Michaelsdorf Information; A German Colony in Russia

Michaelsdorf Information

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Page Navigation: Michaelsdorf Location, History, References

Michaelsdorf was a historical German settlement in the North Caucasus region of Russia. Other names for this colony include:Vladikavkaz, Mikhaylovskoe, Mikhaylovskaya.

Location
Michaelsdorf, indicated by the red pin on the map below, is east of the Black Sea and to the west of the Caspian Sea. Historically part of South Russia, in the North Caucasus region, Michaelsdorf is located in the present day country of North Ossetia-Alania. It is situated on the northern outskirts of the capital city, Vladikavkaz, and is located on the Terek River and at the northern foot of the Caucasus mountains.

Latitude 43.1093 Longitude 44.6261.1

Vladikavkaz
The present day population of Vladikavkaz is primarily Russian, Ossetian, Armenian, and Georgian. Founded in 1784 as a fortress during the Russian conquest of the Caucasian region, it was long the military and political center of Russia in the Caucasus.2 In 1932 the city was renamed Ordzhonikidze in 1932, Dzaudzhikau (Dsaudshikau) in 1944, again Ordzhonikidze (Ordshonikidse) in 1954, and once again Vladikavkaz in 1990.3 Also spelled Wladikawkaz.4

History of Michaelsdorf
The first German colony in North Ossetia was founded in 1861 on the northern outskirt of the city of Vladikavkaz on the right bank of the River Terek, was called the Vladikavkaz German Colony, and on 13 Nov 1876 this colony was renamed to Mikhaylovskaya Colony (Michaelsdorf).5 The families who settled in Michaelsdorf mostly came from the Volga German colonies.6

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The following information written by Sergej Kindsvater and posted on an internet message board (rootsweb) in 2003, no longer available, and copied here for preservation:


Footnotes

1. Google Maps, Mikhailovskoe, North Ossetia-Alania (https://goo.gl/maps/y1wWkLXkWJLkFmHu7 : accessed 23 Mar 2023).

2. Vladikavkaz, wikipedia.org (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladikavkaz : accessed May 2003).

3. Vladikavkaz, www.encyclopedia.com (https://www.encyclopedia.com/reference/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/vladikavkaz : accessed May 2003).

4. Georgia, The Imperiia Project, (https://imperiia.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/document/730 : accessed 23 Mar 2023).

5. Sergej Kindsvater, Summary of an article by L.K. Gostieva. Rootsweb.com (https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/GER-VOLGA/2003-04/1050721591 : accessed Apr 2003); citing L.K. Gostieva, 'Germans of North Ossetia: History and Presence' presented at the Russian-German conference, Anapa, Sept 1994.

6. Sandy Schilling Payne, Germans from Russia Settlement Locations, (https://www.germansfromrussiasettlementlocations.org/2016/11/new-map-caucasus-colonies.html : accessed 23 Mar 2023).

7. Sergej Kindsvater, Summary of L.K. Gostieva article. Rootsweb.com; citing L.K. Gostieva, Germans of North Ossetia: History and Presence, Russian-German conference, Anapa, Sept 1994.


Other References

American Historical Society of Germans From Russia (https://ahsgr.org).

Patrice Miller, [GV] Details on Michaelsdorf Caucasus, Germans from Russia GER-VOLGA Message Board Post (https://lists.rootsweb.com/hyperkitty/th/read/GER-VOLGA/2003-04/1050721591 : accessed 18 Apr 2003).

Karl Stumpp, The Emigration From Germany to Russia in the Years 1763 to 1862; American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, Neb., 1973.

Karl Stumpp, Karte der deutschen Siedlungen im Nord und Südkaukasus (Map of the German settlements in the North and South Caucasus). AHSGR, Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland (1960). #J4.

Tatiana Plokhotnyuk, The Formation of German Colonies in the North Caucasus, Journal of AHSGR (Winter, 2002), p. 11.

Tatiana Plokhotnyuk, Stavropol State University, Rossiiskie nemtsy na Severnom Kavkaze/Russian Germans in the North Caucasus, Moscow, 2001.

Timothy Kloberdanz, Caucasus Germans, Plains Folk, North Dakota's Ethnic History, NDSU, 1988, pp. 163-164.

The Volga Germans, Michaelsdorf (North Caucasus)

The Center for Volga German Studies

Vladikavkas www.wikipedia.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasus_Germans

Google Map of Michaelsdorf/Mikhailovskoe