Jacob Hoeppner (1748–1826) was one of two delegates selected by the
Mennonite community in
Danzig,
Prussia, to travel to South Russia and evaluate land along the
Dnieper River near
Chortitza as a possible settlement. The Mennonites were recruited by Queen
Catherine II the Great to settle on territory recently
won
Won may refer to:
*The Korean won from 1902–1910
*South Korean won, the currency of the Republic of Korea
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from the
Sultan
Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...
of the
Ottoman Empire. The entire
Ukraine had a population of three million at most. In order to settle this empty territory, colonists from western Europe were invited to come to Russia.
Russian colonization agents advertised the availability of
crown land
Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...
s to people throughout Europe. One of these was Georg von Trappe, who visited the Mennonites of Danzig in 1786. The Mennonite congregations elected to send Hoeppner and Johann Bartsch, who von Trappe arranged to send to Russia at government expense. They departed in the fall of 1786, sailing first to
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, then travelling cross country, arriving at the
Dnieper in late November. From here they sailed down the river looking for a suitable site. They met
Potemkin
Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin-Tauricheski (, also , ;, rus, Князь Григо́рий Алекса́ндрович Потёмкин-Таври́ческий, Knjaz' Grigórij Aleksándrovich Potjómkin-Tavrícheskij, ɡrʲɪˈɡ ...
at
Kremenchuk and were presented to Catherine in May, as she was inspecting her new territories. They found a suitable settlement location, then returned home by way of
Saint Petersburg, where they met with
Crown Prince Paul, who confirmed the promises made by von Trappe. Their return to Danzig was delayed for several months because Hoeppner broke his leg.
Russia
The following year, the 228 of the poorest families from the Mennonite community of Danzig made the long harrowing trip from Prussia to the promised tract of land in Russia under the leadership of Hoeppner and Bartsch. The journey from Danzig to Riga was 300 miles by boat on the
Baltic Sea, then 900 miles by caravan to Chortiza. The difficulty of pioneering on the steppe was compounded the disappearance of personal property and government building materials en route to the settlement. While most families survived by building crude shelters, Hoeppner and Bartsch were able to erect substantial dwellings.
The two men were accused of keeping government money intended for community use. Both were excommunicated from the church. Hoeppner was turned over to the Russian government on trumped up charges and spent almost a year in jail. Eventually, Hoeppner and his family became citizens of nearby Alexandrovsk, settled on the Isle of Chrotiza on the Dnieper River and became an active part of the
Russian Mennonites life in the new colony, joining another Mennonite congregation.
Hoeppner made arrangements to be buried on his own estate instead of the Mennonite cemetery among the people who had caused so many problems for him. In 1889 a centennial monument celebrating the original settlement was placed at his gravesite by the great-grandchildren of the colonists who had Hoeppner thrown in jail.
The monument has since been moved to
Mennonite Heritage Village in
Steinbach, Manitoba.
References
External links
Höppner, Jakob (1748-1826)at
Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
The Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online (GAMEO) is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on Anabaptist-related top ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoeppner, Jacob
Russian Mennonites
1748 births
1826 deaths
Vistula delta Mennonites
Prussian Mennonites