The Old Sarepta Museum-Reserve in Volgograd is a complex of ancient buildings with heavy and thick walls that keep the secrets of German settlers - Gerngutors.
Old Sarepta is 250 years old; the German colonists gave the name to this place, appreciating the hot weather and scarce landscape.
The German settlement was founded in the 18th century. The German colonists hoped to convert the Kalmyk nomads to their Christian faith, but the mission failed, and the Germans remained. So a small corner of Germany arose on the Volga - with a church, a trading house, an inn, a pharmacy and a council.
This place was overgrown with legends and terrible secrets. The German settlement survived the Pugachev uprising, revolution, wars. During the repressions, it was the location of the OGPU execution prison, and during the war it was a hospital.
Restless Potter
One of the most famous Sarepta ghosts is the potter Johann Niedenthal. Even after death, he could not leave his workshop.
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The potter was one of the first settlers. He founded his workshop, which worked very successfully - the production expanded and grew into a small factory. Johann worked in the workshop until his death.
And after his death, strange and frightening things began to happen at the factory. At night, in the deserted room of the workshop, the noise of a rotating potter's wheel became clearly audible, from time to time there was a clink of breaking dishes. Factory guards found broken shards on the floor.
In fear, they told Niedenthal's son what was happening. The young owner decided to check the stories of the watchmen and went to the workshop at night. Opening the doors, he saw his late father behind the potter's wheel. He worked with concentration. Old Niedenthal looked at his son and melted into thin air.
The old potter sometimes makes a hooligan in the basements of Old Sarepta even nowadays, about which museum workers tell tourists. And they even leave him a mug of beer and bread - they say that during his lifetime he was very fond of such a treat.
Keeper
In one of the cellars of Old Sarepta, the ghost of a woman with a baby lives, next to her is a ghostly cat.
At a time when nomads were still raiding the settlement, a young mother with a child took refuge in the basement, and the cat went there with her mistress. The basement fell asleep, the woman died along with the child and the faithful furry beast. And the inhabitants of Zarepta saw it for more than a dozen years. Museum staff call her the Guardian.
An amazing incident happened recently. The ghost woman was relocated to a basement where there are no excursions. And after a while a live cat came out of the boarded-up room, outwardly it looked very much like a ghost cat. She now lives in a museum.
If a cat runs out into the street, then the ringing of keys is clearly heard in the room, this Keeper reminds people of the animal so that they do not forget to let her back in.
Haunted house
There is also a "young ghost" in Zarepta. On Telman street in one of the houses at night strange rustles are heard, objects fall, howls are heard. In the early 90's there was a fire in which a woman died. Since then, the house has been restless …
Many legends and myths surround the museum-settlement of the Volga Germans - and these myths are of constant interest not only for ordinary tourists, but also for those who are more seriously interested in such paranormal phenomena.
For example, psychics came here and, judging by the stories, even established contact. In photographs from the museum, the outlines of ghosts sometimes appear. But the employees are confident that the spirits will not harm anyone.
Interestingly, the Old Sarepta complex has been recognized as the most popular museum in its region for several years in a row. In addition to standard expositions, including those with unique archives, it can boast of conducting not quite ordinary programs, for example, night excursions and quests.
Perhaps some of the guests of Sarepta will be able to meet with a ghost during such a visit to the museum.