History of Ladekopp: A Mennonite Village in the Molotschna Colony

Basic facts of Ladekopp:
– founded in 1805 by Mennonites exiting the Vistula Delta
– 1835 population: 203
– 1857 population: 287
– 1857 school size: 54 students
– 1908 population: 452
– 1908 had five businesses: steam mill, windmills, cloth dyeing, brick factory
– 1930s, 1940s: 35 men exiled to Siberia, another 34 after German invasion
– 1942 German army statistics: 176 Mennonites represents 1/3 of total 528 population
– 1943: remaining Mennonite population joined “Great Trek” westward to Poland and Germany
– 2025: former Ladekopp shows in Google Maps as incorporated into Ukrainian city of Tokmak (population 30,000)
source: Molotschna Historical Atlas, pp. 144-146.

Color photos below are from my 2007 trip to Ukraine.

Former Mennonite school of Ladekopp. Now functions as a civic vehicle registration centre. GPS co-ordinates: latitude 47.234083, longitude 35.66900. Visible in Google Maps satellite view. Located on the main road connecting to Petershagen.





Another angle of the Jakob Loewen house. The houses did not have indoor plumbing. The lean-to structure with the facing window was a common Mennonite feature called a ‘summer kitchen’: High German: Summerkaesch; Low German: Kjäakj. Used especially for large-batch canning.
Presumable house of my great-great-grandfather, Peter J. Bergmann (1850-1933). Located on the property abutting the former Mennonite school. GPS co-ordinates: 47.234297, 35.669341. Google Maps satellite view.



Mennonite house sporting many original features, like the tile roof, glassed windows, and attached barn. As you can see, the Mennonite houses in this area had a common design and construction.




As you approach Ladekopp along the main highway, this sign for the city of Tokmak greets you.



Close up of the former Mennonite school. The brickwork pattern shown of one brick along the exterior and the next brick being directed into the wall was only done by Mennonites. This pattern allowed the walls to be thicker and hence of more solid but expensive construction. One reason for the longevity of these buildings.



A better view of the former barn behind the Jakob Loewen house. Likely originally extended to attach to the house. Even barns needed windows, since they were built before the advent of household electricity. Above ground piping supplied the property natural gas for heating.
Side view of the presumable Peter J. Bergmann house. Mennonites roofed their houses clay tiles. The corrugated metal on this roof was a later renovation.




Ladekopp house of Johann Baergmann (1857-1906) and Helena nee Loewen, July 1918. After Johann died, Helena remarried to a cousin of her former husband, Peter J. Bergmann. This photo was taken during WWI. Back middle are German officers. Seated: Abram P. Bergmann (1884-1971), Peter J. Bergmann (1850-1933), Helena nee Loewen (1863-1922), Helena Baergmann (1891-1931), Aganetha Baergmann (1894-1946). Photo courtesy of Dorothy Huebert of Winnipeg.
Most people didn’t have vehicles, but they were very industrious.
Former Jakob Loewen house. In the gable you can still see the year the house was erected (1898). This marking was apparently a Mennonite tradition. GPS co-ordinates: 47.234667, 35.670028. Visible in Google Maps satellite view.

This particular house is featured on the DVD jacket of Otto Klassen’s film “Remembering Our Mennonite Heritage”.

The Molotschna Historical Atlas by Helmut Huebert shows a map of Mennonite residences in Ladekopp in the 1920s (page 54).
Close-up of the Jakob Loewen second storey. Gives an appreciation for the level of repair of the house’s exterior. Houses here have been retrofitted with electricity and in some cases even satellite TV.
Former Mennonite house, likely that of Jakob Janzen. The best kept property in the area. In 2007, occupied by an elderly Abram Janzen. The locals pointed us to him for answering questions about Mennonites. Abram, born in 1932, told of his memories of Mennonite neighbours. GPS co-ordinates: 47.236167, 35.672417. Visible in Google Maps satellite view. (The roofline has since changed.)
Google Maps showing Ladekopp with red pin. The body of water in the lower right is the Black Sea. The Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia (population 700,000) is top middle.





Local waits for his water canister to fill at a public tap.