Hotels, motels and where to sleep
Restaurant, taverns and where to eat
Kaliningrad, until July 4, 1946 - Königsberg,
until 1255 - Tvangste - Russian city, which, by decision of the
Potsdam Conference of 1946, the northern part of the German province
of East Prussia, together with its capital Königsberg, was
transferred to the USSR after World War II. Today, the city of
Kaliningrad is part of Russia and the most western regional center of
Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Pregoli River in the
Kaliningrad Bay. Population - 475 056 people. (2018). According to
the city authorities, from 120 to 180 thousand residents of the
region and visitors from other regions of the country living and
working in Kaliningrad are added in a relatively legal manner.
Kaliningrad is the second most populous city (the first is St.
Petersburg) in the North-Western Federal District, the third (after
Riga and Vilnius) in the Baltic basin and the seventh among the cities of
the Baltic Sea coast. Kaliningrad is one of the six main centers of
internal migration attraction in Russia over the past two decades.
The city is the core of the rapidly growing Kaliningrad
agglomeration with a population of over 715 thousand people.
Kaliningrad is a major transportation hub: railways and highways; sea and river
ports; Khrabrovo International Airport. The headquarters of the
Baltic Fleet of the Russian Navy is located in Kaliningrad.
Kaliningrad is among the 25 largest industrial centers of Russia.
There are museums in Kaliningrad (Amber Museum, Historical and
Artistic, World Ocean, Art Gallery, Fortification Museum, etc.),
theaters, large libraries (in particular, fragments of the medieval
book collection - Wallenrodt Library), a zoo, a botanical garden. In
the center of the city is the Cathedral in the Gothic. Until 2010, Kaliningrad had the status of a “historic city”.
In 2018, the city held matches of the World Cup.
The main sights belong to the German period of the city's
history. Unfortunately, the integral old city has not been
preserved, the preserved sights are scattered around the city.
The main attraction of the city, which has become its symbol, is
the Cathedral, which is located in the middle of Pregolya on Kant
Island, the historical district of Kneiphof. It is the only building
of the old city (the territory of Altstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht)
that has survived to this day.
Cathedral. Built in the Gothic
style. The exact date of commencement of construction is unknown,
the first mention of the construction of the cathedral dates back to
1333. The foundation of the cathedral rests on a large number of
piles. The towers were built in 1553. Until 1519, the cathedral was
a Catholic church, then it became a Lutheran one. The cathedral
burned down during the Second World War and stood in ruins for more
than forty years. The restoration of the cathedral began in 1992.
The cathedral has been restored as a multifunctional cultural
center: the towers house a museum, a chamber music hall and two
chapels, the main building of the cathedral is used as a hall for
classical and religious music. The tombstone of Immanuel Kant, built
in 1924 according to the design of the architect Lars, was attached
to the cathedral on the site of the old crypt.
The cathedral
is surrounded by the Sculpture Park with various sculptural
compositions.
From the island to both banks of the Pregol
leads the so-called. The trestle bridge, which is located in the
western part, rises on the surrounding area and is a good view
point. In the western part of the island, there is a small
pedestrian bridge Honey Bridge, which leads to the Oktyabrsky Island
in the so-called. Fish village and to the recognizable observation
tower complex.
Fortifications
It was not in vain that
Königsberg gained a reputation as a fortress city, built in the form
of a bastion system of fortifications. A large number of defensive
structures have survived here to this day: city gates, ravelins,
reduits of bastions, barracks, and defensive ditches. The most
popular among tourists is the chain of preserved city gates, which
surrounded the central part of the city. The profile of the fortress
wall is quite well read on the map, and on the way there are other
objects, which, however, may be stylistically similar to defensive
structures, but have an excellent history. All the currently
preserved gates were built in the middle of the 19th century in the
Neo-Gothic style, often on the site of older gates.
King's
Gate (crossing of Frunze Street and Lithuanian Wall). In 2005, the
Royal Gate was a symbol of the celebration of the 750th anniversary
of Kaliningrad. Since the same year, the gate has been a branch of
the Museum of the World Ocean. They house an exposition dedicated to
the visit to Königsberg by the Great Embassy of Peter I.
Sackheim
Gate. Intersection of Moskovsky prospect and Lithuanian shaft. The
lower rooms have been converted into an art cafe.
Friedland Gate
(crossing of Kalinin Avenue and Dzerzhinsky Street). There is a
museum at the gate.
Ravelin of Friedland.
Brandenburg Gate (on
Bagration Street, a few hundred meters from the Kaliningrad Yuzhny
railway station). The only city gate in Kaliningrad, which is still
used for its intended purpose (the carriageway of the street, the
tram line and the pedestrian sidewalk pass through them).
Friedrichsburg Gate.
Railway gate (located under the roadway of
Gvardeisky Prospekt, next to the monument to 1200 guardsmen). A
pedestrian path passes through the gate leading to the park located
behind the monument. In the spring of 2007, the Railway and Ausfal
Gates were transferred to the Kaliningrad History and Art Museum. It
is planned to restore the gates and place museum expositions of
military-historical subjects in their premises. Together with the
monument to 1200 guardsmen and Victory Park, the gate should become
part of the military-historical complex.
Ausfal Gates (in the
southwestern corner of the intersection of Guards Avenue and Gornaya
Street, in the immediate vicinity of the monument to 1200
guardsmen). This gate is mostly hidden by the ground, so it is the
least visible and the least known (even many Kaliningraders do not
know about their existence). An Orthodox chapel was built on top of
the gate. In 2007, the gate was handed over to the Museum of History
and Art, it is planned to restore it and place it in the exposition
gate.
Astronomical bastion.
Wrangel tower.
Don tower.
Rostgarten Gate (next to the Amber Museum, on Vasilevsky Square).
Used as a fish restaurant.
Reduit of the Oberteich bastion.
Barracks Kronprinz.
Reduit of the Grolman bastion.
Other
objects
Juditten Church (St. Nicholas Cathedral)
The oldest
building in Kaliningrad is the former Juditten-Kirche. The exact
time of its construction is not known, the consecration of the
temple took place in 1288. In 1985, St. Nicholas Cathedral was
opened in the building of the former Juditten Church, which became
the first Orthodox church in the region. St. Nicholas Cathedral is
located on the outskirts of the city, on Tenistaya Alley.
