The Bergthal Colony is a former

Russian Mennonite The Russian Mennonites ( it. "Russia Mennonites", i.e., Mennonites of or from the Russian Empire are a group of Mennonites who are the descendants of Dutch and North German Anabaptists who settled in the Vistula delta in West Prussia for about ...

settlement in what is now

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. The colony consisted of five villages - Schoenfeld, Heuboden, Bergthal, Schoenthal, and Friedrichsthal - which were settled during the years 1836 to 1852 by 149 landless families from the

Chortitza Colony 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 t ...

. The settlement was located on the Bodni, a small tributary of the Berda River about 200 km southeast of

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of ...

. During the 1870s, their leader, Bishop Gerhard Wiebe, persuaded the entire colony, consisting of about 500 families, to emigrate to

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The most conservative factions of the Bergthal Colony later established new colonies in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

, and

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

, while the remainder spread out through

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

and the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

.Mennonite Heritage Archive website
/ref> Some descendants of the colony, particularly those in Mexico, continue to be known as Bergthaler, but most have dropped the Bergthaler identity. The current names of the five villages are: Ksenivka, Serhiivka, Respublica, Novoromanivka, and Fedorivka. The central village of Respublica is located a
47.251528 N, 37.198849 E

References

* Schroeder, William. ''The Bergthal Colony.'' 2nd ed. Winnipeg: CMBS, 1986.
Table 1. Compilation of Mennonite Villages in Russia, Prepared by Tim Janzen

See also

References

See also