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Zelenogradsk is located on the Amber Coast in the Kaliningrad region. It is the resort city on the Baltic Sea at the base of the Curonian Spit. It was formerly known under a German name of Kranz prior to World War II. Zelenogradsk is a small town, which, if desired, can be walked around. The holiday season here lasts from June 15 to September 15.
The attractions of the resort are a beautiful sea promenade, a city
promenade with a long beach, a 150-meter pier and a large park that
merges with a large pine forest outside the city. The Curonian Spit
National Park, included in the UNESCO list of Natural monuments, begins
from the outskirts of the city.
A quiet seaside town is somewhat
more modest than the neighboring resort of Svetlogorsk. Located not on a
high shore, but on the gentle slopes of the dunes, it offers a relaxing
family holiday, although there are places for young people, including an
unofficial nudist beach. You can sunbathe by the sea even on a windy
day, hiding among small sandy hills in the area of the so-called "frying
pan".
Zelenogradsk is a popular place for short—term recreation
for residents of Kaliningrad. The beach is covered with fine light sand,
turning into small seaside dunes. The relief of the seabed off the coast
is flat and flat. In Zelenogradsk, unlike the other resort of
Svetlogorsk, there are no steep descents and ascents, which is
convenient for those suffering from diseases of the heart, respiratory
organs and musculoskeletal system. The city also has its own mineral
water, which is called Zelenogradskaya.
A network of children's
health camps has been preserved in Zelenogradsk for children's
recreation. The city has a sports and recreation complex, opened in
2014, which has halls for gaming, strength sports, martial arts,
aerobics, choreography, fitness, as well as 2 swimming pools: one for
experienced swimmers, the second for beginners. 130 people can visit the
complex at the same time.
Based on the success of the Murarium Museum, located in the old
Zelenogradsk water tower, in the 2010s, the city authorities began to
use the "cat" theme to create an image of the city and increase its
tourist attractiveness. Cats have become an unofficial symbol of
Zelenogradsk: sculptures, street drawings, and art objects are dedicated
to them. Many urban objects, such as bulletin boards and benches, are
stylized using images of cats.
In 2018, the city administration
introduced the position of "cat chef" — his duties include feeding and
caring for cats in the city square, where many cats live and there are
heated houses for them. Money for cat food is allocated by the city
administration and volunteers. There are also vending machines for cat
food for tourists who want to feed the animals.
Activists
attempted to place the cat on the official coat of arms of Zelenogradsk,
but this initiative was not supported by the authorities of the region.
The image of Zelenogradsk as a "city of cats" has a downside:
abandoned cats and kittens began to be brought to the city. This creates
the problem of the appearance of a large number of stray animals, for
the sterilization and arrangement of which the administration and
volunteers do not have enough resources. Imported cats are often sick,
which poses a threat of spreading infections.
There are two Orthodox churches and a Sunday school in Zelenogradsk. The first Orthodox church of the city was opened in 1998 and consecrated in the name of St. Andrew the First-Called. St. Andrew's Church is located in the building of the former Catholic chapel of St. Andrew. A little later, the Transfiguration Cathedral was opened, located in the building of the former Lutheran church of St. Adalbert (St. Adalbertskirche). Seven bells of different sizes were cast especially for the belfry of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Voronezh.
The architectural appearance of Krantz was formed in the second half of the XIX — first half of the XX century. Most of the buildings belong to the Art Nouveau style (the German trend of Art Nouveau), there are also buildings with elements of other styles, such as Neo-Gothic and neoclassicism, which gives the architecture of the city a touch of eclecticism.
The railway station was opened along with the railway on July 8,
1885. The station building has hardly changed. The modern address is ul.
Railway station, 2, old Bahnhofplatz.
The former building of the
Krantz Resort Administration. A brick building in the Art Nouveau style,
built at the beginning of the XX century. In German times, all tourists
who arrived in Kranz for more than three days had to register with the
resort administration and pay a special fee, which went towards the
development and improvement of the resort. The current address is the
Promenade, the old address is the Corso.