All
other places of worship are much younger than the Cathedral and St.
Nicholas Cathedrals.
Holy Cross Cathedral. Built in 1930-1933
as the parish Lutheran church of Lomse Island. After the war, the
church was used as an industrial building. Since 1991 it has been an
Orthodox church. The church is distinguished by unusual
architecture, which cannot be unambiguously attributed to any one
style. Address: Oktyabrsky Island, General Pavlov Street, 2.
The
building of the concert hall of the regional philharmonic society.
Built in 1907 as a Catholic church of the Holy Family. Style -
neo-Gothic. Located on Bogdan Khmelnitsky Street.
Church building
in memory of Queen Louise. Built in 1899-1901. The style is a
mixture of neo-Romanesque and neo-Gothic. Kirkha was destroyed
during the war and restored in 1976 as a puppet theater. Address -
Prospekt Pobedy, 1 (on the territory of the Central Park).
The
Cathedral of Christ the Savior is a newly built Orthodox church on
the square near the Northern railway station.
The House of
Soviets is a building built next to the former castle. Attitude
towards him is ambiguous, often negative. It was popularly nicknamed
"Monster House" because of its abandonment combined with its
gigantic size. It is a long-term construction - the beginning of
construction - 1974, has not been completed to date due to
litigation for ownership.
Monument to 1200 guardsmen
(colloquially - "one thousand two hundred") - a mass grave and a
monument to the soldiers of the 11th army who died during the
assault on Königsberg. Located on Guards Avenue.
Historic
districts
Unfortunately, the historical core of the city has not
been preserved, since in 1944 the center of Königsberg, like
Dresden, was razed to the ground by Anglo-American bombardments. It
was finally destroyed during the bloody battles during the storming
of the city by Soviet troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the
leadership of Marshal A.V. Vasilevsky in April 1945 and during the
post-war analysis of rubble and undermining dilapidated buildings.
However, closer to the outskirts, areas have survived that have not
changed much since German times, although these areas are quite
young (they appeared at the beginning of the 20th century).
Amalienau
Amalienau is a district of villas, in the current
topography its borders are formed by Pobedy Avenue, Lesoparkovaya,
Yanalova and Krasnaya streets. The area was built in 1900-1920. in
accordance with the concept of "Garden City".
Within
Amalienau is the Church of St. Adalbert (now the Western Branch of
IZMIRAN, Pobedy Avenue, 41). The development of Pobedy Avenue,
Kutuzov, Ogaryov, Chestnut Alley streets is interesting. One of the
most beautiful surviving Amalienau villas is Villa Schmidt (24
Pobedy Ave.). Now it houses a kindergarten.
There is a
picturesque double pond (two ponds connected by canals) near the
streets of Engels, Chapaev, Prospekt Mira and Kashtanovaya Alley.
Its official name is Float, but the popular names are Bread Lake and
Gemini Lake (from the German Zwillingteich).
Directions from
the Central Square avt. 24 to the stops "Ogaryova Street",
"Kashtanovaya Alley Street".
Maraunenhof
Maraunenhof is an
area of villas located in the Upper Pond area (the locals often call
the pond a lake). The development of the Maraunenhof began in 1906.
The area has largely retained its pre-war appearance. The main
street of the district is Telman, a tram runs along it.
Notable villas of Maraunenhof: 2, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23,
26, 30, 31, 34, 34a, 35, 36, 40, 42 and 44 on the street. Telman, 1,
2, 3 and 5 on the street. Gogol.
Museum of the World Ocean, emb. Peter the Great, d.1. ✉ ☎ +7(0112)
53-8804, fax: +7(0112) 34-0211. Wed-Sun, from 1 Apr to 30 Sep from 11.00
to 18.00, from 1 Oct to 31 Mar from 10.00 to 17.00. One of the most
popular museums in the city. The museum includes three museum vessels,
an exposition in a building on the shore and an open-air exposition,
including bathyscaphes and equipment for working at sea.
The building
of the Museum of the World Ocean. consists of the main building and the
Sperm Whale pavilion. In the main building there are expositions, halls
with aquariums, in which there are inhabitants of the sea, a conference
hall. At the upper level there is an observation deck with an installed
optical mechanism of the lighthouse. The Kashalot building houses an
exposition, the central place of which is occupied by the skeleton of a
sperm whale, a separate hall is dedicated to the actions of the Soviet
Navy (in particular, the submarine fleet) in the Baltic during World War
II.
The ship "Vityaz". A research vessel with an unusual fate. It was
built in 1939 in Germany as a refrigerator ship ("banana carrier").
During the Second World War served as a military transport. After the
war, it was transferred to Great Britain, but a year later it became
part of the USSR merchant fleet. From 1946 to 1949 she was a merchant
ship Equator, in 1949 she became a ship of the Academy of Sciences of
the USSR and was renamed Vityaz. From 1949 to 1979, the Vityaz made 65
voyages under the banner of the Academy of Sciences in the Pacific,
Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Now on board the restored ship there are
expositions dedicated to its history, scientific research, the history
of navigation, the nature of the World Ocean.
Diesel submarine B-413
of project 641. Included with the Navy from 1968 to 1999. On board the
submarine there is an exposition “From the History of the Russian
Submarine Fleet”.
Research vessel of the Russian Aviation and Space
Agency "Cosmonaut Viktor Patsaev". Wikidata Element Built in 1968 as a
timber carrier, converted to a research vessel in 1977. It plays the
role of a floating measuring point of the command and measuring complex,
designed to monitor and control the flights of satellites and
interplanetary stations, to receive and process information and
establish two-way communication with astronauts.
Amber Museum, pl.
Marshal Vasilevsky, d.1. ✉ ☎ +7(4012) 466-888. Tue-Sun, summer 10-19,
winter 10-18. 100 rubles, with an excursion 150. It is located in the
building of the Don Tower fort. Group tours for single visitors are held
every Saturday and Sunday at 12.00 and 16.00.
Historical and Art
Museum, st. Clinical, 21. ☎ +7(4012) 453-844, 453-710, 453-902; +7
(4012) 994-900, +7 (911) 868-31-76. 10.00-18.00, ticket office until
17.00; Monday day off. 150 rubles (preferential is cheaper), photo /
video filming is free, audio guide is 150 rubles.
