chapter for this village is Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Village Coordinator: Volunteer Needed Over the next generations, the Jewish population of Bessarabia grew significantly. It is located in Bolhrad Raion (district) of Odesa Oblast and in the historical region of Budjak in southern Bessarabia. * Beresina village births 1834-1839 184x 185x 186x 187x 1881-85 translated by Elli Wise * Beresina village births 1842, 1844, 1849, 1865-66, 1872-73, 1880 by R. After the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, its southern part, which along with its northern part was included in the Ukrainian SSR (unlike the rest of Bessarabia, which was included in the Moldavian SSR), became known as Budjak, thus being slightly smaller than the historical term. 305-308: The people of Bessarabia heard the news of a Soviet ultimatum on radio the evening before the invasion. Celts also settled in the southern parts of Bessarabia, their main city being Aliobrix. There are many of these maps of this area because it was so ethnically diverse and stayed that way. BESSARABIA BESSARABIA , region between the rivers Prut and Dniester; before 1812 part of Moldavia, with several districts under direct Ottoman rule; within Russia 1812–1918; part of Romania 1918–40; returned to Russia 1940, and together with the Moldavian Autonomous S. became the Moldavian S. Ethnic Germans began settling in Bessarabia in 1813, coming from Poland/Prussia, Germany, and German villages in the Odessa area. Below are the plat maps that are currently available for the Black Sea area. [2] This is part 2 of 6 blog posts on my grandfather’s home village of Hoffnungstal, Bessarabia (now Ukraine). On the west side, the Pruth River flows all the way south and empties into Bessarabia's southern boundary, the Danube River. Paris, Bessarabia The Regional Interest Group for this village is Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter Village Coordinator: Carol Kosanke Peterson Bessarabia contains much of archaeological interest, including mounds and barrows of early epochs, remains of a wall built by the Roman emperor Trajan, some traces of Greek and Roman towns, and some forts along the Dniester built by the Genoese in the 14th century. As it became available, daughter colonies were established. The Napoleonic Wars made life very difficult for the German settlements because they were in the path of the Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Bessarabske hosts the War Records EWZ Records DAI Bessarabia Village Reports DAI Miscellaneous Reports Evacuation from Bessarabia & Bukovina Bessarabia Koblenz Index Derivative Supplemental Information Head of Household Bessarabia Surnames Origins Index Heimatbuch der Dobrudscha Deutschen Surname Index Christian Fiess Indices Search the Letter Archives for this village. In the 6th century BC, Greek settlers established the colony of Tyras along the Black Sea coast and traded with the locals. Until the beginning of the 19th century the name Bessarabia referred only to the southern part of Bessarabia; later it Black Sea German Village Plat Maps A plat map is an area of land showing actual or proposed features such as houses, churches, cemeteries, schools, etc. The culture of the region is a harmonious blend of the national heritage of several ethnic groups. The water is rising and the shoreline is eroding. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coastal region and part of the Ukrainian Chernivtsi Oblast covering a small area in the north. There was an active cultural life among the Bessarabian Germans: In 1940, 61 villages had German libraries, the teachers' organization and the Hochschulverband with its collection of books, and there were five German bookstores. More than 150,000 Jews were driven eastward, many of them children. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, the state of Moldova was established. Town names in this time period are the ones that are most widely known among Jewish genealogy researchers. ) Region bounded by the middle and lower Dnister River in the north and east, the Prut River in the west, and the mouth of the Danube River and the Black Sea in the south. 72 miles] in a west-south-westerly direction from Odessa, situated on the small river Kunduk (Kogilnik), from where it is a mere 70 kilometers [just over 40 miles] to the Black Sea. Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga 07 July 2016 New Map - The Bessarabian Colonies German immigrants who settled in Bessarabia were colonists who had initially immigrated to central Poland between 1796 and 1806. Reuben Drefs Collection Villages Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Villages Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) The Krasna village described herein lies 120 kilometers (as the crow flies) [ca. Bessarabia and Dobrudscha village data sheets (which include basic info about each village and research help) Bessarabian village list (includes postal area, Kreis, parish, founding year) Index of the Bessarabian Newsletter features articles on a number of topics. Konrad in 2013 from: Russian-German Settlements in the United States, by Richard Sallat Bessarabia was the southern part of this territory (now known as Budjak); it is believed that the region was named after the Wallachian house of Basarab, which may have ruled it in the 14th century. In our village of Teplitz, Bessarabia we lived a simple life. DAI Microfilm T-81, #318 contains 104 sketches of Bessarabia, Bukovina and Dobrudscha village plat maps. Unlike most of the rest of the Russian Empire, in Bessarabia, Jews were allowed to settle in fairs and cities. The area of the region is 45,600 sq km. May 21, 2025 · Finally, for fun, here is an ethnographic map of the rural areas of Bessarabia published in 1920 based on data from 1907. The earlier letters contain many names, places and family events. In 1897, they purchased 675 acres, and in 1899, they purchased another 1,100 acres from Countess Tolstoi. Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Village Coordinators: Art Flegel Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Village Coordinator: Villages Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) The Germans in Bessarabia owed itto this institution that they had well-trained teachers and that the value of school education in the communities was generally increased. Map of Russian Empire's Ukraine (1910 Marx's Large world table Atlas) Main Map Villages Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Jews retained the civil rights they had had prior to Russian rule—including residence in villages and leasing activities that were prohibited to Russian Jews under the “Jewish Statute” of 1804. It is bounded by the Dnister River flowing into the Dnister Estuary on one side and the Danube River into the Black Sea on the other. The families had lived in the village for many generations and the villagers were close to one another and lived in harmony. . BESSARABIA, region between the rivers Prut and Dniester; before 1812 part of Moldavia, with several districts under direct Ottoman rule; within Russia 1812–1918; part of Romania 1918–40; returned to Russia 1940, and together with the Moldavian Autonomous S. The first polity that is believed to have included the whole of Bessarabia was the Dacian polity of Burebista in the 1st century BC. … This work presents a more humanistic view of life in the former German colonist villages of South Russia during the earliest years of the Soviet Union. ---- Alphabetical Listing of Villages Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Caucasus Villages Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia They came from South Russia, from the areas of Bessarabia, Kherson, Jekaterinoslav and Taurida, and also from Russian Poland, Volhynia, Galizien, Bukovina and Hungary. But Russia’s endeavours to stir up trouble Bessarabia SIG has chosen as the main town name the official one around 1900. Don Cossacks The German colonies established in the Don region were all daughter and chutor colonies whose founders came from the Mariupol, Hoffnungstal and Molotschna colonies. Bukovina Koblenz records (by head of household surname) Germans after Russia Bessarabia is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. A village as referred to by GRHS represents a settlement founded by our GR ancestors in rural areas of present day Ukraine. Gessele (Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, 2011), pp. [Бессарабія] (Map: Bessarabia. In the aftermath of the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812), and the The village lies on the banks of Sasyk, a lagoon that suffers from a disastrous Soviet-era attempt to turn it into a freshwater lake. by James T. Defunct Villages: Bessarabia Nearly a third of the German villages that have been mapped across Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Russia are defunct. The region was poor and, for historical and economic reasons, many people thought that Vladimir Putin might be their saviour. Romanian police and soldiers took part in the annihilation of Bessarabian Jewry. Tsar Nicholas I issued an ukaz (decree) that allowed Jews to settle in Bessarabia "in a higher number", giving settled Jews two years free of taxation. Villages Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) GRHC staff and volunteers created two maps designed for easy identification of mother and daughter villages of South Russia and to show their approximate geographic locations. Our ancestors came from many parts of central Europe and they brought their customs and beliefs with them. S. The Krasna Project: Germans from Russia exists to gather and preserve the history and genealogical data of the Germans who lived in Krasna, Bessarabia, Russia/Romania and its daughter colonies Emmental, Bessarabia, Russia and Karamurat, Dobrudscha, Romania (and the Roman Catholic Germans who lived in a number of other villages in Dobrudscha: Colelia, Gross Pallas, Gross Mangeapunar, Malcoci By Tim Judah, alumnus of The Fletcher School and Special Correspondent for The Economist W hen russia first attacked Ukraine in 2014 Bessarabia was a place to worry about. Bessarabia is still not well explored by tourists, despite being one of the most historically rich areas. Rural Bessarabia in southwestern Ukraine is physically isolated from the rest of the country and has often been overlooked in national politics but is now undergoing an exciting regional revival. EWZ Records DAI Bessarabia Village Reports DAI Miscellaneous Reports Evacuation from Bessarabia & Bukovina Bessarabia Koblenz Index Derivative Supplemental Information Bessarabia Head of Household Index Bessarabia Surnames Origins Index Heimatbuch der Dobrudscha Deutschen Surname Index Christian Fiess Indices Search the Letter Archives for this Gnadental, Bessarabia The chapter for this village is Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Village Coordinator: Hal Habermann Region: Black Sea Area: Bessarabia District: Akkerman Rayon: Founded: 1830 Religion: Evangelical Location: D-9 Stumpp Map Longitute and Latitude: Parish: Gnadental German Name: Gnadental Russian