Rohrbach, located four miles southeast of Worms, was founded in 1809 as was Worms.
With complete confidence in the privileges promised by His Majesty, Alexander I of Russia, the German emigrants left their fatherland forever and came here with all they possessed, hoping to find permanent happiness for themselves and their descendants. The settlers of the colony of Rohrbach came to this uninhabited steppeland to come under the jurisdiction and patronage of His Excellency the Governor, Duke of Richelieu. In the fall of 1809, 25 families arrived, and in 1810, 68 families arrived. On their arrival they received their status as colonists, founded the colony and proceeded to build houses for themselves.
The colony is located on the almost level steppe on the east side of the Zerigul Valley, 20 versts1 (13 miles) southwest of the Teligul, 10 miles north of the Tschitschekle and 26 miles west of the Bug River. It is about 86 miles from Cherson, the capital city of the government, and 66 miles from Odessa, the administrative center of the district. To Landau, the administrative center of the area, it is 13 miles.
Opposite the main village, on the southwest eminence of the valley, lies Halbdorf (or Bergdorf) with its beautiful houses built ten years ago (1838X, now numbering some 36 houses. From Halbdorf, the entire colony of Rohrbach can be viewed.
All along the rear of the village of Rohrbach, above the threshing place, are located the vineyards, enclosed by stone walls. The village lies in a north-south direction, bending slightly to the southwest at its center, following the valley. The so-called valley of the Zerigul, which has no riverbed, has its source a little over a mile above the colony on the outskirts of Worms, which is located about four miles from here. The mouth of the Zerigul is at Ribowa on the Tilgul estuary, 17 miles from here. The wells of Rohrbach provide plenty of water with here and there excellent drinking waters. Despite the many dry years, the community has always been spared from a real shortage of water.
Viewed from the heights, the colony with its beautiful vegetable gardens and orchards of apple, pear, prune, plum, cherry, and apricot trees together with beautiful poplar, aspen, willow and acacia (locust} trees, in all some 4-5,000 trees, presents a wonderful sight. The accumulated earth in the valley from the dam always assures the industrious gardner a rich growth of vegetables. Less attractive, however, are the manure piles above the valley, in many places 15 to 18 feet high.
Our generally level steppe is well located, the surface throughout having from one to two feet of fertile soil mixed with some sand. Here and there, however, in the southern part, there are patches of saltpeter, which are productive only when rain is plentiful. When the weather is favorable, not only does the grass grow abundantly, but also all plants quickly grow to an unusual height. Since, however, it often doesn't rain for eight to ten weeks, the soil then becomes as dust and ashes from the heat and the dry winds, and the farmer can harvest barely enough for seed.
The subsoil is generally a chalky, red clay, hard to work, and the reason given that in our area the productive characteristics of the soil are short-lived. For this reason, the soil must invariably be refertilized. Woodlands are out of the question; even the vineyards are not of much consequence. The most of these have only 600 to 1,000 vines with the total for the entire village amounting to about 34,000.
A History and Description of the German Colony in the Ukraine, South Russia 1848
(from here http://www.grhs.org/vr/vhistory/rohrbach.htm)
With complete confidence in the privileges promised by His Majesty, Alexander I of Russia, the German emigrants left their fatherland forever and came here with all they possessed, hoping to find permanent happiness for themselves and their descendants. The settlers of the colony of Rohrbach came to this uninhabited steppeland to come under the jurisdiction and patronage of His Excellency the Governor, Duke of Richelieu. In the fall of 1809, 25 families arrived, and in 1810, 68 families arrived. On their arrival they received their status as colonists, founded the colony and proceeded to build houses for themselves.
The colony is located on the almost level steppe on the east side of the Zerigul Valley, 20 versts1 (13 miles) southwest of the Teligul, 10 miles north of the Tschitschekle and 26 miles west of the Bug River. It is about 86 miles from Cherson, the capital city of the government, and 66 miles from Odessa, the administrative center of the district. To Landau, the administrative center of the area, it is 13 miles.
Opposite the main village, on the southwest eminence of the valley, lies Halbdorf (or Bergdorf) with its beautiful houses built ten years ago (1838X, now numbering some 36 houses. From Halbdorf, the entire colony of Rohrbach can be viewed.
All along the rear of the village of Rohrbach, above the threshing place, are located the vineyards, enclosed by stone walls. The village lies in a north-south direction, bending slightly to the southwest at its center, following the valley. The so-called valley of the Zerigul, which has no riverbed, has its source a little over a mile above the colony on the outskirts of Worms, which is located about four miles from here. The mouth of the Zerigul is at Ribowa on the Tilgul estuary, 17 miles from here. The wells of Rohrbach provide plenty of water with here and there excellent drinking waters. Despite the many dry years, the community has always been spared from a real shortage of water.
Viewed from the heights, the colony with its beautiful vegetable gardens and orchards of apple, pear, prune, plum, cherry, and apricot trees together with beautiful poplar, aspen, willow and acacia (locust} trees, in all some 4-5,000 trees, presents a wonderful sight. The accumulated earth in the valley from the dam always assures the industrious gardner a rich growth of vegetables. Less attractive, however, are the manure piles above the valley, in many places 15 to 18 feet high.
Our generally level steppe is well located, the surface throughout having from one to two feet of fertile soil mixed with some sand. Here and there, however, in the southern part, there are patches of saltpeter, which are productive only when rain is plentiful. When the weather is favorable, not only does the grass grow abundantly, but also all plants quickly grow to an unusual height. Since, however, it often doesn't rain for eight to ten weeks, the soil then becomes as dust and ashes from the heat and the dry winds, and the farmer can harvest barely enough for seed.
The subsoil is generally a chalky, red clay, hard to work, and the reason given that in our area the productive characteristics of the soil are short-lived. For this reason, the soil must invariably be refertilized. Woodlands are out of the question; even the vineyards are not of much consequence. The most of these have only 600 to 1,000 vines with the total for the entire village amounting to about 34,000.
