The Swiss colony Chabag was founded in 1822 by a group of winemakers from Canton Vaud. They left Vevey , individually or with their families (about 30 people) in July 1822 under the leadership of Louis-Samuel Vincent Tardent (1787-1836) and traveled with horses and buggies to the place near Odessa which was assigned to them by the Tsar Alexander I (1777-1825).
Each family received about 66 hectares of land. Because of the Russo-Turkish wars (1806 -1812) , the land was deserted and no longer cultivated. Religious freedom was guaranteed, the settlers were exempted from tax for the first ten years following the foundation of Chabag and there was also no military service.
The beginnings of the colony were obviously difficult. The population of the colony grew steadily until 1829, but unfortunately, a plague struck the region in 1830, which resulted in significant mortality. The population loss was offset by newly arriving immigrants from Switzerland and settlers from German colonies of Bessarabia. Since that time French and German was spoken in Chabag.
From 1840 on, the efforts of settlers are rewarded and the colony is blooming. A protestant church can be built from own resources. Cross and rooster decorate the church tower. The church serves equally for the the French Protestants and the German Lutherans. Through their ongoing efforts to improve the quality, the wine becomes well known and is widely exported. In 1893 one of the winemakers of the colony, Louis Gander, gets a medal for his wine at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
In 1871 the privileges enjoyed by the Swiss colony were abolished and its inhabitants were subjected to the same laws as the other subjects of the Russian Empire. 1874 marked the end of the exemption from military service for young men of the colony.
During the October Revolution in 1917, the colony experienced, like many Russian regions, troubled times. Fortunately in 1918 the region was occupied by the Romanian army, which avoided the Chabiens to know the joys of a communist regime. This Romanian territorial annexation was confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Economically it became more difficult for Chabag. The port of Odessa was no longer accessible for the wine export from Chabag. The wines could also no longer be delivered to Russia and Romania was also a country with a great wine culture.
1920 Chabag was honored by an official visit of the Romanian King Ferdinand. Two years later Chabag celebrated its 100 anniversary. 1937 Chabag was visited by King Carol ii, the successor to King Ferdinand. Carol left his signature on the wall in the cellar of Jean Thévenaz. It is still visible in the newly created Museum.
Chabag was hit hard by the economic crisis in 1929 and by poor weather condition between the two wars.
On 28 June 1940, the end came for the Swiss colony. A secret clause of the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact (the Molotov-Ribbentrop, signed in August 1939) provided that the country Bessarabia (now Moldova) would be given to the USSR. Chabag located in this area, the colonists learned of this only on June 27 at 14 o'clock from the fact that their village would fall in Soviet hands.
There was an over hasty departure. A first wave of residents left the former colony towards Bucharest by train from Akkermann. In August a second group of 33 people left Chabag on a ship towards Constanza in Romania.
In October almost all leftover Swiss left the village with horses and buggies to Germany along with about 80,000 other displaced persons from the former, thriving German colonies in the region. Some Chabiens came directly to Switzerland, others were scattered, were briefly resettled in Poland and lived in refugee camps in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Serbia.
Most Chabiens could reach after the war again Switzerland, their native country.
In 1947, the homecomers to Switzerland formed an association "Société Chabag-Lausanne" to make Chabag aware to their fellow Swiss citizens. The association also organized a traditional picnic "The Chachlik" at which a shish kebab is served. It was nice to meet their parents and friends once a year on a Sunday and share memories.
In 2015 only a handful people were left who were born in Chabag. Some of their descendants have decided to create a website to preserve the memory of this human and historical epic that lasted for 118 years.
From Chabag to Shabo
After the departure of the settlers from 1940 Chabag some workers have teamed up to found a sovkhoz named "Liman red".
In October 1998, as consequence of diminishing tensions between East and West thanks to the Perestroika a group of the former settlers obtained the authorization to spend a day in Chabag. They met some of their relatives ..-.. A day brimming of emotions.
In 2003, the Georgian entrepreneur V.G. Ioukouridz buys the old sovkhoz and modernizes it completely. He has 1,100 hectares of vineyard replanted, and by applying new methods for wine production he improves significantly the quality of wine.
A wine culture center has been established in the new production facility. Besides the traditional wine tastings, sparkling wine and cognacs are also offered. In addition, it is possible to visit a a small school museum in the village and a well-researched museum in the cultural centre showing the history of this ancient settlement site. It is documented as far back to the colonization of the Greeks on the Black Sea and the oldest wine in the world in Georgia, the country of origin of the new owner. The museum devotes a large part also to the history of the former Swiss settlement Chabag.
2012 Mr. Ioukouridz and Mr. Paulsen, Honorary Consul of Russia in Lausanne, decided to organize a memorial travel to celebrate the 190 anniversary of the foundation of the colony Chabag. They invited some old Chabiens and their decendants and representatives of the Vaudois Government, historians, journalists and winemakers.
