Today marks the birthday of Sofia Falz-Fein, one of the most remarkable businesswomen of the Black Sea region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and a member of the well-known Falz-Fein family of German heritage.
She is often remembered primarily as the mother of Friedrich Falz-Fein, founder of the world-famous Askania-Nova nature reserve. But Sofia Falz-Fein was an extraordinary figure in her own right.
After her husband’s death in 1883, she took over the management of the family’s vast estates and continued to expand their activities. Sheep and horse breeding, poultry farming, food production and trade were among the family’s major business interests. The scale was extraordinary: by 1914, the Falz-Fein family enterprises collectively owned more than 800,000 sheep. The family also operated a large cannery in Kherson, whose products were sold far beyond the region.
One of Sofia Falz-Fein’s most ambitious projects was Khorly. In 1897, she founded a settlement there and began developing a port in an ice-free bay of the Karkinit Gulf.
Within just a few years, Khorly had piers, warehouses, a customs office, a ship-repair dock, as well as telephone and telegraph connections. The port welcomed merchant vessels from different countries, while Sofia Falz-Fein even operated her own shipping company with several vessels.
Her work, however, went far beyond business. She supported education and culture, contributed to charitable initiatives, and invested in the development of local infrastructure.
The story of Sofia Falz-Fein is also part of the German cultural heritage of Ukraine. It is a reminder of the important contribution made by Germans in Ukraine to the economic, social and cultural development of the country, especially in its southern regions.
We also tell the story of Sofia Falz-Fein in our short animated film.
Watch it here
Ukrainian version:
German version:
