Gnadenfeld

A parochial school (which also served as a church) was constructed in Gnadenfeld in 1871. It served as such until the 1917 Revolution. Teachers who taught there included Georg Schäfer (1870-1881), Jakob Fritzler (1881-1883), and G. Rose (1885-1913).

By 1910, there were in the colony a prayer house, a parish school, and two windmills.

Today, what remains of the former Volga German settlement of Gnadenfeld is known as Kirovo.

Church:

There were Lutheran and Reformed colonists who settled in Gnadenfeld. Some Baptists also lived in Gnadenfeld.

In the beginning, the colonists worshiped in private homes. A large prayer house (Bethaus) was built in 1871. It served as a school during the week, but was used for worship services as well. The locals often called it the church. Eventually a small prayer house was also constructed by the Baptists who lived in Gnadenfeld. On 13 May 1933, the prayer house was officially closed by the Soviet authorities and all religious functions in the former colony ended.

Pastors & Priests:

From 1855 to 1865, the colony was served by pastors from the parish of Warenburg. From 1865 to 1882, pastors from Eckheim served those in Gnadenfeld. In 1882, the Lutheran congregation in Gnadenfeld became par of the parish of Brunnental where there was a resident pastor.

Notable Individuals:

Grunauer, Emanuel

Immigration:

Russell, Russell Co., Kansas

Scottsbluff, Scotts Bluff Co., Nebraska

Karras, Stavropol Krai (North Caucasus)

Düsseldorf (Stadt), Nordrhein-Westfalen (Post-1941)

Grover, Weld Co., Colorado

Marion, Marion Co., Kansas

Canby, Clackamas Co., Oregon

Council Grove, Morris Co., Kansas

Hartman, Prowers Co., Colorado

Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area

Garden City, Finney Co., Kansas

Population:

Year	Households	Population
Year	Households	Total	Male	Female
1857			267
1859	65	365	205	160
1888	161	1,031	517	514
1891
1894
1897	119	1,077*	523	554
1905		1,814
1910	210	1,865	971	894
1912
1920	240	1,968
1922		1,633
1926	290	1,668	801	867
1931		1,763

*Of whom 1,071 were German.

External Links:

- Gnadenfeld (Irma Waggoner)
- Gnadenfeld (wolgadeutsche.net) [in Russian]
- How Many Schillings Are There? (Gary Martens)

Sources:

- Diesendorf, V.F. Die Deutschen Russlands : Siedlungen und Siedlungsgebiete : Lexicon. Moscow, 2006.
- Dietz, Jacob E. History of the Volga German Colonists (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2005): 218.
- Koch, Fred C. The Volga Germans: In Russia and the Americas, from 1763 to the Present (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1977): 312.
- Preliminary Results of the Soviet Census of 1926 on the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (Pokrovsk, 1927): 28-83.
- "Settlements in the 1897 Census." Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (Winter, 1990): 16.