Each family received about 66 hectares of land. Because of the Russo-Turkish wars (1806 -1812) , the land was deserted and no longer cultivated. Religious freedom was guaranteed, the settlers were exempted from tax for the first ten years following the foundation of Chabag and there was also no military service.
The beginnings of the colony were obviously difficult. The population of the colony grew steadily until 1829, but unfortunately, a plague struck the region in 1830, which resulted in significant mortality. The population loss was offset by newly arriving immigrants from Switzerland and settlers from German colonies of Bessarabia. Since that time French and German was spoken in Chabag.
From 1840 on, the efforts of settlers are rewarded and the colony is blooming. A protestant church can be built from own resources. Cross and rooster decorate the church tower. The church serves equally for the the French Protestants and the German Lutherans. Through their ongoing efforts to improve the quality, the wine becomes well known and is widely exported. In 1893 one of the winemakers of the colony, Louis Gander, gets a medal for his wine at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
In 1871 the privileges enjoyed by the Swiss colony were abolished and its inhabitants were subjected to the same laws as the other subjects of the Russian Empire. 1874 marked the end of the exemption from military service for young men of the colony.
During the October Revolution in 1917, the colony experienced, like many Russian regions, troubled times. Fortunately in 1918 the region was occupied by the Romanian army, which avoided the Chabiens to know the joys of a communist regime. This Romanian territorial annexation was confirmed by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
Economically it became more difficult for Chabag. The port of Odessa was no longer accessible for the wine export from Chabag. The wines could also no longer be delivered to Russia and Romania was also a country with a great wine culture.
1920 Chabag was honored by an official visit of the Romanian King Ferdinand. Two years later Chabag celebrated its 100 anniversary. 1937 Chabag was visited by King Carol ii, the successor to King Ferdinand. Carol left his signature on the wall in the cellar of Jean Thévenaz. It is still visible in the newly created Museum.
Chabag was hit hard by the economic crisis in 1929 and by poor weather condition between the two wars.
On 28 June 1940, the end came for the Swiss colony. A secret clause of the German-Soviet Non-aggression Pact (the Molotov-Ribbentrop, signed in August 1939) provided that the country Bessarabia (now Moldova) would be given to the USSR. Chabag located in this area, the colonists learned of this only on June 27 at 14 o'clock from the fact that their village would fall in Soviet hands.
There was an over hasty departure. A first wave of residents left the former colony towards Bucharest by train from Akkermann. In August a second group of 33 people left Chabag on a ship towards Constanza in Romania.
In October almost all leftover Swiss left the village with horses and buggies to Germany along with about 80,000 other displaced persons from the former, thriving German colonies in the region. Some Chabiens came directly to Switzerland, others were scattered, were briefly resettled in Poland and lived in refugee camps in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Serbia.
Most Chabiens could reach after the war again Switzerland, their native country.
In 1947, the homecomers to Switzerland formed an association "Société Chabag-Lausanne" to make Chabag aware to their fellow Swiss citizens. The association also organized a traditional picnic "The Chachlik" at which a shish kebab is served. It was nice to meet their parents and friends once a year on a Sunday and share memories.
In 2015 only a handful people were left who were born in Chabag. Some of their descendants have decided to create a website to preserve the memory of this human and historical epic that lasted for 118 years.
From Chabag to Shabo
After the departure of the settlers from 1940 Chabag some workers have teamed up to found a sovkhoz named "Liman red".
In October 1998, as consequence of diminishing tensions between East and West thanks to the Perestroika a group of the former settlers obtained the authorization to spend a day in Chabag. They met some of their relatives ..-.. A day brimming of emotions.
In 2003, the Georgian entrepreneur V.G. Ioukouridz buys the old sovkhoz and modernizes it completely. He has 1,100 hectares of vineyard replanted, and by applying new methods for wine production he improves significantly the quality of wine.
A wine culture center has been established in the new production facility. Besides the traditional wine tastings, sparkling wine and cognacs are also offered. In addition, it is possible to visit a a small school museum in the village and a well-researched museum in the cultural centre showing the history of this ancient settlement site. It is documented as far back to the colonization of the Greeks on the Black Sea and the oldest wine in the world in Georgia, the country of origin of the new owner. The museum devotes a large part also to the history of the former Swiss settlement Chabag.
2012 Mr. Ioukouridz and Mr. Paulsen, Honorary Consul of Russia in Lausanne, decided to organize a memorial travel to celebrate the 190 anniversary of the foundation of the colony Chabag. They invited some old Chabiens and their decendants and representatives of the Vaudois Government, historians, journalists and winemakers.
