OBERMUNJOU, RUSSIA

In 1764 - 1768 thousands of Germans answered the invitation of Catherine the Great of Russia to settle in her homeland.  The people who where to settle in the are were divided in groups of 100 families and each group had a leader to guide these people to their new home.  Two German-speaking Frenchmen by the name of Munjou were made the leaders of the two groups. The older of the two, Otto de Munjor, became the leader of the Catholic group which settled along the Volga, north of Saratov.  The younger Munjou established a colony of Lutheran people considerably down the river.  Both towns were named Monjou, which soon caused confusion.  The civil authorities eliminated the confusion by referring to the Catholic colony located on the upper as Obermunjou and the down strean village as Niedermonjor.  During the founding years of these colonies, 1764 - 1768, 104 colonies were established, 44 on the Berseite (Mountain side) which was west of the Volga and 60 on the Wiesenseite (Meadow side) which was located on the east side.

Soon the colony of Obermunjou became too large to sustain the needs of the new people coming in so a daughter colony was formed, Neu-Obermunjou.  This colony was founded in 1859 and in 1912 had a population of 1053 people, Obermunjou having 2882 people.

The people of Obermunjou were all of the Catholic faith and numbered 211 males, 218 females totaling 429 people comprising of 76 families in 1798.  They belonged to the parish of Katharinenstadt.  Small children were taught reading, writing and religion usually in the home of the schoolmaster, who was chosen from among themselves. 

POPULATION:

Parish History:

It is not know exactly when the parish began except from 1803 - 1820 it was a mission station of the colony of Katharinenstadt. 

A church was built out of stone and dedicated to the Immaculate Conception  by eleven priests on September 28, 1897.  On September 27, 1906 the parish purchased two wooden statues from the Art Institute.  Joseph with the child Jesus was 180 cm high and was purchased for 180 rubles, the other, the Immaculate Conception, was purchased for 125 rubles and was also 180 cm in height.

This is a photo of the Catholic Church in Obermunjou, Russia.  The church was named in honor of "The Immaculate Conception".  This photo was given by August & Elizabeth (Leiker) Exsner, who still live in Russia and were one of the last couples to be married in the church before it was destroyed in the 1930's.

Priests who served the parish of the Immaculate Conception were:

Surnames from Obermunjou, Russia

These are the surnames from the 1798 census from the colony of Obermunjou, Russia.

These are the surnames of the 1816 & 1834 heads of families
from the colony of Obermunjou, Russia.

Research Material Available

1798 Census - A.H.S.G.R.
1850 Census - Kevin Rupp
1857 Census - Kevin Rupp

Church Records Available for Look-Up
Births: 1821 - 1918 (not complete list)
Marriages:1839, 1840, 1850-1858, 1860-1864, 1874-1911
Deaths:1850 - 1918 (not a complete list)

At the present the 1767 first settlers list has been obtained from the Russian archives and can be purchased through AHSGR.  The 1816 and 1834 census are listed at the Russia archives and family names census searches can be made through the researches in Russia.  The 1850 census has been obtained and is available from Kevin Rupp.

SOURCES:
Parish History: "Die Kirchen und das Religiose Leben der Russlanddeutschen" by Joseph Schnurr

Village Coordinator - Kevin Rupp