Kaliningrad Museum
of Fine Arts, Leninsky Prospekt, 83 (buses No. 1, 3.5, 8, 10, 11, 12
minibuses 63, 64, 71, 87; trolleybuses 1). ☎ +7 4012 46-71-43 (ticket
office). Tue, Wed, Fri-Sun 10.00-18.00, Thursday until 21.00, Monday
closed.
Scientific Marine Museum of the Atlantic Research Institute
of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (AtlantNIRO Museum), st. Dmitry
Donskoy, 5. ☎ +7 4012 925416. Stuffed large fish and cetacean skeletons.
Also in the museum's exposition there are "giants and dwarfs among
sharks"; extinct and modern mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms; sponges;
corals, etc.
Hydrobiological Museum. N. S. Gaevskoy, pr. Soviet, 2
(near the North Station). ☎ +7 4012 216291. Little known highly
specialized museum. The exposition includes hydrobionts from different
places of the World Ocean, the entomofauna of the Baltic region.
Kaliningrad Zoo, Prospekt Mira, 26. ☎ 8(4012)21-89-14. daily: in
summer (May-September) from 9.00 to 19.00, in winter (October-April)
from 9.00 to 17.00. One of the largest and oldest zoos in Russia. It is
the "successor" of the former Königsberg Zoo, founded by the German
entrepreneur Hermann Klass in 1896.
Kaliningrad Botanical Garden
(Intersection of Lesnaya and Molodyozhnaya streets (bus number 4)). ☎
8(4012)214-424. from April 1 to October 31, daily, from 10 to 19.00.
Founded in 1904 by Paul Kaber, head of the Department of Higher Plants
and Systematics at the University of Königsberg. Today it is the base of
the Baltic Federal University named after Immanuel Kant.
Central Park
of Culture and Leisure (in Soviet times, Kalinin Park) Element of
Wikidata, Pobedy Avenue, 3. Previously, a German cemetery and Luizenval
Park were located on this site. The park has: a singing stage, many
attractions for children and adults, a cafe, a shooting range, an
adventure park with hanging wooden bridges, nets and ropes (in summer),
an ice arena and an outdoor skating rink (for winter recreation).
Despite the great destruction of Koenigsberg during the Second World
War, in modern Kaliningrad there are many places that tourists will be
extremely interested in visiting. Routes can be built based on visiting
places that are symbols of the city, such as the Cathedral on Kant
Island, or walk through numerous museums, theaters, go to the zoo or
botanical garden. The route along all the preserved city gates and other
fortifications is interesting. In any case, the traveler should be
careful and pay attention to minor details, because even the manhole
cover may turn out to be historical.
Kaliningrad in one day
If
a traveler can set aside only one day to explore Kaliningrad, then it
makes sense to make your program rich and highlight the most interesting
places to visit.
The Central Square can be suggested as a
starting point. If the tourist stays at any hotel located in the city
center, he will easily join the route of the first day. From the
Northern Station to the Central Square along Leninsky Prospekt, you can
walk in 10-15 minutes.
At the intersection of Shevchenko Street
and Leninsky Prospekt, it is impossible not to notice the House of
Soviets (Monster House in the name of local residents), built on the
Central Square of the city in Soviet times. From this point, the tourist
has a panorama of the main sights of Kaliningrad, and his path lies on
the overpass bridge over the Pregolya River (a continuation of Leninsky
Prospekt). On the bridge, you should keep to the left side in the
direction of travel, so that without crossing you will go down to Kant
Island.
Before that, you can go to the end of the bridge and see
the building of the Stock Exchange, located on Staropregolskaya
embankment. The building was built in the neo-Renaissance style in 1875,
and its northern facade goes straight into the waters of the Pregolya
River. The exchange stands on 2202 piles 12-18 meters long. Pay
attention to the figures of lions with shields at the entrance.
Currently, the building houses the Youth Creativity Palace. The building
is incredibly beautiful in the evening with original lighting. Returning
to the bridge, on small observation platforms you can take pictures
against the backdrop of Kant Island and the Cathedral. Kant Island is
formed at the confluence of two branches of the Pregol River - Novaya
and Staraya Pregolya. The Königsberg Cathedral houses the cathedral
museum and the I. Kant museum, it houses two organs, including the
largest in Russia and the Baltics, restored according to German
drawings. After visiting the museums, bypassing the cathedral, you can
visit the grave of I. Kant and see the monument to Duke Albrecht, the
founder of the Königsberg University, the last master and the first duke
of East Prussia, recently restored on the original pedestal. Having
crossed the Honey Bridge from Kant Island to Oktyabrskaya Street, the
traveler can go to the Victoria shopping center, which has a cheap fast
food restaurant and a free toilet. Behind the building of the shopping
center inside the residential quarters there is an architecturally
interesting Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Cross. To the right of
the Honey Bridge begins the so-called "Fish Village" - a quarter under
construction in the "pseudo-Old German" style. In the "Fish Village"
there is a viewing tower "Lighthouse", which offers an overview of the
island of Kant and the Cathedral.
We return to the island of
Kant. The next stage is the Museum of the World Ocean, it could be seen
earlier from the viewing platforms of the overpass in the western
direction. You can get there by going through the overpass in the
opposite direction, further to the embankment. The museum should visit
as many sections as possible, buying a ticket for each of them.
From the Museum of the World Ocean, along Moskovsky Prospekt, you can
climb to the monument to 1200 guardsmen at the intersection with
Gvardeisky Prospekt, as well as see the Railway and Ausfal Gates, the
remains of the Astronomical Bastion of the famous astronomer Bessel.
When moving up along Gvardeisky Prospekt, you can get to the square near
the North Station, Victory Square. Trains coming from the cities of the
region and the resorts of Svetlogorsk, Pionersky and Zelenogradsk have
the North Station as their final destination. The station was built in
1930, at present the old station building has a commercial and office
purpose, and the station itself is located in a building of a later
Soviet construction. Being on Victory Square, one cannot but pay
attention to the main dominant - the recently built Cathedral of Christ
the Savior. Opposite the temple, in the historical building (1923) of
the trade, later the town house of the Stadthaus, the city hall is
located (Ploschad Pobedy, 1). If you go behind the Cathedral of Christ
the Savior, then after a few hundred meters you can see the former House
of Technology (on Professor Baranov Street) - the former exhibition hall
of the East German Fair, built in 1924. Now this building houses the
Epicenter shopping center.
