Semenovka

Names: 
Roethling
Röthling
Rötling
Semenowka
Semenovka
Semjanowka
Семёновка
Ретлинг
Semyanovka
Semyonovka
History: 

Semenovka was founded on 24 July 1767 [some sources erroneously record the founding date as 24 June 1767] by colonists who had been recruited by Catherine the Great's own agents. The 43 founding families were Roman Catholic and came from the regions of Mainz, Prussia, Fulda, and Westfalen (Westphalia).

It was also known by the German name of Röthling (the surname of one of the early leaders of the colony), but has generally been known as Semenovka after the river that flowed near the colony.

Today, what remains of the the former colony is still known as Semenovka (pronounced Semyanovka).

Church: 

Semenovka was the residence of the local Catholic priest who also served neighboring colonies. 

A new wooden church built in the Kontor style was constructed in 1855 in Semenovka and dedicated in 1856. After the deportation of the Volga Germans in 1941, the church was dismantled by Nazi prisoners of war at the end of the war, and the materials used in the rebuilding of Stalingrad (now called Volgograd).

Pastors & Priests: 

The parish of Semenovka was served by the following priests:

Johannes Meier (1803-1807)
Ignatius Zacharewitsch (1807-1820)
Antony Ludwist (1821-1825)
Vincent Snarsky (1825-1837)
Romuald Kotwitsch (1827-?)
Joseph Tulzewitsch (1837-1840)
Anton Ivanov (1840-1842)
Viktoryn Eschnutowitsch (1842-?)
Georg Dechand (1873-1887)
Georg Rießling (1877)
Joseph Baumtrog (1897-1915)
Andreas Schönberger (1917-1928)
Martin Fix (1928-1930)

Immigration: 
Population: 
Year
Households
Population
Total
Male
Female
1767
43
144
76
68
1769
40
185
96
89
1773
49
232
110
122
1788
50
308
145
163
1798
64
407
202
205
1816
110
765
389
376
1834
171
1,444
756
688
1850
217
2,398
1,251
1,147
1857
239
2,926
1,515
1,411
1860
240
2,984
1,563
1,421
1886
419
3,349
1,720
1,629
1891
370
4,362
2,233
2,129
1894
386
4,581
2,345
2,236
1897
 
3,433*
1,727
1,706
1905
 
5,743
 
 
1910
 
6,002
 
 
1911
 
6,292
 
 
1912
 
6,407
 
 
1920
759**
4,862
 
 
1922
 
3,276
 
 
1923
 
3,428
 
 
1926***
771
4,120
1,996
2,124
1931
 
4,726
 
 

*Of whom 3,428 are German.
**Of which 758 households are German.
***Of whom 4,114 are German (766 households: 1,991 male & 2,123 female).

Sources: 

- 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): 353.
- Diesendorf, V.F. Die Deutschen Russlands : Siedlungen und Siedlungsgebiete : Lexicon. Moscow, 2006.
- Erbes, Johannes. Deutsche Volkszeitung (23 August 1906).
- Klaus, A.A. Our Colonies (Saint Petersbug, Russia, 1869).
- Mink, A.N. Historical and Geographical Dictionary of the Saratov Province. (Saratov, Russia, 1898): 931-934.
- 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): 623.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 4 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2008): 11, 177-189.
- Preliminary Totals of the All-Union Population Census of 1926 for the Volga German ASSR (Pokrovsk, Russia, 1927): 28-83.
- "Settlements in the 1897 Census." Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (Winter, 1990): 19.

Map showing Semenovka (1935).

Semenovka Catholic Church built in 1855.
Source: Heimatbuch der Deutschen aus Rußland, 1972.

Volga German celebration in Semenovka.
Source: unknown.

Semenovka Cemetery (1992).
Source: Ted Gerk.

House in Semenovka (1992).
Source: Ted Gerk.

Latitude: 50.437200
Longitude: 8.883858
Latitude: 50.143333
Longitude: 9.113889
Latitude: 50.437078
Longitude: 9.838323
Latitude: 50.158950
Longitude: 9.326972
Latitude: 50.158950
Longitude: 9.326972
Latitude: 48.891944
Longitude: 11.183889
Latitude: 49.700534
Longitude: 5.965941
Latitude: 50.600278
Longitude: 9.640833
Latitude: 49.990178
Longitude: 9.584422
Latitude: 49.879044
Longitude: 9.845650
Latitude: 50.864722
Longitude: 13.855556
Latitude: 50.476944
Longitude: 9.758056
Latitude: 51.295000
Longitude: 10.607222
Latitude: 50.203056
Longitude: 8.976111
Latitude: 50.383333
Longitude: 6.933333
Latitude: 49.496900
Longitude: 5.980600
Latitude: 50.291695
Longitude: 9.829785
Latitude: 50.103736
Longitude: 9.104747
Latitude: 50.103736
Longitude: 9.104747
Latitude: 51.006667
Longitude: 9.536660
Latitude: 50.247964
Longitude: 10.230340
Latitude: 47.856667
Longitude: 13.351667
Latitude: 48.916667
Longitude: 11.866667
Latitude: 49.678591
Longitude: 9.003859
Latitude: 49.872777
Longitude: 10.567708
Latitude: 54.366667
Longitude: 18.633333
Latitude: 50.116667
Longitude: 9.900000
Latitude: 49.695157
Longitude: 8.648682
Latitude: 50.539722
Longitude: 9.493889
Latitude: 50.516667
Longitude: 9.483333
Latitude: 50.391389
Longitude: 8.191944
Latitude: 50.106389
Longitude: 8.913611
Latitude: 50.024042
Longitude: 7.149089
Latitude: 50.061853
Longitude: 9.656980
Latitude: 50.061853
Longitude: 9.656980
Latitude: 50.061853
Longitude: 9.656980
Latitude: 49.459444
Longitude: 8.168056
Latitude: 48.580000
Longitude: 7.750000
Latitude: 49.966660
Longitude: 9.150000
Latitude: 49.966660
Longitude: 9.150000
Latitude: 49.966660
Longitude: 9.150000
Latitude: 49.966660
Longitude: 9.150000
Latitude: 50.054638
Longitude: 8.933961
Latitude: 50.515833
Longitude: 9.679444
Latitude: 50.494691
Longitude: 9.698283
Latitude: 50.303889
Longitude: 9.298333
Latitude: 50.275000
Longitude: 9.371944
Latitude: 50.043701
Longitude: 8.971134
Latitude: 50.043701
Longitude: 8.971134
Latitude: 50.225916
Longitude: 9.348606
Latitude: 50.903333
Longitude: 7.509167
Latitude: 49.845996
Longitude: 8.791401
Latitude: 50.329465
Longitude: 8.771290
Latitude: 49.817033
Longitude: 8.645979
Latitude: 50.044870
Longitude: 9.999474
Latitude: 49.655556
Longitude: 7.680000

Immigration Locations