Chortitza Colony was a volost, a subdivision of Yekaterinoslav uezd within Yekaterinoslav Governorate in the Russian Empire, now in Ukraine. During the reign of Catherine the Great, the area was annexed by Russia after the liquidation of the Zaporozhian Sich. It was granted to Plautdietsch-speaking settlers (better known as Russian Mennonites) for colonization northwest of Khortytsia Island. The territory of the former colony is now split between the city of Zaporizhzhia and its adjacent Zaporizhzhia Raion, within Zaporizhia it is part of Voznesenskyi and Khortytskyi districts.
Chortitza was founded in 1789 by Mennonite settlers of Dutch ancestry from the Vistula delta and consisted of many villages. It was the first of many Mennonite settlements in the Russian Empire. Because the Mennonites living in these villages emigrated or were evacuated or deported at the end of World War II, or emigrated after the collapse of the Soviet Union, few Mennonites are living in the area today.
After establishment of the Soviet Union, the colony was converted into Khortytsia Raion, a predecessor of Zaporizhzhia Raion. In 1929–30 as part of the Soviet policy of korenizatsia, it was converted into a national district promoting development of the German language culture.
Background Vistula delta Mennonites, mostly of Dutch descent, had lived in the Vistula delta in the Kingdom of Poland from the middle of 16th century. Because of their fast growing population, finding more arable land was a concern. When the region became part of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1772 through the First Partition of Poland, the Prussian Government enacted a law making it difficult for Mennonites to acquire land. This compelled a significant part of the Mennonite population to seek better opportunities in nearby cities, Danzig in particular.
Believing agriculture to be the backbone of the Russian economy, in 1763 Catherine II of Russia issued a Manifesto inviting EuropeansHuman Capital by Roger Bartlett to farm Russia's unoccupied agricultural lands. Though land opportunities were scattered throughout Russia, the largest tracts available were along the banks and watershed of the Volga River south of Saratov. Colonization by non-Russians in that area also served as a buffer zone against invading Mongol hordes to the east. Colonization attempts were intensified in 1774 after the Russo-Turkish War when Potemkin was appointed governor general of South Russia which included territory recently won from the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Colonization agents advertised the availability of crown lands to people throughout Europe. One of these was Georg von Trappe, who visited the Mennonites of Danzig in 1786. The Mennonite congregations elected two delegates, Jakob Höppner and Johann Bartsch, who von Trappe arranged to send to Russia at government expense. They departed in the fall of 1786, sailing first to Riga, then traveling cross country, arriving at the Dnieper in late November. From here they sailed down the river looking for a suitable site. They met Potemkin at Kremenchuk and were presented to Catherine in May, as she was inspecting her new territories. They found a suitable settlement location, then returned home by way of Saint Petersburg, where they met with Crown Prince Paul, who confirmed the promises made by von Trappe.Smith, p. 251
The special privileges included guarantees of religious freedom, exemption from military service, 70 ha (175 acres) of free land for each family, exemption from swearing oaths in legal proceedings, ability to establish their own schools and teach in their own language, the right to restrict the establishment of taverns and the ability to make their own beverages. These rights and privileges were beyond those enjoyed by common Russian peasants. There were restrictions that applied to all colonists, such as a restrictions against proselytizing among Russian Orthodox Church members and revocation of privileges for anyone leaving or marrying outside of the colony. Land could be inherited, so long as it remained part of the settlement. A farm could not be subdivided among heirs in order to keep intact and not to degrade the model farming practices that were the intention of the government.Smith, p. 257.
Upon their return, Höppner and Bartsch found that four families had already departed for Riga and hundreds more were eager to immigrate. The West Prussian authorities, though restricting the expansion of Mennonite settlements locally, did not want the wealth of the Mennonites to leave the country. Only the poorest families were granted passports.
Settlement
Mennonite settlers, 228 families in all, set out for Russia in the winter of 1787, arriving in Dubrovna (today in Belarus) in fall of 1788, where they over-wintered.Smith, p. 252. Early in 1789 they traveled down the Dnieper River to the settlement site, on the banks of the Dnieper, near present-day Kherson. Their original destination was now a battlefield because of renewed Russo-Turkish hostilities, necessitating an alternate location. They received land at a new site on Khortytsia, a small tributary of the Dnieper, near Alexandrovsk (present-day Zaporizhzhia).
The pioneering years were extremely difficult. The more prosperous Mennonites brought their possessions by wagon, while the others sent them by barge. When the barges arrived they found that the containers had been ransacked and valuables removed or ruined by rain. Similarly, building material sent down-river was stolen before it arrived. Many of the settlers were city laborers and tradesmen with no knowledge of farming, and the farmers among them found the dry steppes unsuitable to their former farming methods.
Internal friction among the settlers, rooted in a long-standing division separating Frisian and Flemish branches of the church who lived in different ways, was compounded by the lack of ministerial leadership. Church leaders are traditionally selected from among the lay brothers of the congregation and were expected to serve for life as unpaid pastors. Because pastors were expected to support themselves, they were usually chosen from among those who had a business or farm sufficient for support. Because only the poorest Mennonites had been allowed to leave Prussia, there were no ministers among the settlers.