If time permits, from Victory Square
you can walk along Chernyakhovsky Street to inspect the city gates and
fortifications, or transfer this route to the next day.
… two
days
The route of the second day can be started from the square near
the North Station, where the hike of the first day was completed. Moving
along Chernyakhovsky Street through the Marshal Vasilevsky Square and
further along the Litovsky Val, you can see almost all the
fortifications and gates that have been preserved in the center at once.
The first building will be the Wrangel Tower, located behind the
spontaneous manufactured goods market. Further, passing by the Upper
Pond, we get to the Tower of the Don, which houses the must-see Museum
of Amber, which tells about the extraction of this stone (in the area in
the village of Yantarny there is the only industrial amber mining
enterprise in the world), demonstrating jewelry with amber, fragments
restored Amber Room, exclusive pieces of amber with inclusions. On April
9, 1945, a red banner was hoisted on this tower, symbolizing the victory
of the Soviet troops. Next to the Tower of the Don is the Rossgarten
Gate, which you can just look at, or you can go in and dine at the fish
restaurant located in the building. After Vasilevsky Square, in the
direction of movement to the left, Alexander Nevsky Street begins,
leading towards Khrabrovo Airport, at the beginning of which the
administrative building of the Russian State University named after I.
Kant is located. Near the building there is a monument to Francysk
Skaryna. But we will go straight ahead without turning. Here begins the
Litovsky Val street and the long ancient mound, which gave the name to
the street. The monumental bastion "Grolman" and the barracks
"Kronprinz" are successively located on Litovsky Val, at the
intersection with Frunze Street - the recently restored King's Gate,
which houses part of the exposition of the Museum of the World Ocean,
opened on the days of the city's anniversary in 2005 by V. V. Putin.
Next to the King's Gate, further down the road on the left side, you can
see and visit the Reduit Brasserie, located in a German two-story brick
building. The restaurant has its own brewery. Having reached the
intersection with Moskovsky Prospekt, you can see the last gates of the
day - Zakhimsky.
This long walking marathon almost ends. Moving
along Moskovsky Prospekt towards the center, you can get to the
Kaliningrad Art Gallery, and going up to the Nizhny or Zamkovy Pond,
visit the Historical and Art Museum, located in the former German
Stadthalle. After the museum, moving towards the North Station, you can
see another of the buildings of the Russian State University, built in
the 19th century, with a monument to Kant and visit the underground
bunker - the Blindage Museum, in which the commandant of Koenigsberg,
General Otto von Lyash, signed the act of surrender.
… three days
The third day, like the previous one, can be started from the square
near the North Station. To the west of the square towards Prospekt Mira
are quite compactly located:
in front of the building of the
Kaliningrad Technical University (formerly the Supreme Court of East
Prussia was located here) the sculpture “Bulls”, in fact, these are
bison. In the common people, the sculpture is called "the prosecutor
against the lawyer";
Headquarters of the Baltic Fleet with a monument
to Peter I;
at the fountain with a colonnade - the Schiller Monument
of 1910, one of the few surviving monuments of German times;
Regional
Drama Theatre.
On the left - the building of the Atlantic Branch
of the Institute of Oceanology and the regional library (the former
German Radio House and the preserved bomb shelters), the Red House - the
building of the Regional Government, the Baltika stadium (the former
German parade ground).
Further, on the right side in the
direction of travel, one of the best in the country, the Kaliningrad
Zoo, which is over a hundred years old, will be recommended for
visiting. Leaving the zoo and passing by the Moskva Hotel (with a brick
profile of the emblem of Berlin - a bear visible on the wall), the Zarya
cinema (and the Germans had a cinema here) and the monument to
"Compatriots-Cosmonauts" (Leonov, Patsaev, Romanenko) to at the
intersection with Victory Avenue, you can see the high spire of Queen
Louise's Church, which now houses a puppet theater. Kirkha is located in
the Central Park with numerous attractions, a summer stage, fountains,
monuments to V. Vysotsky and Baron Munchausen.
The rest of the
day can be devoted to a trip to the most interesting Botanical Garden,
located in the northern part of the city.
… four days
In the
remaining days, the traveler should make trips and excursions around the
Kaliningrad region.
For those interested in the fortifications of
Kaliningrad, on the fourth day, we can offer to explore the area near
the South Station, on the left bank of the Pregol River. Here, on
Portovaya Street, opposite the Museum of the World Ocean, there is Fort
Friedrichsburg. Not far from the South Station is the Brandenburg Gate,
the only gate through which a street passes, in this case Bagration
Street. Along Kalinin Avenue with chestnut trees planted on
fortifications covered with a protective layer of earth, forts are
located in the South Park, and the avenue ends with the Friedland Gate
with a museum and the Pregel bastion. On the way back, on B. Khmelnitsky
Street, you can see the Gothic church of the Holy Family, which
currently houses the organ hall of the regional philharmonic society.
The historical districts of Amalienau and Maraunenhof are
recommended for lovers of unhurried walks along quiet green streets.
It was founded in 1255 by the Knights of the Teutonic Order as a fortress and named Königsberg (German for "royal mountain") in honor of the Czech king Premysl Otakar II, who took an active part in campaigns against the Baltic tribe of the Prussians. Neighboring peoples called the city in their own languages, on the territory of Rus' before the reign of Peter I, the area was known as Korolevets. In 1946, it was supposed to rename the city to Baltiysk, but in connection with the death of the Soviet party and statesman M. I. Kalinin, the city was renamed Kaliningrad in memory of him
Before 1945
The city was founded on a hill on the high right
bank in the lower reaches of the Pregol River on the site of the
Prussian settlement Twangste (Prussian Twangste) on September 1,
1255 as a castle by the knights of the Grand Master of the Teutonic
Order Poppo von Ostern and the Czech king Premysl Otakar II, whose
troops came to the aid of the suffering defeats from the local
population to the knights, who, in turn, were invited to Prussia by
the Polish king to fight the pagans.
