Hays, Great Bend host 250th anniversary celebrations of Volga German colonies in Russia

volga germans 1 — Dr. Brent Mai talks about the history of Volga Germans in Russia during a seminar in Hays Saturday. (Hays photos courtesy Kevin Rupp)

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In 1766, there were nine Roman Catholic colonies founded along the Volga River in Russia: Degott (July 18), Graf (June 10), Herzog (July 14), Katharinenstadt (June 27), Louis (June 14), Mariental (June 16), Rohleder (June 14), Schuck (July 18), and Volmer (July 18).

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of their founding, the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University in Portland, Oregon, hosted a seminar series and authentic Volga German lunch in Hays Saturday, June 4, at the Rose Garden Banquet Hall.

According to Hays resident Kevin Rupp of the Sunflower Chapter of the American Historical Society of Germans From Russia, 91 people attended the event. Seven sessions were conducted by Dr. Brent Mai, director of the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University.

Mai’s discussions were basic introduction of the Volga Germans, Geography, 250th Anniversary of the villages of Graf, Herzog, Louis, Rohleder, Degott and Volmer, Volga Germans in South America, a day-in-the-life of the Volga German, the deportations in 1941 to Siberia and Volga Germans today. Each session ran about 45 minutes. At noon a traditional Volga German meal was served.

Wedding procession in Bauer (Photo courtesy The Center for Volga German Studies) — Wedding procession in Bauer (Photo courtesy Center for Volga German Studies)

Great Bend will be host to another 250th anniversary celebration Saturday, Sept. 17. The event will highlight the founding of the Volga German colonies of Moor, Bauer and Merkel. According to Mai, many descendants of families from these three colonies settled on the Kansas prairie in Barton and surrounding counties.

The public is invited to attend.

The Concordia University Connection
Concordia University was founded in 1905 in Northeast Portland by German pioneers to the Pacific Northwest. About that same time, Volga German immigrants to Portland began settling the nearby neighborhood called Albina and a thriving community developed. These Volga Germans and their descendants are now scattered throughout the Portland metropolitan area.

Concordia University – Portland has a special affinity with the Volga German community. Its campus in Northeast Portland is in the neighborhood where Portland’s Volga German settlement began in 1882 which eventually grew to over 500 families.