(Extra material from our trip to Germany.)
The Prussian army was fighting Napoleon’s French armies in 1812. Prussia was conquered. The Prussians lined up with Russians in 1813. There was a bit of an embarrassing problem, though, since about 1,000 Russian troops as prisoners in Potsdam.
Whoops.
Of those men, 62 stayed.
Back at the palace, King Frederick William III loved him some music. From those 62 he formed a Russian choir from his “guests.” The choir would stay in Potsdam, with Tsar Alexander I’s blessing, as a sign of the renewed friendship between the two countries.
The Tsar died in 1825. To the west, the Prussian king decided to pay tribute to the Tsar and choir by building a village for the 12 remaining members. A Prussian landscaper and a Russian architect got the job of building it all. Modeled after the Russian village of Glosovo near St. Petersburg, each house was built in Russian style. They were furnished and each had a garden and they the men all received a cow as well. The Prussians really wanted them to stay.
A Russian Orthodox church dedicated to St. Alexander Nevsky (Tsar Alexander’s patron saint) was built nearby.
The last of the original inhabitants died in 1861. Today, most of the houses have private owners and most of them have been restored. One is now a restaurant, another is a museum. One still belongs in the family of one of the Russian soldier-singers who decided to stay in Potsdam 190 years ago.
Problem was, those first residents weren’t making a lot of cash and weren’t really farmers. So there were lean years. Only two of them had learned a profession, others rented out their places and quite of few of them died in huge debt.
There is said to be a great deal of agricultural history in this little community, as well. At one time 500-year-old fruit trees were said to be in place. (I find this to be a romantic notion, but hard to believe. Most of the fruits they grow in the area are from trees that just don’t live that long and the apple tree life span would be a long shot.) Hundreds of apple varieties were grown in the area. Today they harvest about 20 varieties. Huge numbers of cherries, pear and plum varieties were also grown here.
