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Schoental (Pretty Valley) was a Lutheran village located on the Jeruslan River about 60 mi.SE of Saratov. It was founded in 1856 by settlers from Yagodnaya Polyana, but 162 settlers from Pobochnoye added to the population in 1857. Family names included the same names as Pobochnoye and Schoendorf, but with these additions: Benner, Blumenstein, Scheuerman, and Schneidmiller. Settlers made their living by farming and animal husbandry. There was a lot of contact with the mother colonies of Y.P. and Pobochnoye, especially in births, baptisms and funerals. In September 1941 the German villagers were deported to Kazakhstan and Siberia. Many died of starvation or freezing to death. They were forbidden to return to European Russia until 1964, but few returned. From 1988-1999 some 2,000,000 ethnic Germans have emigrated to Germany. Little is left of Schoental. It is now called Dolina and is merged with Neu Yagodnaya. Russians live there now. Village Coordinator |