REINWALD (Staritza – Stariskoye)

Cultural traditions in Reinwald (later settlers of the village Vylkova. Siberia)

Almost all Germans - immigrants living in the village of Vylkova before the war lived in the village of Reinwald. In this regard, further in the work we consider the cultural traditions of the village of Reinwald.

Reinwald is a German colony of the Krasnoyarsk Volost, Novouzensk District, Samara Province. By a decree of February 26, 1768 on the renaming of the German colonies, it was called   Staritsa . After the formation of the labor commune (autonomous region) of the Volga Germans, the village   Reinwald   - The administrative center of the Reinwald village council of the Tonkoshursky canton. Since 1922, after the formation of the Krasnoyarsk canton, and before the liquidation of the ASSR NP in 1941, p. Reinwald belonged to the Krasnoyarsk canton of the republic of the Volga Germans. According to the census of 1926, there were 443 households with a population of 2,316 people. (1117 men. P., 1199 women. P.), Including German population - 2307 people. (1109 men. P., 1198 women. P.), Households – 439

Manor and village.

In the Volga region large villages were built, often reminiscent of the city. Along one or several long (1-3 km) and wide (30-80 m) streets, clean houses stretched along the line. 

Already during the initial measurement of the plots in the center of the village, a large area was allocated for the future school and church.   All the yards were the same in size: 40 m wide and 120 m long, so the village plan was evenly lined and resembled a chessboard.   According to the memories    

The village was on three levels: there were streets on the hill and on the slope, and collective-farm fields near the lake. Only potatoes were planted at home, all other vegetables were on the collective farm. The streets are straight, for 2 kilometers everything is visible.

On both sides of the roadway, there were footpaths surrounded by a row of acacias. Houses were made chopped or made of stone. The buildings were well decorated and cleanly whitewashed. Whitewashing the fence, often at home, was updated annually, most often to the Trinity. The roof was covered depending on the location of the position with reeds, tin or tile. On the contrary, on the other side of the farmstead, just adjoining the street to one side, there was a summer kitchen or a house for the younger generation. Premises for livestock separated the front of the yard from the rear. Through a hole in the wall, the stables were thrown into the economic yard, where a dung heap was accumulating (but by no means to the front of the yard!).

The houses of the colonists were distinguished by their cleanliness and tidiness. Among the kitchen utensils traditional German rolling pin with   movable handles, wooden spoons and a syringe for making sausage, a form for   cheese and various waffle irons, butter churn, etc.   Furniture made themselves. Men - colonists made the same furniture in Siberia.

Church life         

Reinwald was a Lutheran village. In all families, families were very careful with religious books and traditions.

Religious life was very active among the settlers. Churches built on their own. In every medium and large village there was a prominent church with a stately bell tower, rushing up above the houses of the villagers.   In all churches there were organs that were most often manufactured in Germany.   Lutheran Church. The facades of the church are designed in the Gothic style, dating back to the German medieval basilicas.  Since all the houses were single-storeyed, the high bell tower of the church dominated the village.   

Wedding ceremony

Great attention is paid to the wedding ceremony with the national decoration of the crown (rosencranz) and bouquets (strauss ). A crown is made like this: on the basis of the wire, flowers are made of colored corrugated paper, Christmas-tree decorations, and also droplets of wax on pork   bristle. Bouquets are made in the same way. These decorations are stored after the wedding.   The bride's dress is white, just below the knee with an artificial flower on the chest. The groom in a black suit, white shirt. On the left side of the chest is a long white ribbon tied with a bow and a flower.

The funeral

In the Volga region the grave was dug on the day of death, and buried the next day. The Lutherans put a cross in their heads, and not in the legs as in the Orthodox. The grave may be enclosed with a fence. 

Who knew or could  read a prayer book accompanied the moment of burial chants from the book of church   songs ( Gesangbuch).

Everyone who was in the cemetery was invited home for lunch. Those women who stayed home had time to cook everything, to set the tables. As a rule, they cooked or Nudelsupe (mit selbst gemachten nudeln ) - chicken soup with homemade noodles, very thinly sliced, or Krautsupe is very good rich beef soup, dried fruit compote. vodka was not supposed to be on the table.
Lunch was also an integral part of the mourning ceremony. Dinner thanked everyone who   helped and supported in moments of grief.

Music.

