Balzer
The colony of Balzer was founded 85 kilometers southwest of Saratov by colonists recruited by the government from the Kurpfalz, Isenburg, Hessen-Darmstadt, and Baden. The first group of settlers arrived on 28 August 1765, and they were followed by two additional families that arrived on 26 November 1765. The following year another 22 families joined on 28 March 1766 with others joining on April 26th, June 18th, July 1st, and August 18th.
The colony was named after Balthazer "Balzer" Barthuly who served as its first Vorsteher (mayor). The second mayor was Johannes Weisheim who began his term in 1784.
On 26 February 1769, the colony received its official Russian name of Goly Karamysh in reference to the lack of trees in the area and its proximity to the Karamysh River.
The first school house stood on main street in the "Unterdorf" (lower section) of the colony. A second school was built in 1846 near the church. A new two-story school building was constructed in 1898. A Russian school was built in the colony in 1882.
Today the former Volga German colony of Balzer is called Krasnoarmeysk. Because of the nearby military base built during the Soviet era, Balzer today is much larger than it was when the Volga Germans were living there.
Most of the original settlers in Balzer were of the Reformed faith. The Reformed congregation in Balzer was originally part of the parish headquartered in Messer where the pastor resided. In 1856, Balzer became an independent parish serving the colonies of Balzer and Anton, with the pastor living in Balzer.
The first church in Balzer was built of wood in 1777. A new building, also made of wood, was contructed in 1821 [Litzenberger records this date as 1815]. The third church building, constructed of brick covered with plaster, was built in Balzer from 1848-1851. The nearby bell tower housed three bells, typical among the Volga German colonies.
On Christmas Day, 1935, the last service was held in this church. It was conducted by Elder Köhler. In March of 1936, the steeple was torn down and the alter and pulpit removed from the building. It was used as a community center during the Soviet era. Today, nothing remains of the church. It's foundation was used to build a new movie theatre. In front of where the church was is now a plaza commemorating the Red Army soldiers who put down an uprising in the colony in 1918.
The congregation in Balzer was served by the following pastors:
1778-1799 Johannes S. Janet
1802-1818 Josua Graff
1821-1823 Johann Samuel Huber
1823-1850 Emmanuel Grünauer
1852-1887 Gottlieb Friedrich Jordan
1887-1892 Johannes Kosciol
1893-1903 Ernst Theophil David
1904-1922 Paul Reichert
1929-1930 Max Maier
David Kaufmann
|
Year
|
Households
|
Population
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
||
| 1767 |
90
|
377
|
198
|
179
|
| 1769 |
103
|
410
|
210
|
200
|
| 1773 |
98
|
479
|
257
|
222
|
| 1788 |
99
|
682
|
331
|
351
|
| 1798 |
101
|
726
|
369
|
357
|
| 1816 |
145
|
1,295
|
620
|
675
|
| 1834 |
239
|
2,268
|
1,158
|
1,110
|
| 1850 |
263
|
3,641
|
1,868
|
1,773
|
| 1857 |
373
|
4,472
|
2,223
|
2,249
|
| 1859 |
|
4,640
|
|
|
| 1886 |
695
|
5,760
|
2,898
|
2,862
|
| 1891 |
622
|
8,818
|
4,408
|
4,410
|
| 1894 |
765
|
9,108
|
4,579
|
4,529
|
| 1897 |
|
7,266*
|
3,668
|
3,598
|
| 1905 |
|
9,600
|
|
|
| 1911 |
|
11,326
|
|
|
| 1920 |
|
10,339
|
|
|
| 1922 |
|
9,539
|
|
|
| 1923 |
|
9,725**
|
|
|
| 1926 |
|
12,244***
|
|
|
| 1932 |
|
14,860
|
|
|
| 1933 |
|
15,800****
|
|
|
| 1935 |
|
15,655
|
|
|
| 1939 |
|
15,769
|
|
|
*Of whom 7,147 were German.
**Of whom 9,414 were German.
***Of whom 11,556 were German.
****Of whom 14,926 were German.
Balzer (wolgadeutsche.net) in Russian
Village of Balzer (Herb Femling)
- Amburger, Erik. Die Pastoren der evangelischen Kirchen Rußlands (Lüneburg, Germany: Institut Nordostdeutsches Kulturwerk, 1998): 138.
- Beratz, Gottieb. The German colonies on the Lower Volga, their origin and early development: a memorial for the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first German settlers on the Volga, 29 June 1764. Translated by Adam Giesinger (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1991): 348.
- Diesendorf, V.F. Die Deutschen Russlands : Siedlungen und Siedlungsgebiete : Lexicon. Moscow, 2006.
- Litzenberger, O.A. History of the German Settlements along the Volga, Vol. 1.
- Mink, A.N. Historical and Geographical Dictionary of the Saratov Province [in Russian] (Saratov, Russia, 1898): 164-166.
- Orlov, Gregorii. Report of Conditions of Settlements on the Volga to Catherine II, 14 February 1769.
- Pallas, P.S. Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs. Theil 3,2, Reise aus Sibirien zurueck an die Wolga im 1773sten Jahr (St. Petersburg: Kaiserl. Academie der Wissenschaften, 1776): 622.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 1 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 1999): 71-105.
- Pleve, Igor R. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century, translated by Richard Rye (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001): 319.
- Schnurr, Joseph, Die Kirchen und das Religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen - Evangelischer Teil (Stuttgart: Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland, 1972): 346.
- "Settlements in the 1897 Census." Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (Winter, 1990): 18.
- Stumpp, Karl, The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862. Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1973.
- Volz, Jacob. Historical Review of the Balzerer. Lincoln, NE: Jubilee Committee, 1938.
Map showing Balzer (1935).
Church in Balzer.
Source: Roman Kirillov
Balzer Lutheran Church (Built 1848-1851).
Source: Heimatbuch der Deutschen aus Rußland, 1972.
Colony of Balzer.
Balzer street scene (1911).
Lutheran Church is on the right;
parochial school is on the left.
Source: Volksfreund Kalender, 1911.
Central School in Balzer.
Balzer in 1927.
Source: Jorge Bohn.
German building in Balzer.
Medical Boarding School in Balzer (1935/36).
Source: Rudolf Bender (Wolgadeutsche.net)
This 1898 building in Balzer shows typical German brick work techniques.
Tombstone in the Balzer Cemetery.
Anna Maria Rockel (1899-1918)
Source: Alexandra Bashkatova (Wolgadeutsche.net)
Map of Balzer.
Source: Roman Kirillov
Notice of eviction of the Alexander (son of Johann) Kisselman (b. 1898) family from Balzer, pursuant to the deportation edict dated 28 August 1941 and executed on 31 August 1941. A note is added about the family's arrival on 15 September 1941 in Novosibirsk as part of group no. 779.
[Document provided posted by Andreas Root to the Facebook photo collections of the Russian German's International.]
Listing of the rest of the Kisselman family being evicted:
wife: Natalie (Friedrich's dau.) - b.1899
mother: Maria - b.1866
dau.: Natalie - b.1924
son: Alexander - b.1926
son: Heinrich - b.1928
dau.: Minna - b.1931
dau.: Emilie - b.1933
dau.: Maria - b.1936
dau.: Bertha - b.1939
[Document provided posted by Andreas Root to the Facebook photo collections of the Russian German's International.]
Interior of the church in Balzer, decorated for Pentecost.
Balzer (1937).
Source: Jorge Bohn.
Weaving factory called "Zukunft" in Balzer (1919). Source: wolgadeutsche.net
German house in Balzer (1939). Source: wolgadeutsche.net
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