The city's history can
be divided into four periods: an old Prussian settlement known as
Twangste until 1255; the Polish town of Krulewiec from 1454 to 1455
and then the estate of Poland from 1456 to 1657; the German city of
Königsberg from 1657 to 1945; and the Soviet-Russian city of
Königsberg from 1945, from 1946 - Kaliningrad, to the present.
Königsberg in World War II
The assault on Königsberg by
Soviet troops was preceded by a double massive bombardment of the
city by British aircraft in August 1944, which completely destroyed
its middle part.
The assault on the city of Königsberg by
Soviet troops during the East Prussian operation during the Great
Patriotic War began on April 6, 1945.
The battle for Fort No.
5 “King Frederick William III”, which guarded the northwestern
approaches to the city, was especially fierce.[20] During the
assault, the Red Army under the command of Marshal of the Soviet
Union A.M. Vasilevsky for the first time used the tactic of
launching an infantry attack before the end of artillery
preparation, which made it possible to avoid enemy fire on the way
to the fortifications and take the fortification garrison by
surprise. The reverse side of the medal was the significant loss of
the assault forces from the fire of their own troops - the ongoing
artillery preparation. Among others, selected guards units suffered
heavy losses. The memory of them was subsequently immortalized in
the monument "1200 Guardsmen", located in the city center on
Gvardeysky Prospekt. And on April 9, 1945, the Red Banner was raised
over the Der Dona tower, where the Amber Museum is now located,
marking the end of the German history of the city.
Accession
to the USSR
By decision of the Potsdam Conference in 1945, the
northern part of the German province of East Prussia, together with
its capital Königsberg, was temporarily transferred to the USSR.
Later, when the border treaties were signed, the Königsberg region
was fully recognized as the possession of the Soviet Union.
Only 20,000 of the 370,000 German inhabitants who lived in the city
before the Great Patriotic War remained. Although immediately after
the war, work began on adapting the Germans to a new life - the
newspaper Novoye Vremya was published in German, schools were
organized where teaching was conducted in German - it was decided to
deport the German population from the Kaliningrad region to Germany,
where almost all of them were sent by 1947. Only a few specialists
helped to restore the work of the enterprises of the city and the
region until 1948 and even until 1949, but they were not given the
opportunity to obtain Soviet citizenship, and subsequently they were
deported to Germany, as well as forcibly evicted from other
territories lost by Germany following World War II. Instead, Soviet
citizens were resettled in the city.
On July 4, 1946, after
the death of the “all-Union headman” M.I. Kalinin, in his honor the
city of Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad by the Decree of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, although Kalinin had no
direct relation to this city, and there were already cities on the
map of the country Kalinin (now Tver) and Kaliningrad in the Moscow
region (now Korolev).
After the war, the city began to be
populated at a rapid pace. In the first post-war years, the almost
completely destroyed city was actively restored, and the military
builders of the army and navy played an important role in its
restoration. On November 7, 1946, tram traffic was restored. Since
1946, the Regional Museum of Local Lore (now the Regional Museum of
History and Art) has been forming its collections. In 1948, classes
began at the Kaliningrad State Pedagogical Institute, several
technical schools and other educational institutions. Cinemas
accepted their first viewers. In 1958, Rybvtuz was transferred from
Moscow and transformed into the Kaliningrad Technical Institute of
the Fishing Industry and Economy (now the Kaliningrad State
Technical University). In 1967, the Pedagogical Institute was
reorganized into Kaliningrad State University (now the Immanuel Kant
Baltic Federal University). In 1966, the Higher Nautical School was
opened (until 2012 - the Baltic State Academy of the Fishing Fleet).
From 1953 to 1962, a monument to Stalin stood on Victory Square.
In 1973 the town hall was turned into the House of Soviets. In 1975,
the trolleybus was launched again. In 1980, a concert hall was
opened in the building of the former Lutheran Church of the Holy
Family. In 1986, the Kreuzkirche building was transferred to the
Russian Orthodox Church.
For foreigners, the city was completely closed and, with the
exception of rare friendship visits from neighboring Poland, was
practically not visited by foreigners.
The old city was not
restored, and the ruins of the castle were demolished in the late 1960s,
despite the protests of architects, historians, local historians and
ordinary residents of the city.
Current state
Changes in the
1990s, associated with the collapse of the USSR, marked the beginning of
a new stage in the development of the Kaliningrad region. In October
1996, elections were held for the mayor of the city, and then for the
governor of the Kaliningrad region, the rise of public life began.
Since 1991, the city has been open for international cooperation
with foreign countries, primarily with Germany and Poland, in the field
of business, culture and education.
There are many foreign
institutions in the city that provide the information, administrative
and visa support necessary for the city, including:
Visa Application
Centers in Italy, Spain, Malta, Austria, Bulgaria, Norway, Switzerland,
the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Slovenia and Finland
Branch of the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in Russia
Consulate
General of Germany
Consulate General and Visa Application Center of
the Republic of Poland
Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania
Kaliningrad branch of the Consulate General of Sweden in St. Petersburg
Office of the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia
in Russia
Honorary Consuls of Armenia, Greece, Denmark, Italy,
Tajikistan, France and Croatia
Representation of the Hamburg Chamber
of Commerce in Kaliningrad
Danish Project Coordination Adviser's
Office
Center for German Culture "German-Russian House"
Polish
cultural and business center
The question of returning the name
Königsberg to the city was repeatedly raised. In 2009, the head of the
administration of Kaliningrad, F.F. Lapin, advocated the return of the
historical name to the city. In September 2011, the governor of the
Kaliningrad region, N. N. Tsukanov, said that the issue of renaming
could be resolved by a referendum, but he himself is a supporter of the
current name of the city.
Until 2010, Kaliningrad had the status
of a historical settlement, but by order of the Ministry of Culture of
Russia dated July 29, 2010 No. 418/339, the city was deprived of this
status, like hundreds of other cities.
In 2018, Kaliningrad
became one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup.
Get in
By plane
Kaliningrad International Airport
(IATA:KGD) Khrabrovo is located about 25 km north of Kaliningrad.
Khrabrovo is connected by flights with the following cities:
Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan,
Yekaterinburg, Belgorod, Volgograd, Lipetsk, Cherepovets,
Petrozavodsk.
Eastern Europe: Warsaw, Gomel, Minsk, Rome.
Central Asia: Tashkent.