The basis of music   culture - traditional   Folklore, formed as a result of the interaction of song and instrumental traditions of German settlements in Russia with Russian, Ukrainian and other folk   music.   Among the traditional musical instruments are bagpipes, cymbals, violin, zither, harmonium, triangle. Practically in every German family they knew how to play any instrument and sing

Education.

In every German village there was a school, teaching was conducted in German until 1891. Since that time, the Russification of public education began, the school increasingly translated into Russian.

School buildings, mostly built with community funds, testify to the aspirations of the German colonists for universal school education. The magnificent architecture of many schools spoke of the prosperity and high self-consciousness of the settlers. Illiterate among them was not. Soon there was a need for higher education institutions. These were central schools that train teachers, rural clerks, merchants.

Clothing Volga Germans

Traditional German clothing originated in the XVI-XVII centuries, but in the XIX century it was already obsolete.  

German clothing is multi-purpose, modest and dim in color. It harmoniously combines jackets and vests of traditional European cut along with purely Russian headscarves, shawls and caps. And bright children's dresses, embroidered aprons, lace caps, tiny homemade shoes - all this sharply distinguished the children’s clothes of the colonists from other Volga peoples.

“The appearance of the clothes of the German women was practically unchanged, except for bonnets and the elimination of long strips of fabric hanging from the sleeves (tippets). For German peasant women, a headscarf is characteristic, which is wrapped around the head and neck. German hostesses were famous for cleanliness among other nations. It was a good tradition to show freshly washed laundry on long ropes throughout the entire yard. Each hostess, passing by, carefully inspected the linen, assessing the degree of whiteness. The purity of the linen determined the quality of the housewife. In such a family, they gladly gave their daughters in marriage or married them. German carefully watched the clothes of her family. Timely and very carefully darted socks (checkered pattern). The hostess could not allow the buttons torn off, unclean linen, any carelessness, both in clothes and in relation to the order in the house. Clean and tidy, characteristic features of German women.

The Germans did not approve of marrying Russian and Ukrainian girls. As a rule, a German mother would say to her son: “You will walk in torn socks on heels and patched trousers on your knees .” 

The hair of the Germans were always carefully removed and combed.

National cuisine.  

Cooking is an integral part of the culture of every nation. It reflects his living conditions, history, national character. Without it, it is impossible to understand the culture of a people or an era. After all, we are what we eat. Since ancient times, the meal has occupied an extremely important place in people's lives. Even on weekdays, it was a ritual sanctified by tradition: the whole family gathered , the prayer marked its beginning and end. As for the festive meal, cooking was not a game of fantasy of the hostess, but following the rules passed down from generation to generation. Russian German cuisine is a mirror  of their stories. Along with national traditions and songs, culinary secrets of the ancestral homeland were passed from mother to daughter . 

Revelkuhe (Riwwelkuchen ) - pie with streysel or with viburnum

Galushki with the nightshade (Schwereberekleis).

Rolls with carrots and potatoes (Wigel)

Cottage cheese from cottage cheese.

Struzhni (Krebel)

Chicken noodle soup. (Nudelsuppe) Russian Germans had such great respect for this dish that, until recently, in many families, despite the abundance of pasta in stores, Nudelsuppe noodles were made only at home.       

Shnittzuppe (Schnittsuppe )
«dessert soup from dried fruit with the addition of small dumplings." [5] 

Germans belong to a large ethnic group in the territory of the former USSR. Currently, 22 people who were deported during the WWII live in the village of Vylkovo . In Soviet times, the number of Germans was much greater. Since the beginning of the 90s, many German families have left to live in their historic homeland, Germany.       

Those who moved to Vylkovo village remember their roots, observe traditions and customs. They survived much: repression, exile, hunger, humiliation, but remained good, hardworking people. Have high rewards for diligent work.

Here are some of them ... 

• Hoppe Khrestyan Khrestyanovich - tractor driver, Commander of the Order of Lenin; 
• Root Petr Petrovich - tractor driver, winner of the Prize. Golubenkova; 
• Merts, Ivan Ivanovich - engineer of the Irkutsk Aviation Plant; 
• Lamm Andrey Fedorovich - Head. District Tyumentsevsky district; 
• Fisher Andrei Andreevich - mechanic, the Order "Badge of Honor", etc. 

Despite the difficulties, the Volga Germans in Siberia have found a new homeland, there is no hostility on a national basis, international families are being created. The Germans in Siberia have preserved their national culture, customs, language and religion.
     

Sources:

1. http://wolgadeutsche.net/index.php
2. http://wolgadeutsche.rucentr.tv/catalog/reinwald.htm