When the Volga German colonies were founded, Engels was known as Pokrovsk. It was a commercial center located on the left bank of the Volga River across from Saratov.
Pokrovsk was founded in 1747 by ethnic Ukranians, and it is referred to as the Pokrovsk Ukranian Quarter in the 1798 Census of the Volga German colonies.
Over the years, Pokrovsk became the center of much of the German culture on the Volga and was known by the German name of Kasakenstadt. It had a population of 22,000 in 1897.
In 1924, Pokrovsk became the capital of the Volga German Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and in 1931 was renamed in honor of Friedrich Engels. It is still called Engels today.
In 1965, a bridge was constructed across the Volga River to connect Engels to Saratov.
Population:
|
Year
|
Population
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Total / German
|
|||
|
1889
|
20,426 / 625
|
||
|
1897
|
21,599 / ??
|
||
|
1904
|
27,500 / 4,125
|
||
|
1910
|
29,600 / 3,316
|
||
|
1913
|
33,867 / 3,892
|
||
|
1923
|
30,025 / 3,256
|
||
|
1926
|
34,345 / 4,133
|
||
|
1935
|
57,078 / ??
|
||
|
1941
|
73,200 / 13,458
|
||
- Diesendorf, V.F. Die Deutschen Russlands : Siedlungen und Siedlungsgebiete : Lexicon. Moscow, 2006.
- The German Settlements in the USSR before 1941 [in Russian]. Moscow, 2002.
- Engels (city) (Wikipedia)
Map showing Engels (1935).
Pokrovsk sawmills in 1928.
Photo courtesy of the Deutsches Bundesarchiv.
Bridge over the Volga River between Saratov and Engels.
Photo courtesy of Jens Althoff.
Rendering of the Lutheran Church in Pokrovsk.
Source: Jorge Bohn.
German Archives Building in Pokrovsk (1928).
Source: oldsaratov.ru