The main Russian air carriers that
regularly fly to Kaliningrad are Aeroflot, UTAir, Ural Airlines,
Rossiya, S7.
Airport "Khrabrovo" (The bus runs approximately
every hour to the South Station. Payment 100 rubles to the driver.).
By train
The city has two main stations, South and North. The
northern station serves only local trains (in the region). The South
Station receives trains from Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg,
Murmansk, Chelyabinsk, Adler and Sochi).
Railway station
"Kaliningrad-Yuzhny".
Railway station "Kaliningrad-Severny".
Rules for traveling by train through the territory of Lithuania
for citizens of the Russian Federation.
You can get from
Moscow from the Belorussky railway station to Kaliningrad by branded
train No. 029 "Yantar", departure daily, travel time 22 hours.
Several passenger trains also run on a special schedule.
From
St. Petersburg from Vitebsky railway station to Kaliningrad every
day in the summer, the rest of the time every other day, train
number 079 runs, the journey time is just over a day.
By car
Since the Kaliningrad region is an exclave (semi-exclave) and does
not border on the main territory of Russia, in order to get to
Kaliningrad from Moscow by land, it is necessary to pass through the
territory of Belarus and Lithuania. To travel through Lithuania, you
need to apply for a Schengen visa and comply with customs
formalities.
By bus
Regular bus routes connect Kaliningrad
with Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Germany.
In Kaliningrad, the bus station is located on Kalinin Square,
next to the railway station Kaliningrad-Passenger. From this bus
station depart international bus routes to Lithuania, Latvia,
Estonia, Poland, Germany and the Republic of Belarus, as well as
intra-regional flights.
By ship
The Kaliningrad region is
connected with St. Petersburg by a ferry crossing. The ferry
terminal is not located in Kaliningrad itself, but in the port city
of Baltiysk.
In summer, the Polish shipping company operates
several routes connecting Kaliningrad and Baltiysk with the cities
of Poland:
Elblag-Kaliningrad (conventional vessels and
high-speed SPK)
Frombork-Kaliningrad (conventional vessels and
high-speed SPK)
Gdansk-Baltiysk
There is also a ferry
connecting the Kaliningrad region with Germany.
The main modes of transport are buses, trolleybuses, trams,
fixed-route taxis. Trams and trolleybuses are municipal, buses are
mostly private, fixed-route taxis are all private.
There are many
tram and trolleybus lines in the city, but when you see them, you should
not try to leave - almost all of them are abandoned, you will need
up-to-date route maps.
The fare in public transport is 28 rubles
(2020), in minibuses a little more (30 rubles).
Cheap
As of 2021, there is a clear shortage of budget hotels
in Kalingrad, especially those available for several days in a row;
the situation is better with hostels and rented apartments.
Deima, st. Tolstikova, 15. ☎ (4012) 71-08-14. It is located far
enough from the city center, not very good reviews.
Average
cost
Hotel "Golden Bay", st. B. Khmelnitsky, 53. ☎ (4012)
44-58-78. Located near the South Station, next to the Philharmonic.
Hotel Navigator, Sovetsky Prospekt 285. ✉ ☎ (4012)566-222.
Interesting design, clean and comfortable rooms, good plumbing.
There is quite a decent sauna with hydromassage. However, the
attitude of the staff at the reception is very Soviet. By bus number
36 or minibus number 76 from the hotel to the stop "Zoo" - about 15
minutes. In the morning, transport runs every 5-7 minutes, in the
evening it is more reasonable to take a taxi. Buses to Svetlogorsk
and Zelenogradsk stop at the hotel (approximately every 20-30-40
minutes, but it is very problematic to find out the exact schedule).
Hotel "Kaliningrad", Leninsky Prospekt, 81. Single room from 3000r.
The main Soviet hotel of the city, located in the very center. The
number of rooms includes 206 rooms, excellent views of the island of
Kant from the rooms on the upper floors. The hotel was renovated in
2018, all rooms are in excellent condition. Among the shortcomings:
a separately paid breakfast (440 rubles), there is a kettle in the
rooms, but there are no mugs or other accessories.
Moscow Hotel,
19 Mira Ave. ☎ +7 (4012) 53-93-30. Double room from 2200 rub.
Breakfasts are paid extra.
Paraiso Hotel, st. Turgeneva, 32a.. ✉
☎ +7-4012-21-69-69. Double room from 1900r, accommodation +
breakfast.
Guest house "Glamour", Verkhneozernaya st., 2.. ☎ +7
(4012) 53-80-20. Double room from 2000r, accommodation + breakfast.
Friedrichoff Hotel, st. Chkalova, 31A. Double room from 2200 rub.
Breakfasts are paid extra.
Hotel "Tourist", st. Nevsky,
53. Double room from 2050r. Accommodation + breakfast.
Expensive
Dona Hotel, M. Vasilevsky Square, 2. ✉ ☎
+7-4012-35-16-50. Double room from 2700r, accommodation + breakfast.
Usadba Hotel, Orlovka village, Zarechnaya st., 8. ✉ ☎
+7-4012-38-48-50, fax: +7-4012-35–66–09 Double room from 2650r,
accommodation + breakfast. 7 km. from the city on the way to
Zelenogradsk.
Hotel "Oberteich", Verkhneozernaya st., 11. Double
room from 2650 rubles, accommodation + breakfast.
Hotel "Turtle",
Zoological dead end, 10. Double room from 3600r, accommodation +
breakfast.
Hotel "Marton Palace" (formerly Triumph Palace),
Bolshevik lane, 3. Double room from 5400r, accommodation +
breakfast. Nice, but a little "tired" hotel in a quiet side street.
Friendly staff, all 4 star bonuses: bathrobes, slippers, toiletries,
etc. Cozy rooms, but the audibility between the rooms upsets, and
the noise comes from the street. There are catastrophically few
sockets in the room (ask for a tee at the reception). Breakfasts are
modest but good; but the "evening" restaurant seems to be from the
1990s.
Guest house "Villa Severin", Leningradskaya st., 9A.
Double room from 2700r, accommodation + breakfast.
Hotel
"Skipper", st. Oktyabrskaya, 4A (in the Fish Village, near Kant
Island). ☎ +7(4012) 307-237. Double room from 2800 rub. Breakfasts
are paid extra.
