NORKA
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History > Early Years  1767-1769

Early Years  1767-1769

Despite romanticized accounts, the colonists were not simply dropped in the middle of the Russian Steppe without any means of support. The Russian government expended nearly 6,000,000 rubles on the colonization program and they clearly wanted it to be successful.

While creating a new community and developing the land were enormously difficult tasks, the colonists were assisted by the Guardianship Office in Saratov, known as the Kontora.

After their arrival in Saratov in early August 1767, each household was provided with 25 rubles, wagons, saddles, horses, cows, timber, and other necessary items by the Kontora. The items were provided in the form of a loan to be repaid to the Russian government after ten years in three equal installments.

According to Russian archival records, it is very likely that a number of log houses known as Krone Häuser (Crown homes), had already been built by the government before the colonists arrived in Norka. The number of houses may have been inadequate to shelter all the colonists in the first winter. Passed down through the generations are stories of a difficult first winter when many people built huts made of earth or sod. These huts were partially underground for insulation and were known as Zemlyanka. After the first winter, better housing was built and the colonists were in a much better position.
Picture
During the first winter in Norka, the colonists may have lived in sod huts similar to these in Iceland. The same type of shelters are found in many countries and are similar to the sod houses or dugouts built during the early settlement of the American prairie. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
Given that the colonists that settled in Norka arrived late in the year, they were unable to plant any winter rye before the onset of cold weather. While the colony was allocated a large amount of farm land, each household plowed only about 2/3 of an acre in the fall of 1767. Combined, the 218 households prepared about 150 acres for planting in the spring of 1768.

In May 1768, the colonists were issued money to purchase furniture and domestic articles including tabes, benches, beds, buckets, barrels, iron skillets, boxes, sets of six wooden plates and spoons, etc. Many families also received additional horses and cows in 1768.

From the time of their arrival in Saratov through the first successful harvest, the colonists were provided with a per diem allowance so that they could procure their own food and necessities from other settlements. It is likely that they purchased goods from both established Russian villages and German colonies that were settled in earlier years. This financial support from the government was critical to beginning life in a new environment.

Developing the land was vital to the success of the colony. It was planned to allocate 30 desyatina of arable land to each household regardless of size (a desyatina = 2.7 acres). Fifteen desyatina would be plowed land, five desyatina for hay lands, five desyatina of forest land, and five desyatina for orchards and vegetable gardens. In actuality, colonies like Norka on the Bergseite received nearly 40 desyatina per household.

Plots set aside for individual households were for permanent use, but farmland, forest land and hay lands were communally owned under the Mir system.

The colonists were provided with seed grain for planting in the first year (primarily rye). The Kontora carefully regulated and instructed the colonists in the process of planting, weeding, harvesting, and haying in this new and unfamiliar environment. Many of the people that settled in Norka were not farmers and surely struggled to learn these new skills. Those who did not comply with the instructions from the Kontora could be fined or receive corporal punishment in the form of 20 lashes.

Droughts were common in the Volga region and there were several in the early years of settlement, the most notable in 1769. The Kontora was relied upon to provide grain for seed and also for consumption in the early years.

Contemporary reports indicated that a church and school were built in the early days of settlement. Pastor Johann Heinrich Fuchs served the community during these early years.

Count Gregory Orlov reported that by 1769, 172 residences had been built and there were 118 barns and 168 horse stables in the colony. Many of the residences were probably duplexes accommodating two households. Orlov also reports that there were 444 horses, 410 cows/calves, 40 oxen, 7 pigs, and 0 sheep.

During his expedition through central Russia, Peter Simon Pallas visited the German colonies of Norka and Huck in August 1773. He was clearly impressed with what he saw when he recorded these comments only six years after the founding of Norka:
"These colonies have since their founding produced their own grain not only for food, but for sale. They have procured for themselves all sorts of convenience and have even built their own granaries."
Norka was fortunate to be located favorably adjacent to plentiful water and fertile land, blessed with a large and homogeneous population, founded by people with a variety of skillsets, and situated in close proximity to the Kontora in Saratov which provided assistance when needed. All of these factors combined with the hard work of its people gave the colony a successful start in their new homeland.

Sources

Bauer, Reuben Alexander. One of Many. Edmonton, Alta.: 1965. 30-31. Print.

Dietz, Jacob E. History of the Volga German Colonists. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Printed by Augstums Printing Service, 2005. 67. Print.

Olson, Marie Miller., and Anna Miller. Reisbick. Norka, a German Village in Russia. Lincoln, Nebraska: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1986. 22. Print.

Pleve, I. R., and Richard R. Rye. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001. 137. Print.

Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767 Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print.
​
Pleve, Igor. Correspondence January 31, 2019.

Preisendorf, Johannes. "Auszüge aus der Chronik der Kolonie Norka an der Wolga." Der Kirchenbote. Date Unknown.
​Last updated August 6, 2020.
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
    • About
    • Reviews
    • 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
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 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
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
    • Related Links