NORKA
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Traditions > Clothing

Clothing

Volga German Clothing
Volga German costume in the mid-1800s. Drawing from the 2005 Volga German calendar.
Males wore a plain loose shirt belted at the waist and worn over a pair of trousers. The shirt was customarily worn untucked. Most men wore a billed cap, which was replaced by a fur cap (often with ear flaps) in the winter. Calf high felt boots were also worn in the winter, but during the summer either leather boots were worn or the men would go barefoot. 

Women typically wore a black or brown scarf and a loose-fitting smock, which might also have a sleeveless jumper (sarafan) worn over it.

Most colonists had a set of Sunday clothes that were only worn to church or on other special occasions.
Picture
Norkan Georg Schmer wearing a Russia style hat, a "dulup" (Russian style sheepskin coat) and "fellstiefel" (felt boots) about 1912. Source: AHSGR Journal, Summer 1985.
Picture
Drawing of Volga German colonists in 1909 by Jakob Weber
Volga German colonist
Postcard of a Volga German colonist near Saratov.
Volga German women buying cloth.
1930 photograph of Volga German women buying cloth. Source: "Süddeutsche Zeitung".

Sources

Arndt, Elena A. Nacional'nyj Kostjum Nemcev Povolž'ja (konec XVIII - Načalo XX Vv.) ; Posobie S Metodičeskimi Rekomendaciajmi. Perm': Izdat.-Poligrafičeskij Kompleks Zvezda, 2000. Print.
Cover of the book about Volga German clothing by Elena Arndt.
Cover of the book about Volga German clothing by Elena Arndt.
Long, James. From Privileged to Dispossessed. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska, 1988. 264. Print.

Lonsinger, August, and Marion Hanke. 
Sachliche Volkskunde Der Wolgadeutschen. Remshalden: Bernhard Albert Greiner, 2004. Print.
Last updated January 18, 2019.
Copyright © 2002-2021 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About
    • Contact
  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists >
      • Marriages Prior To Emigration
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Prayers
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johannes Baptista Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Bibliography
    • Glossary
    • Family Research >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Census Lists
      • Russian Archives
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
    • Research Links