Dobrujan Germans
The Dobrujan Germans were an ethnic German group, within the larger category of Black Sea Germans, for over one hundred years. German-speaking colonists entered the approximately 23,000 km2 area of Dobruja around 1840 and mostly left during the relocation of 1940. Dobruja is a historical region on the west coast of the Black Sea. They are part of the Romanian Germans and Bulgarian Germans.
Colonization
The first of these German settlers came between 1841 and 1856 from the Russian Empire. They were farming families from the neighboring areas of Bessarabia and Cherson, who immigrated because of an economic recession in their home territories. Thirty years later, colonists from Swabia also moved into the region. During this period, Dobruja still belonged to the Ottoman Empire and the colonists were subject to colonization regulations from Turkey. Consequently, the Dobrujan Germans were the only ethnic Germans to ever be Turkish subjects without actually moving to Turkey. They contributed to the agricultural development of the fertile steppes.In Bulgaria
While most Dobrujan Germans inhabited Northern Dobruja, some settled in Southern Dobruja. The most significant Dobrujan German colony in Bulgaria was founded in Dobrevo in 1903 by German Roman Catholics from the Crimea and Kherson. The colonists numbered around 150 in 1909 and built a stone church in 1911. The village was briefly renamed to Germantsi in honour of the colonists once it was returned to Bulgarian control in 1940. 325 Germans left Ali Anife Kalfa to relocate to Germany in 1943.Other historical Dobrujan German colonies in Bulgaria included Stozher, Snyagovo, Izvorovo, Orlova mogila and the towns of General Toshevo and Dobrich.