MARCH 2003

Peter Köppen Born 1793 in Charkov Died in 1865 in Karabach, Crimea The Scholar of the Crimea

March 2003
Peter Köppen – The Scholar of Crimea
Peter Köppen was born in Charkov on February 19, 1793 to a doctor’s family of immigrants from Germany. He received a good basic education in the home, at times he worked as an artist, completed university studies at Charkov (1809 – 1814), was educated in many subjects, and applied his knowledge to many facets of life.
After his studies, Köppen went to St. Petersburg, where he worked as a postal official. There he made contact with many scientists and influential persons and acquired numerous friends. His Russian patron, N.P. Rumyantzev, recommended Köppen to the Minister of the Interior, who soon made him his personal representative for special affairs. In 1819, Köppen was sent to the Crimea, where he thoroughly researched the South of the Peninsula (Kertsch, Feodosiya, Sevastopol, Bachschisaray, Simferopol). After his travel report was published, Köppen’s name became well known, and from then on he was credited as being the founder of an archaeological topography of Russia. Between 1821 and 1824 Köppen traveled to Austria and Germany to study museums and archives and to collect various manuscripts and writings. As a result he was getting known by the scientific world, and he established business relationships. As of 1824 Köppen worked in the ministry for general education as an official responsible to the minister in handling special problems, as consultant on statutes dealing with educational institutions, and also as editor and publisher. Many circumstances drastically changed for him in 1826. His benefactor died, his newspaper was closed down, there was an uprising by the Dekabrists, of whom he knew many personally, and the government was informed of this. Following a thorough investigation and court proceedings, Köppen was declared innocent.
As of 1827, he was named deputy to the general inspector for the manufacture of silk and fruit orchards and vineyards, and he decided to leave the unfeeling and “European” St. Petersburg. He moved to the Crimean Peninsula in 1929, bought the local estate called “Karabach,” which included a garden, and lived there continually until 1834. Here the multiple facets of his abilities began to unfold, namely, those of a researcher and scientist. Peter Köppen’s name as a scientist became known in many areas such as encyclopedia, geography, statistics, ethnography, philology, biography, among others. He published 130 scientific treatises, of which 40 dealt with the Crimea, and half of his publications were published in the German language.
In 1834/35 Köppen was called back to St. Petersburg to become outside lecturer in his “Teaching Chair for Statistics” and, as an active member of the Russian Geographical Society, was elected to chair the Department of Statistics. His key contribution to science is the “Ethnographic Map of European Russia” published in 1851. On November 29, 1846 Köppen’s achievements were honored with a medal, a certificate, and a prize of 500 rubles. In 1865 the Central Statistics Committee of the Ministry of the Interior published his 40th volume containing a listing of all settlements in the Russian Empire [see the illustration of the title page]. This book contained the most comprehensive listing and the most precise location names of the Tauris Government (Crimea), as of 1864, which Köppen had personally prepared. He did not live to see the book’s publication, but with it he had effectively established a memorial to himself. Peter Köppen was closely associated with the Crimea for 45 years, lived there for long stretches, spent time recreating, wrote his manuscripts, and here at Karabach/Crimea he was buried following his death in 1865.

Hilda Riss

Translation from German to English by Alex Herzog, Boulder, Colorado