Kautz, Russia
Also known as Kauz
Russian names Werschinka, Verschinka

At the invitation of Catherine the Great of Russia, on the 20th of May, 1767, 30 emigrant families, 141 people (74 males, 67 females) from many villages near Heidelberg, Germany settled the Volga German community of Kautz, Russia, approximately 68 miles southwest of the present city of Saratov. The population of Kautz in 1912 was 2,800. Between 1961 and 1964 the Russians bulldozed the abandoned town. The village of Dietel is visible from the ruins of Kautz.

According to the Kautz map, there was a cemetery located to the rear of the church in the village. The larger cemetery was located NW of the village at coordinates 50 54 41 N 45 06 46 E. The center of the village was located at coordinates 50 54 32 N 45 07 23 E.

Kautz parish (church) records for death don't list the place of burial, only the date. It might be possible in some cases, that a person born in Dietel, Kratzke, Hussenbach, or other nearby Lutheran villages may have been buried in those respective villages. The Kautz cemetery would not have been maintained after deportation of villagers. Today, there is but only a trace of the cemetery which existed at one time.

Age at Death / Number of Individuals
(Less than 1 year) 947, (1) 426, (2) 243, (3) 140, (4) 117, (5) 68, (6-10) 183, (11-15) 98, (16-20) 96, (21-30) 157, (31-40) 137, (41-50) 117, (51-60) 166, (61-70) 172, (71-80) 131, (81-90) 25, (90) 2, (Unknown age) 222

Please be aware that the pool of available Christian names, given names, and surnames used in Kautz is quite small. For this reason, there may be many individuals with the same name, but are in fact different people. For definitive genealogical information on families or individuals, please contact me.

D. Michael Frank
AHSGR Village Coordinator for Kautz, Russia
[email protected]