Village of BRUNNENTAL, SAMARA, VOLGA, RUSSIA

The Village of Brunnental, Russia (called Kriwojar in Russian) located on the east side of the Volga River, was first founded in 1855 by villagers from the mother colonies of Frank, Kolb, Walter, and Norka. These villagers needed more land, so they headed for the East side of the Volga River (Samara region) in search of a site for a new village. They found such a sight where the landscape formed the perfect setting for their new village, a natural valley with an abundant water supply. That is where Brunnental got its name meaning -- "well-valley".

The Samara region, more commonly called the Wiesenseite (valley or meadow side), was a well-watered rolling steppeland reaching from the Volga River to the Ural Mountains and south to Tsaritsyn (Volgograd). The Saratov side, the Bergseite (hilly side) reflected a terrain of hills and level areas. Both regions were well suited to agriculture.

For more information about the village of BRUNNENTAL check out the following areas:

The listserv is a great way to keep in touch with everyone who is researching their families in Brunnental. When you send a message, it goes to the entire group of people who are subscribed. There is also an archive of all the emails which have been sent, so you can see what everyone is doing. Check it out!!!

	BRUNNENTAL LISTSERV

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We also now have a FACEBOOK Group for Brunnental, so visit our FACEBOOK GROUP PAGE. You will enjoy chatting with other researchers.

Check out our new section showing WWI DRAFT REGISTRATIONS (1917-1918)!

Check out our new section showing Artifacts From Brunnental!

Passenger Lists of Brunnentalers!

14 Issues of the Brunnental Village Newsletter -- Live, On The Internet

Village History

There are recent photos from David Karber on in June 2005 trip to Brunnental.

There are also photos from Steve Schreiber's visit to Brunnental in 2001.

Surnames and Family Histories

Information about the St. Paul's Evangelical & Reformed Church in Portland, Oregon where both Rev. Jacob Hergert and Rev. Elias Hergert preached

A Picture of a school class in 1935/36 taken in Brunnental with identification of persons. NOTE, NEW NAMES HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED!!!

And a listing of SURNAMES for those coming from the village of Brunnental.

And a GEDLIST files for over 17,000 descendants of Brunnental by surname.

And a photo of the 1934 First Grade Class in Brunnental with a few children identified. (photo courtesy of Anna Spieker).

And a photo taken in 1938 of the Motor-Traktor station (MTC) in Brunnental, and The MTC was also responsible for the other villages. (courtesy of Albert Sartorius), with identification.

And a photo taken in 1940 of the Motor-Traktor station (MTC) in Brunnental (courtesy of Albert Sartorius)

Maps

And other related maps showing the mills and bridges in Brunnental

Check out our new section showing EWZ Indexes of persons who applied for German citizenship during the 1939-1945 time period

These collections on the films are arranged by country or region, with individual's files in alphabetical order by family name. Only a portion of these films are indexed at this time. Much of the collection is for researchers with Black Sea, Krim, Kaukasus roots, but we have also found some Volga German, and some from Brunnental.

In these files the following types of documents are found:

1) Personal family histories [Personalblatt]

2) Application for naturalization [Einbuergerungsantrag]

3) Often photos [Hitlerjungend]

4) Names, birth dates and places, residence in Russia, and stamped with date of issue [ Volkstumsausweis Certificat]

5) Life story [Lebenslauf]

Locating Relatives

Contacts can also be made through Newspapers in Germany and Russia.

Relatives can also be found through Organizations in the US and South America.

Unidentified Photos?

Repression Lists of Those From Brunnental - those who were politically persecutied.

Many thanks to Steve Schreiber for his help in procuring these records, and the translation.