Hotel "Heliopark Kaiserhof" (Heliopark
Kaiserhof), st. Oktyabrskaya 6A (in the Fish Village near the
Jubilee Bridge). ✉ ☎ +7 (4012) 592-222. Double room from 5100
rubles, accommodation + breakfast. This modern 4* hotel is
conveniently located near Kant Island. The hotel has a spa center
with a small pool and a restaurant. Near the hotel there is a small
embankment-promenade (if you want rooms with a view of the river,
specifically specify this when booking).
Hotel "Chaika", st.
Pugacheva, 13 (corner of Stepan Razin street). ☎ +7 (4012) 352-211.
from 3800 rub. including breakfast. A small 3-star hotel in the
historic district of Amalienau, decorated in a retro style, but with
all modern amenities.
Papasha Beppe Pizzaria, Leninsky Pr. 20/26 and Baltiiskaya Ul.
12. 11AM to 11PM. Many locals consider this to be the best thin
crust and thick crust pizza in town, also a wide variety of salads,
pastas, risottos, and desserts. 200-600 Rubles per pizza.
Karamel, Leninsky Prospekt 30 (On the top floor of the Plaza Center;
note the separate elevator to the right of the main entrance to the
shopping mall.), ☎ +7 4012 53-04-61. Some of the best views from the
city from this cafe. Excellent food and fairly broad range of
European cuisine, approximately 500 rubles per entree.
Razgulyai, Ploshad' Pobedy 1, ☎ +7 4012 533-689. Cafeteria-style
restaurant with rustic decor. Good for children.
Solyanka Cafe,
24 Prospect Mira, ☎ +7 4012-936-203. Try the solyanka, a thick,
piquant soup that is either meat-based, fish-based or
vegetable-based. It is cooked with preserved cucumbers, olives,
capers and tomato puree that give a strong sour-salty taste to the
soup. Solyanka is perhaps one of the most popular soups besides
borscht (beetroot soup) in Russia, but remains unknown beyond the
national boundaries. 500 rubles.
Zarya, Prospekt Mira 41/43
(Just up the street from the Moscow Hotel), ☎ +7 4012 21-39-29. A
trendy, upscale restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, wide
selection on the menu, excellent desserts. In the same building as a
movie theater.
Drink
Twelve Chairs (Dvenadstat' Stulyev).
A very chic bohemian style cafe with a decent food menu.
In the
Shadows of the Castle (V Teni Zamka) (In the strip mall across from
the Kaliningrad Hotel). opens at 11AM. One of Kaliningrad's
longest-lasting cafes.
Local beer brands that are available in
stores include Ostmark and Königsberg.
Hmel Restaurant and
Brewery, Pobedi Square, 10 ('Klover' Shopping Centre, 2nd Floor), ☎
+7 4012-593-377. Live music starts at 9PM every night. A gigantic
brewery on the second floor churns out home-made beer. 95
rubles/glass.
Kropotkin, Teatralnaya ulitsa 30 (next to the big
McDonald's near Victory Square), ☎ +7 401 266 8060. Self-made beer
(100 RUB 0,5l), probably the best in town. Try the unfiltered one.
Acceptable food, cosy beerhall atmosphere and business lunch. 400
RUB
Traditional souvenirs from Kaliningrad are amber
items; there are many jewelry stores in the city center where you
can buy them.
Souvenirs from the Max Preuss Manufactory.
(souvenirs without amber), st. Garage, 2A. T-shirts and bags with
quotes from Kant, postcards, tourist cards, and, of course, magnets.
As well as books and photo albums on the history of Koenigsberg and
Kaliningrad.
Glass souvenirs at the Museum of Glass, st.
Oktyabrskaya, 8 (Lighthouse in the Fishing Village, 5th floor (on
foot!)). Glassware made by Kaliningrad masters. There are small
inexpensive souvenirs, there are more expensive and more interesting
interior items.
Croissant cafe. In this chain of cafes, you can
buy fresh handmade chocolates in a bright gift box with a picture of
Kaliningrad sights. Shelf life of sweets is 1 month.
Victoria. A
chain of supermarkets located at:
blvd. L. Shevtsova, 1. ☎ +7
(4012) 58-22-77. 07:00-02:00.
st. Gaidar, 120. ☎ +7 (4012)
32-65-00. 07:00-02:00.
Solnechny Blvd., 1. ☎ +7 (4012) 36-14-14.
07:00-02:00.
st. April 9, 9. ☎ +7 (4012) 36-92-20. 07:00-02:00.
sq. Kalinina, 28. ☎ +7 (4012) 63-00-04. around the clock.
Leninsky pr., 30. ☎ +7 (4012) 53-55-28. around the clock.
137
Pobedy Ave. ☎ +7 (4012) 35-42-04. 07:00-02:00.
Victoria-Kvartal,
http://www.victoria-group.ru/ Network of stores located at:
Moskovsky prospect, 123. ☎ +7 (4012) 36-92-56. 07:00-01:00.
st.
Nekrasov, 18/24. ☎ +7 (4012) 38-17-04. 09:00-24:00.
st.
Krasnoselskaya, 13/19. ☎ +7 (4012) 33-17-04. 07:00-01:00.
st.
Kuibyshev, 91A. ☎ +7 (4012) 33-83-46. 07:00-02:00.
61 Mira Ave. ☎
+7 (4012) 95-50-52. 07:00-02:00.
st. Belibeyskaya, 12=. ☎ +7
(4012) 46-15-56. 07:00-02:00.
st. Flour mill, 2/8=. ☎ +7 (4012)
64-18-77. 07:00-24:00.
st. Frunze, 73=. ☎ +7 (4012) 35-91-53.
08:00-24:00.
st. Epronovskaya, 1=. ☎ +7 (4012) 38-67-53.
07:00-01:00.
Armenia Armenia (Honourary Consulate), Kievskaya
street, 23, ☎ +7 4012 681-083, +7 4012 680-022.
Croatia Croatia
(General Consulate), Dzherzhinskogo street, 244-A, ☎ +7 4012
60-05-55, fax: +7 (4012) 60-05-56.
Denmark Denmark (Honourary
Consulate), Proletarskaya street, 133, ☎ +7 4012 95-76-88.
