Zürich was founded on 1 August 1767 by Baron Caneau de Beauregard along the banks of the Malenkiy Karaman (Little Karaman) River.
Because of poor soil conditions in the area, the colony was moved to its present location in 1770 along the banks of the Volga River.
Zürich was also known by the name Eckhardt, after Johann Paul Eckhardt, the first leader of the colony.
In 1915, as part of the anti-Germanization program, Zürich was renamed Zorkino, and today, what remains of the former colony of Zürich is known as Zorkino.
The Lutheran congregation in Zürich was part of the Bettinger parish.
In 1877, a new church was built of brick in Zürich. It was called Church of Jesus Lutheran parish.
During the Soviet era, the structure was used for grain storage. It fell into disrepair and was rebuilt in 1990 as a community center. A fire destroyed the interior in 1997.
The church building has been reconstructed using the original blue prints from 1877. It was rededicated as a Lutheran church on 3 October 2015.
|
Year
|
Households
|
Population
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Total
|
Male
|
Female
|
||
| 1769 |
42
|
146
|
77
|
69
|
| 1773 |
56
|
193
|
104
|
89
|
| 1788 |
49
|
256
|
125
|
131
|
| 1798 |
53
|
326
|
172
|
154
|
| 1816 |
84
|
550
|
275
|
275
|
| 1834 |
132
|
966
|
480
|
486
|
| 1850 |
176
|
1,321
|
646
|
675
|
| 1857 |
181
|
1,589
|
793
|
796
|
| 1859 |
162
|
1,485
|
780
|
705
|
| 1889 |
|
2,006
|
|
|
| 1897 |
|
2,639*
|
1,316
|
1,323
|
| 1905 |
|
4,610
|
|
|
| 1910 |
615
|
5,109
|
2,686
|
2,423
|
| 1912 |
|
5,254
|
|
|
| 1920 |
459**
|
3,093
|
|
|
| 1922 |
|
2,671
|
|
|
| 1923 |
|
2,559
|
|
|
| 1926*** |
531
|
2,292
|
1,184
|
1,108
|
| 1931 |
|
3,198****
|
|
|
*Of whom 2,612 were German.
**Of which 456 households were German.
***Of whom 2,279 (1,172 male & 1,107 female) were German living in 523 households.
****Of whom 3,191 were German.
- Zürich (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): 349.
- 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.
- Klaus, A.A. Our Colonies (Saint Petersburg, Russia, 1869): 52-53.
- List of Populated Places of the Russian Empire, v.36 - Samara Province (St. Petersburg, 1864): 82.
- List of the Populated Places of the Samara Province (Samara, Russia, 1910): 251.
- 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): 614.
- Pleve, Igor R. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001.
- Preliminary Totals of the All-Union Population Census of 1926 of the ASSR of the Germans of Volga Region (Pokrovsk, Russia, 1927): 28-83.
- Reith, Andreas. Bettinger Lutheran Church, 2009 (online - in Russian).
- Reith, Andreas. История поволжской Родины моих предков Райт материнской колонии Цюрих (online - in Russian).
- "Restored Church in Zorkino Re-dedicated" (News from Lutheran Churches in the Former Soviet Union blog - 7 February 2016) [Online].
- "Settlements in the 1897 Census." Journal of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (Winter, 1990): 17.
- Stumpp, Karl. The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862 (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1973): 77.
51.898, 47.175333
Migrated From
Immigration Locations
Map redrawn from one that was created in 1764. It shows the original location planned for the colony of Zürich (No. 59) on the banks of the Malenkiy Karaman River (Little Karaman River).
Source: Andreas Reith.
Map showing Zürich in the center (1935).
Zürich Lutheran Church of Jesus.
Built in 1877.
Source: Heimatbuch, 1972.
Plans for the Lutheran Church of Jesus in Zürich.
Source: wolgadeutsche.net.
Map of Zürich.
Source: wolgadeutsche.net.
Zürich Lutheran Church of Jesus (following 1990 restoration).
Zürich Lutheran Church (following 1997 fire) - side view (2008).
Source: Alexander Perebinos.
Zürich Lutheran Church (following 1997 fire) - rear view (2008).
Source: Alexander Perebinos.
Zürich Lutheran Church - under reconstruction (2013).
Source: wolgadeutsche.net
Reconstructed Lutheran Church of Jesus in the former colony of Zürich.
Source: Bayerisches Kulturzentrum der Deutschen aus Russland.
Interior of the reconstructed Lutheran church in Zürich (2015).
Interior of the reconstructed Lutheran church in Zürich (2015).
Panarama of Zürich looking toward the west.
Source: wolgadeutsche.net