| The village of Alexanderwohl was founded in 1821 by families from
Prussia. The congregation at Przechowka moved to Molotschna together.
Przechowka was the village where the "first Ratzlaff" was documented in the
church records. According to legend, the immigrants met Tsar Alexander while en
route, and he wished them well; consequently, Johann Cornies named the village,
Alexanderwohl. Great-great
grandfather Peter Ratzlaff was probably not in that group. We surmise that his
ancestry went from Przechowka to Volhynia (or maybe before that to the Neumark region in
what is now Germany.) Then Peter's family may have migrated to his home in the
village of Waldheim from Volhynia with the group in 1839. In any case, his family
joined the Alexanderwohl congregation where he was baptized. He became a minister of
the congregation in 1853.
The Alexanderwohl Church building was constructed in 1865. Old photos show it as
a stately two-story building with hip gable roof.
After the revolution, the building was cut down in size and today there are only
decaying walls remaining.
This view is toward the main entrance. The church is on the site of a "combine
brigade" which is part of the regional collective farm. It was in use about
five years earlier.
It was a highlight for me to walk in the church where Reverend Peter had given
leadership. I took a brick from the far wall as a remembrance of the church in
which Great-great grandfather Ratzlaff once preached.
 A window of the Alexanderwohl Church on the opposite side from the
previous photograph. Once at the back of the stately sanctuary, it is now only a
couple rows of bricks from collapse. |