Name: Ukrainian Name EWZ Records DAI Bessarabia Village Reports DAI Miscellaneous Reports Evacuation from Bessarabia & Bukovina Bessarabia Koblenz Index Derivative Supplemental Information Bessarabia Head of Household Index Bessarabia Surnames Origins Index Heimatbuch der Dobrudscha Deutschen Surname Index Christian Fiess Indices Search the Letter Archives for this In the 1930s, 2. My guess is that the mayor's office of each village provided the details because it would have been quite an undertaking for one person to personally visit each of so many villages spread out over Bessarabia to gather the information. Beginning in the 1870s, many Bessarabian Germans immigrated to North and South America. In this manner, more than 150 communities were set up in the 125 years of German settlement in Bessarabia. Find out in the article what places in Bessarabia travel bloggers Max Uzol and Olya Manko recommend visiting and what features this region has Akkerman-Bessarabia The chapter for this village is Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Village Coordinator: Ted Becker Region: Black Sea Area: Bessarabia District: Rayon: Founded: Religion: Evangelical & Katholic Location: Longitute and Latitude: Parish: Andrejewka German Name: Akkerman Russian Name: Ukrainian Name: AKA: Cetatea Alba and The Bessarabia Germans (German: Bessarabiendeutsche; Romanian: Germani basarabeni; Ukrainian: Бессарабські німці, romanized: Bessarabs'ki nimtsi) were a German ethnic group (formerly part of the Germans of Romania) who lived in Bessarabia (today part of the Republic of Moldova and south-western Ukraine) between 1814 and 1940. The village was founded in 1814 by colonists from the Duchy of Warsaw. EWZ Records DAI Bessarabia Village Reports DAI Miscellaneous Reports Evacuation from Bessarabia & Bukovina Bessarabia Koblenz Index Derivative Supplemental Information Bessarabia Head of Household Index Bessarabia Surnames Origins Index Heimatbuch der Dobrudscha Deutschen Surname Index Christian Fiess Indices Search the Letter Archives for this Bessarabia Watch the movie Home page » Regionen » Bessarabia » Bessarabia Besarabia is a historical region in the southwest of Ukraine, bordering Moldova and Romania. They were drawn by people who had been evacuated from these [Frame 005] Bessarabia is a land mass mostly surrounded by water. Villages Alphabetical Listing of Villages Village Coordinators Beresan (BDO) Bessarabia (BESS) Crimea (KRIM) Germans-Prussia Poland-Russia (GP-PR) Grossliebental (GDO) Hoffnungstal (HOP) Kherson, Ekaterinoslav, Taurida (KET) Kutschurgan, Odessa (KRIG) Caucasus Odessa Volga Regional Interest Group: Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter (BESS) Defunct Villages: Bessarabia Nearly a third of the German villages that have been mapped across Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Russia are defunct. 8% of the population of Bessarabia was German. * Things German in Bessarabia in 1939 translated by Allen Konrad * Trip to Bessarabia (Teplitz/Sarata) translated by Allen Konrad * Trip to Northern Bessarabia (from the pages of the 1910 diary of Wilhelm Mutschall) translated by Allen Konrad * Ups and Downs of Grain Production in the Early Years of Bessarabian Mother Colonies by Dwayne Janke BESSARABIA, region between the rivers Prut and Dniester; before 1812 part of Moldavia, with several districts under direct Ottoman rule; within Russia 1812–1918; part of Romania 1918–40; returned to Russia 1940, and together with the Moldavian Autonomous S. Up to Bessarabske (Ukrainian: Бессарабське), formerly known as Tarutyne (Ukrainian: Тарутине; Bulgarian: Тарутино, romanized: Tarutino; Romanian: Tarutino or Ancecrac), [1] is a rural settlement in southwestern Ukraine. The Russians used the name "Bessarabia" for the whole region rather than the southern area. Up to 1812 From Jews retained the civil rights they had had prior to Russian rule—including residence in villages and leasing activities that were prohibited to Russian Jews under the “Jewish Statute” of 1804. xls Bessarabia or Basarabiia. The north and eastern front of Bessarabia is demarcated by the Dniester River, which flows into a large estuary, or lake known as the Dniester Liman, which itself empties into the Black Sea. Neufall, Bessarabia The Regional Interest Group for this village is Bessarabia & Dobrudscha Chapter Village Coordinator: Volunteer Needed Region: Black Sea Area: Bessarabia District: Akkerman Rayon: Founded: 1867 Religion: Evangelical Lutheran Location: E-9 Stumpp Map Longitude and Latitude: Parish: Posttal/Benkendorf German Name: Neufall Bessarabian Villages. Generally, the original villages were populated by small numbers of German immigrants in response to the invitation by Catherine the Great of Russia. Jewish Population of Bessarabia With time, as the regional autonomy of Bessarabia came to be limited, tsarist legislation was authorized. This translated into the extermination of all Jews living in villages, and the compression of city Jews into Ghettos. Scholtoi, Bessarabia by Olaf Hollinger (German version is more extensive than English version) If you have a website or document that focuses on Black Sea German villages, families, or research and you would like to share it with other researchers, please email the URL of your website or a copy of the information to Database Contact at The Romanian dictator, Ion Antonescu, immediately called for the "cleansing" of Bessarabia. Up to 1812 From Bessarabia Villages A compilation of information by Allen E. g80o, 1ii1, ihve, po6n6, bulw1, jhzd, 4ys7, ghtpoj, 98bqa, o5aq,