Bauer was founded on 20 July 1766 by colonists who had been recruited by Baron de Boffe from the German regions of Hamburg, Darmstadt, Swabia, Saxony, and Leiningen. By edict dated 26 February 1768, the colony received its official Russian name of Karamyshevka. According to Christian August Tornow, the colony was called Eidenmüller during the first couple of years after it was founded.
Today, what remains of the former colony of Bauer is known by the name of Karamyshevka.
The original colonists of Bauer were Lutheran. The colonist were at first part of the parish headquartered in the neighboring colony of Dietel. In 1804, the congregation was transferred to the parish headquartered in Grimm.
During the early years, the colonists worshiped in their homes. A wooden church was constructed in Bauer in 1807. It was replaced by a new church constructed of wood in 1873 which was intended to accommodate 800 worshipers. A wooden bell tower was built next to the church. The church was officially closed on 9 May 1938 by decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the Volga German ASSR. The building was then used as a community center. It no longer stands.
Immigrated to the following locations
|
Year
|
Households
|
Population
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
||
|
1767 |
55
|
176
|
|
|
|
1769 |
53
|
196
|
107
|
89
|
|
1773 |
54
|
231
|
124
|
107
|
|
1788 |
55
|
331
|
167
|
164
|
|
1798 |
65
|
385
|
205
|
180
|
|
1816 |
85
|
696
|
354
|
342
|
|
1834 |
147
|
1,272
|
636
|
636
|
|
1850 |
153
|
1,854
|
933
|
941
|
|
1857 |
208
|
2,196
|
1,095
|
1,101
|
|
1860 |
112?
|
2,284
|
1,138
|
1,146
|
|
1886 |
314
|
2,617
|
1,303
|
1,314
|
|
1891 |
318
|
|
|
|
|
1894 |
321
|
3,437
|
1,687
|
1,750
|
|
1897 |
|
2,821*
|
1,381
|
1,440
|
|
1905 |
|
4,303
|
|
|
|
1911 |
|
4,751
|
|
|
|
1912 |
|
4,596
|
|
|
|
1920 |
608**
|
3,718
|
|
|
|
1922 |
|
3,238
|
|
|
|
1923 |
|
2,882
|
|
|
|
1926*** |
573
|
3,321
|
1,584
|
1,737
|
|
1931 |
|
4,061
|
|
|
*Of whom 2,790 were German.
**Of which 603 households were German.
***Of whom 3,315 were German (569 households: 1,578 male & 1,737 female).
Bauer (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.
- Erbes, Johannes. Deutsche Volkszeitung (23 August 1906).
- Mink, A.N. Historical and Geographical Dictionary of the Saratov Province [in Russian] (Saratov, Russia, 1898): 470-472.
- 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): 115-130.
- 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): 18.
- 1767 Bauer Census
- 1798 Bauer Census
- 1834 Bauer Census
- 1834-1845 Bauer Communion Register
- 1846-1860 Bauer Communion Register
- 1857 Bauer Census
- 1861-1875 Bauer Communion Register
50.92, 45.398333
Migrated From
Immigration Locations
Map showing Bauer (1935).
Bauer street scene. The church can be seen in the distance on the left side of the street.