Hierschau was a Mennonite village of the Molotschna settlement in South Russia, on the left bank of the Begim-Tchokrak, originally planned as a model village, whence its name. Plantings of fruit trees surrounded the regularly spaced farm buildings with lush green and yelded a considerable annual income. On the opposite side the gardens and the charming grove planted by the settlers were nearly destroyed in the Revolution and suffered from the drought in 1921-1922.

Hierschau was founded in 1848 by settlers from the older Molotschna villages. Area, apportionment of land, number of farms, etc., are shown in the following table:

Each full farm was given about an acre of additional land in the original plan to be used as a building site for a half farm; all of these were occupied by the sons of the owners by 1870, so that Hierschau had 30 full farms, 30 half farms, and an school plot, in addition to the original central thoroughfare, which had now also been built up, making a total of 62 farms. The school was built in 1852.

Under the rigid control of the Ohrloff Agricultural Association, the village was very symmetrically built. The houses were all made of burned tile. Besides the very productive soil, Hierschau before the Revolution also owned clay-pits which contributed to the prosperity of the village. The fate of Hierschau under the Soviets and during World War II was the common one of the Molotschna villages.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, pp. 738-739. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

©1996-2013 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.