Germany Germany (General Consulate), Leningradskaya street, 4, ☎ +7
(4012) 920-218 (short-term visas), +7 (4012) 920-220 (admission), +7
(4012) 920-219 (national visas), fax: +7 (4012) 920-229, e-mail:
info@kaliningrad.diplo.de. Mon-Thu, 9AM-5PM; Fri 9AM-2PM.
Greece
Greece (Honourary Consulate), Ogareva street, 33, ☎ +7 4012
93-60-27, e-mail: scherbakov@avtotor.ru.
Italy Italy (Honourary
Consulate), Chernyakhovskogo street, 6 office 108, ☎ +7 4012
53-24-32, fax: +7 (4012) 53-24-32, e-mail:
consolatokaliningrad@yandex.ru.
Latvia Latvia (General
Consulate), Engels street, 52-а, ☎ +7 921 107-4224, +7 411 270-6755,
+7 401 256-5502, +7 8 4012 295-7441, fax: +7 (921) 232-9750, e-mail:
chancery.kaliningrad@mfa.gov.lv. Mon-Fri, 9AM-6PM.
Lithuania
Lithuania (General Consulate), Proletarskaya street, 133, ☎ +7 4012
95-7688, +7 4012 95-9486, fax: +7 (4012) 95-6838, e-mail:
kons.kaliningradas@urm.lt. Mon-Fri, 8-30 - 12-30.
Netherlands
Netherlands (Representation at the General Consulate of Sweden),
Kutuzova street, 29, ☎ +7 4012 959-400, fax: +7 (4012) 959-433,
e-mail:
generalkonsulat.kaliningrad@foreign.ministry.se. Mon, Tue,
Thu, Fri, 9-00 - 12-00.
Norway Norway (Honourary Consulate at
the General Consulate of Poland), Kashtanovaya Alley, 51, ☎ +7
(4012) 976-440, +7 (4012) 218-741 (visa issues), fax: +7 (4012)
976-443, e-mail: consulat@kaliningrad.polemb.net. Mon-Fri, 8-30AM -
1-00PM.
Poland Poland (General Consulate), Kashtanovaya Alley,
51, ☎ +7 (4012) 976-440, +7 (4012) 218-741 (visa issues), fax: +7
(4012) 976-443, e-mail:
consulat@kaliningrad.polemb.net. Mon-Fri,
9-00AM - 2-00PM.
Visa Centers
Estonia Estonia (Estonian
visa service provided by the Consulate of Lithuania), Proletarskaya
street, 133, ☎ +7 4012 95-7688, +7 4012 95-9486, fax: +7 (4012)
95-6838, e-mail: kons.kaliningradas@urm.lt. Mon-Fri, 8-30 - 12-30.
Hungary SloveniaHungary and Slovenia (Hungarian and Slovenian
visa service provided by the Consulate of Latvia), Engels street,
52-а, ☎ +7 921 107-4224, +7 411 270-6755, +7 401 256-5502, +7 8 4012
295-7441, fax: +7 (921) 232-9750, e-mail:
chancery.kaliningrad@mfa.gov.lv. Mon-Fri, 9AM-6PM.
Sweden Sweden
(Swedish visa service provided by the Consulate of Poland),
Kashtanovaya Alley, 51, ☎ +7 (4012) 976-440, +7 (4012) 218-741 (visa
issues), fax: +7 (4012) 976-443, e-mail:
consulat@kaliningrad.polemb.net. Mon-Fri, 9AM - 2PM.
The city is located on both banks of the Pregol River
near its confluence with the Kaliningrad Bay of the Baltic Sea. The
terrain is flat, but the northern part of the city is located on a
higher bank. There are many hydrographic objects in the city: the Lower,
Upper Ponds (Two streams flow into the Upper Pond. The Blue Stream
(German Wirrgraben - Steep Ditches) flows into the pond in the area of
the Yunost Park. The second stream - Molodyozhny Stream (German
Beydfitter River) flows into the pond in the area of Tolstoy Street.),
Float, Lake Lesnoye, a chain of former quarries near the village named
after Alexander Kosmodemyansky (Dump, Lake Beloe), Summer Pond, ponds in
South Park, on Gvardeysky Prospekt and others; many streams. The Park
Stream flows from the Upper Pond, which is a tributary of the Pregolya.
Part of the water from the Upper Pond flows through the cascade into the
Lower Pond.
Geographical position
Timezone
Kaliningrad is
in the MSK-1 time zone. The offset of the applicable time from UTC is
+2:00. In accordance with the applied time and geographic longitude, the
average solar noon in Kaliningrad occurs at 12:38.
The climate of the city is transitional from maritime
to continental. The Köppen climate classification is Dfb. Due to the
influence of the Gulf Stream, winters are warmer than in the continental
regions of Eurasia. As a rule, spring comes earlier, and autumn is
somewhat slower than in mainland areas at the same latitude. The spring
season in Kaliningrad is long and usually begins in late February-early
March, when the average daily temperature begins to regularly exceed
0°C. Due to the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, summer in Kaliningrad
is moderately cool and comes, on average, on June 11th. Climatic autumn
comes in early September and coincides with the calendar in time. It is
also protracted. In mid-December, the average daily temperature drops
below 0°C, autumn ends and a mild Baltic winter sets in.
The
average annual temperature is +7.9°C, but in recent years there has been
a steady upward trend, and in 2001-2018 it was already +8.6°C.
Average annual wind speed 2.2 m/s
Average annual air humidity 79%
The region ranks 70th (out of 85 constituent entities
of the Russian Federation) in the Environmental Rating of the Russian
Federation in 2020.
Hydrosphere
After the end of the Second
World War, 296,103 tons of chemical weapons were discovered in the
occupied territory of Germany. At the Potsdam Peace Conference of the
countries of the anti-Hitler coalition in 1945, a decision was made to
destroy it. As a result, 267.5 thousand tons of bombs, shells, mines and
containers were dropped into the Baltic Sea, its bays and straits, which
contained 50-55 thousand tons of 14 types of chemical warfare agents
belonging to the Wehrmacht. The burial of chemical warfare agents in the
Baltic significantly worsens the ecological state of the environment.
Hundreds of thousands of mines, shells, aerial bombs, containers and
barrels are stuffed with 14 types of poisonous substances (OS),
including mustard gas, lewisite, diphosgene, phosgene, adamsite,
supertoxic tabun, sarin and others.