Heaven is Our Homeland: The Glückstalers of New Russia & North America DVD

The four villages known as the Glückstal Colonies were established northwest of Odessa in 1809-1810. However, the earliest of these immigrants had already arrived in July, 1804. Eventually 106 families were settled in Glückstal in the spring of 1809. The first 100 families of Neudorf arrived in 1808-1809.

These families lived with other settlers at three different locations before establishing Neudorf in the spring of 1810. In the same spring, the 68 families of Bergdorf (who arrived in 1808-1809) and the 99 families of Kassel (who arrived in the fall of 1809) were also settled.

Glückstalers began the migration to North America in 1874, first settling in Hutchinson County, Dakota Territory. Later they moved north and west as the railroads were completed and land became available. Migration continued to Western Canada, the Pacific Northwest and California. Today, descendants of these Glückstal Colonies are found throughout the United States and Canada, parts of Europe, particularly Germany, in Australia, and in the former Soviet Union.