Stepove (Karlsruhe)
Karlsruhe (today Stepove) was a German colony founded in 1810 by Catholics from Baden, the Rhenish Palatinate, and Alsace. From 1810 to 1875, it belonged to the Berezan Colonists’ District of the Landau Volost in Olviopol Uyezd and later in Odesa Uyezd of the Kherson Governorate. Today, the territory of the former colony lies within Mykolaiv District.
The colonists’ main economic activity was agriculture; later, they expanded into horticulture and viticulture. A significant portion of the population consisted of craftsmen—tailors, masons, millers, blacksmiths, rope-makers, weavers, and others. Income was also generated by a steam mill, an inn, and breweries. Agricultural products were taken for sale to Mykolaiv.
In 1885, a magnificent parish church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul was built in the center of Karlsruhe in the Neo-Gothic style, with rich interior decoration including statues, large paintings, stained-glass windows, and an organ.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Karlsruhe was renamed Petro-Pavlivske. From 1915 onward, a series of laws were enacted that deprived the German population of political, economic, and cultural rights, including the right to use the German language. Between 1917 and 1920, the colonists experienced frequent changes of government with differing political and economic programs. Armed clashes and looting became commonplace. In the summer of 1919, a retreating Bolshevik unit, under pressure from Denikin’s troops, killed fifty colonists and burned the homes of prosperous farmers.
The colonists viewed the Soviet transformations of the 1920s with hostility. Crop failures and the food requisitioning policy in 1921–1922 led to famine. Forced collectivization began in 1929. Between 1929 and 1938, 695 people from Karlsruhe were deported. A total of 118 individuals fell victim to repression, 53 of whom were executed.
During the war against Nazi Germany, the colony lay within the Romanian-administered territory of Transnistria but remained under the authority of the SS Special Detachment R (Sonderkommando R). In 1941, the Catholic visitor Nikolaus Piger visited Karlsruhe. He was particularly impressed by the local church, which he considered the largest in Ukraine. On 18 March 1944, as the Red Army advanced, the villagers were evacuated to the Reichsgau Warthegau (Poland).
As a German settlement, Karlsruhe ceased to exist. Many German houses have survived in the village; cisterns and cellars can still be seen in the courtyards. The building of the former orphanage has been preserved. One of the local landmarks is the local history museum, which commemorates the German colonists.
