Hockerberg was founded on 15 August 1767 by colonists who had been recruited by Baron Caneau de Beauregard.
The 1767 census does not include a list of the original colonists in Hockerberg as they were residing in other colonies during their first winter in Russia.
By Official Decree dated 26 February 1768, Hockerberg was allowed to retain "Hockerberg" as its official Russian name.
The colony was originally located along the banks of the Malenkii Karaman (Little Karaman) River, but in 1770 was moved to its current location where there was more favorable soil for farming.
In 1915, the name of the colony was changed to Alexandrovka.
Today, what remains of the former colony of Hockerberg is still known as Alexandrovka.
The congregation in Hockerberg was originally part of the Lutheran parish headquartered in Katharinenstadt. In 1780, it became part of the Bettinger Parish. In 1820, it became part of the Näb parish.
During the earliest years, worship services were held in the Bethaus (a building used as both a church and school). In 1799, the first church building was constructed of wood.
Construction of a new church building (also of wood) began in 1849 on the site of the one that had been constructed in 1799. It was designed in the Kontora Style, typical of many Volga German colonies, and consecrated in 1858. It was designed to accommodate 800 worshipers. Next to it were the parsonage and a wooden belfry.
The exact date of closure of the church in Hockerberg is unknown. However, a report dated 1 August 1934 indicates that it was already closed at that time.
The building was converted into a community center and used as a movie theatre.
|
Year
|
Households
|
Population
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
||
| 1767 |
|
|
|
|
| 1769 |
24
|
105
|
60
|
45
|
| 1773 |
24
|
110
|
55
|
55
|
| 1788 |
19
|
105
|
55
|
50
|
| 1798 |
19
|
107
|
54
|
53
|
| 1816 |
33
|
231
|
116
|
115
|
| 1834 |
48
|
407
|
203
|
204
|
| 1850 |
66
|
633
|
315
|
318
|
| 1857 |
75
|
725
|
355
|
370
|
| 1859 |
71
|
645
|
324
|
321
|
| 1888 |
138
|
954
|
478
|
476
|
| 1891 |
|
|
|
|
| 1894 |
|
|
|
|
| 1897 |
|
1,102
|
555
|
547
|
| 1904 |
|
|
|
|
| 1910 |
189
|
1,676
|
868
|
808
|
| 1912 |
|
1,792
|
|
|
| 1920 |
235
|
1,475
|
|
|
| 1922 |
|
918
|
|
|
| 1926 |
172
|
979
|
492
|
487
|
Hockerberg (Wolgadeutsche.net) in Russian
- 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.
- 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): 613.
- 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.
51.76325, 46.939061
Migrated From
Immigration Locations
Map showing Hockerberg (1935).
Former Bethaus in Hockerberg, built in 1903 (photo: 2010).
Source: E. Moshkova via Wolgadeutsche.net