Initially families built temporary shelters such as sod dugouts and tents while a few tried to live in their wagons. Höppner and Bartsch were able to build substantial homes. Land was divided among the families and each lived on their own land. In response to the lawlessness of the region, they found that it was more practical to group themselves together in villages of fifteen to thirty families.
As their difficulties mounted, the settlers accused Höppner and Bartsch of keeping government money intended for colony use. Both men were excommunicated from the Flemish church and the authorities were convinced to arrest Höppner. Bartsch confessed his wrongdoing and was reinstated into his congregation. Höppner was soon released from prison, moved to Alexandrovsk and joined the Frisian group. In 1889 a monument commemorating the colony's centennial was placed on Höppner's grave. It has since been moved to Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach, Manitoba.
Initially eight villages were organized with Khortytsia as the governmental center. They included Khortytsia (), Einlage (), Insel Khortytsia (Ostriv Khortytsia), Kronsweide (), Neuenburg (), Neuendorf (), Rosental (Kantserivka), and Schönhorst (). Another 180 families arrived in 1797–1798 to found Kronsgarten (Polovitsa) and Schönwiese (Shenvitse). The latter was the sole village established on the east bank of the Dnieper. Nieder Chortitza () and Burwalde (Baburka) were founded in 1803, Kronstal (Dolynske) in 1809, Osterwick () in 1812, Schöneberg () in 1816, and Blumengart (Kapustiane) and Rosengart (Novoslobidka) in 1824.
When the next wave of Mennonite settlers came to Russia In 1803, they over-wintered in Chortitza Colony before moving on to form the Molotschna settlement. The money spent by the new group during their stay in turn helped the Khortytsia settlement.
List of the Chortitza volost settlements Chortitza (today Verkhnia Khortytsia ( Upper Khortytsia), over Khortytsia river, 977 people, 102 homesteads. Neuendorf (today Shyroke (), over Tomakivka river, 1,080 people, 115 homesteads. Einlage (today Kichkas ()), over Dnieper, 940 people, 99 homesteads. Kronsweide (today Volodymyrivske ()), over Hadiacha river, 864 people, 54 homesteads. Osterwick (today Dolynske (), over Serednia Khortytsia river, 855 people, 121 homesteads. Rosental (today Kantserivka (), over Khortytsia river, 796 people, 81 homesteads. Nieder-Chortitza (today Nyzhnia Khortytsia ( Lower Khortytsia), over Dnieper, 784 people, 107 homesteads. Burwalde (today Baburka ), over Serednia Khortytsia river, 489 people, 63 homesteads. Insel Chortitza (today Khortytsia neighborhood/island (Voznesenivskyi District) ()), river island surrounded by Dnieper, 452 people, 23 homesteads. Neuenberg (today Malyshivka ()), over Malysheva river, 423 people, 38 homesteads. Schöneberg (today Smoliane (), over Nyzhnia Khortytsia river, 405 people, 56 homesteads. Kronstal (today eastern part of Dolynske (Osterwick)), over Serednia Khortytsia river, 376 people, 60 homesteads. Rosenhart (today Novoslobidka ()), over Serednia Khortytsia river, 256 people, 47 homesteads. Neuhorst (today Zelenyi Hai ( Green Grove)), over Ternuvata river (left tributary of Tomakivka), 180 people, 21 homesteads. Blumenhart (today abandoned village of Kapustiane ()), over Nyzhnia Khortytsia river, 172 people, 42 homesteads. Kronsweide (today Velykyi Luh ( Great Meadow), part of Zaporizhzhia) over Dnieper, 144 people, 9 homesteads. Schönhorst (today Ruchayivka )), over Tomakivka river, 105 people, 93 homesteads.
Local government Mennonite colonies were self-governing with little intervention from the Russian authorities. The village, the basic unit of government, was headed by an elected magistrate who oversaw village affairs. Each village controlled its own school, roads and cared for the poor. Male landowners decided local matters at village assemblies.
All of the Chortitza villages formed a district headed by a superintendent and regional bureau that could administer corporal punishment and handle other matters affecting the villages in common. Insurance and fire protection were handled at the regional level, as well as dealing with delinquents and other social problems. Chortitza, along with the other Mennonite settlements, functioned as a democratic state, enjoying freedoms beyond those of ordinary Russian peasants.Smith, p. 268.
Education At a time when compulsory education was unknown in Europe, the Mennonite colonies formed an elementary school in each village. Students learned practical skills such as reading and writing German and arithmetic. Religion was included as was singing in many schools. The teacher was typically a craftsperson or herder, untrained in teaching, who fit class time around his occupation. The curriculum evolved as professional teachers gradually took their place. By the late Nineteenth Century the six grades included classes in religion, German, Russian, arithmetic, geography, history, and natural science, with difficulty appropriate to the grade.