Bessarabia
Petrowka Estate
Petrowka Estate – Acquisition and Significance
On 14 November 1911, the Bohnet family acquired the Petrowka estate in the historic district of Tiraspol of the then Governorate of Kherson. The purchase was made from the nobleman Michail (Michael) Eugesohn Ponse-Messer, who had previously been the owner of the property. The estate was located in the immediate vicinity of the village of Neu-Sawitzk, also known as Akatarinowka, and comprised 1,269 dessiatines of land, corresponding to approximately 1,300 hectares of contiguous acreage. This made Petrowka one of the significant agricultural properties of the region.
Transfer to the Wolff Family
Olga Maria Bohnet later brought the Petrowka estate into her marriage with Wilhelm Wolff as a dowry. Through this transfer, not only were two families united, but substantial economic assets as well. Ownership of the estate strengthened the influence of the Wolff family in the region of Southern Russia and consolidated their position within the regional estate and property structure.
Neu-Sawitzk (Akatarinowka) and the Surroundings of the Estate
Neu-Sawitzk, also known as Akatarinowka, was with high probability a smaller colonist or estate settlement in the surroundings of Tiraspol that stood in close functional relationship to the Petrowka estate. Indications from local traditions suggest that the estate was located in a landscape-designated valley known by the name Dewka. This was likely a field or valley name, as commonly found in estate maps, administrative records, or oral traditions.
Disappearance of the Settlement in the 20th Century
In the course of the political upheavals, administrative reforms, and renamings of the 20th century, Neu-Sawitzk disappeared under its original name from the official registers. The settlement was presumably absorbed into a larger municipality of today’s Transnistria region or the Republic of Moldova and no longer exists as an independent settlement. Its history, however, can still be traced in archival sources, property records, and family traditions surrounding the Petrowka estate.
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Bessarabia/Moldova
State Coat of Arms of Bessarabia
Bessarabian German Association e.V.
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Sources: See Imprint