In the late 19th century, more than 15,000 Volga Germans emigrated to the United States from Russia.
About a third of them settled in Kansas, establishing predominantly Catholic communities in Rush and Ellis counties and Mennonite communities elsewhere in the state.
Beginning in 1876, Volga Germans left their mark on the Kansas prairie by using native limestone to build monuments to their faith. The Basilica of St Fidelis in Victoria, with its landmark twin spires, is known as the Cathedral of the Plains. They also left their marks in other ways — with foods such as the bierock, award-winning beers and Turkey Red winter wheat.
Their story begins in the mid-1700s when they were invited to the Steppes of Russia at the invitation of Catherine the Great.
“After Catherine died, her son ruled Russia and revoked all those manifest points that were given to those people to entice them to Russia. ...They decided now is the time to get out because they were starting to conscript a lot of our people to go to war,” said Kevin Rupp, office manager, liturgist and organist at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Hays.
Some of his ancestors were among the first to arrive in Ellis County in 1876. And, although he has been the organist at St. Joseph’s for more than three decades, his grandfather was organist at one of the area churches for more than six decades.
According to Rupp, when the Volga Germans were seeking other areas to locate from Russia in the 1870s, they sent a delegation to the United States. They decided that Kansas was a perfect area because the ground itself was similar to Russia’s.
These immigrants — often family members and neighbors — traveled in groups by ships and trains. The first immigrants spent the winter in Topeka before heading further west to Ellis and Rush Counties.
Once settled, the first thing they built were churches.
While they were building their churches and homes, many stayed in Hays, Rupp said, and traveled back and forth from Hays as the Volga German communities such as Victoria, Munjor, Liebenthal and Schoenchen sprung up.
“The most important thing was their religion,” he said. “They would set up a cross and that is where they would have their devotions. Each Sunday, they would have a Meister who would lead the people in song and prayer and usually a rosary until their church was built. Each family had to build and contribute a certain amount of stone. How much was determined by the number of people in the household.”
At first, there were skeptical neighbors.
“They were called dirty Russians, so they were made fun of because of their language … they spoke in German and a kind of mix [of] Russian,” Rupp said.
Now, 150 years later, there are believers and people ready to celebrate.
It’s not hard to find the influences of German culture in this part of the state — Gella’s restaurant in Hays serves green bean dumpling soup and grebble (fried dough). At family gatherings, it’s not unusual to find bierocks, klaus/knepfel, sauersuppe, streusel kuchen, wedding soup and mawurst, a pressed hamburger dish.
And you can still go into some of the donut shops to overhear old-timers discussing the local news in German. Some say the Volga German community in the area still maintain their distinct dialects.
This year, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Volga Germans in Kansas, Hays is hosting a series of events celebrating the Volga Germans and their lasting impact on Kansas. The international convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia will meet in Hays on Aug. 5-7th.
Does this mean there will be dancing in the streets?
“There won’t be dancing in the streets,” Rupp said. “They’ll be dancing in the hall, but if it spills out in the streets ... you can’t help that.”