The former post office. The
red brick building was built in the Neo-Gothic style at the beginning of
the XX century. The building has been preserved almost unchanged. The
post office itself, the telegraph office and the postmaster's office
were located here. Today it is a private property. The current address
is Kurortny Prospekt 29, the old address is Konigsbergstrasse 29
(Königsbergstrasse 29).
The former kurhaus. The kurhaus was called
the main hotel of a resort. The Kranets Kurhaus was built in 1843,
subsequently burned down and was restored in the Art Nouveau style. As
of the beginning of the XXI century, the kurhaus is a private property.
It has been restored as a hotel, but is not in use yet. The current
address is Kurortny Prospekt, 16, the old address is Königsbergstrasse.
The Murarium Water Tower Museum. The building of the water tower is the
symbol and dominant of the resort. The 40 m high tower was built in 1904
for the water supply of the Krantz and was distinguished by a peculiar
dome. It was not used for its intended purpose after 1946. Now the
Murarium Museum is located here, where the largest art collection of
cats in Russia is located. The museum's exposition contains more than
4.5 thousand interior items, jewelry, paintings and other interesting
things collected around the world.
Max Krell's villa. The building,
located at 6 Lenin Street, was built at the beginning of the XX century.
It belonged to the family of the famous Prussian lawyer M. Krell. He was
the mayor of Memel for a long time, was a well-known public figure, but
after retiring from business, he moved to Kranz, opening a notary and
law office. The villa was built according to an individual project, the
silhouette resembles a Russian tower, but with Gothic elements in the
upper part. The roof is covered with glazed tiles. The building is an
object of cultural heritage of regional significance. Since 1947, the
house has housed a children's library, since 2014 — the Zelenograd City
Museum of Local Lore. The museum expositions, located on an area of 550
m2, are devoted to the history of the city and the district from ancient
times to the present. There is an "Art Basement" in the basement of the
Museum of Local Lore, where art workshops are held.
The monument on the mass grave of Soviet soldiers who died during the capture of the city of Kranets in January-February 1945 was installed in Zelenogradsk in 1950 (Moskovskaya Street, 51). Repair and restoration work was carried out in 1975 and 2004. In the center of a rectangular area on a high pedestal, on which is carved the inscription "To the soldiers who fell for the Motherland. 1945", a 2.5 m high sculpture of a warrior was installed. He has a submachine gun slung over his right shoulder, and his left hand presses a helmet to his side. There are six tombstones with plaques along the sides of the memorial. In front of the monument there is a tombstone with three plaques, behind the monument there are two rectangular flowerbeds with blue fir trees. By Decree of the Government of the Kaliningrad Region dated March 23, 2007 No. 132, the memorial complex on the mass grave of Soviet soldiers received the status of a cultural heritage site of local (municipal) significance.
The main transport hub in the vicinity of Zelenogradsk is certainly
Kaliningrad, located 32 kilometers to the south.
By plane
To
Kaliningrad Khrabrovo airport, then directly by taxi or minibus — the
distance along the highway is about 20 kilometers, otherwise transit
through Kaliningrad by other means of transport.
A taxi from the
airport to Zelenogradsk costs from 500 rubles, there is an official
reception on the ground floor of the airport (near the exit).
By
train
Zelenogradsk-Yuzhny railway station. The city train station is
located in the city center and a couple of minutes from the sea coast.
Trains from Kaliningrad arrive at the station every 1-2 hours, whose
running time varies from 31 to 45 minutes. Also, trains from Svetlogorsk
arrive at the station three times a day.
By bus
Zelenogradsk
bus stop. There is a bus stop at the station, where intercity buses
arrive from the Kaliningrad bus station, as well as from the Curonian
Spit. The routes from Kaliningrad (114, 140, 141 and 593) follow it with
stops where you can also board.
By car
From Kaliningrad on
the A191 highway, a distance of 32 kilometers.
An environmental
fee is charged from the territory of Lithuania along the Curonian Spit,
the distance from Klaipeda is 105 kilometers.
In the vicinity of modern Zelenogradsk, early medieval settlements and defensive ramparts of the land of the Prussians were found: villages (type 1 and type 2) of a village or neighboring community, which concentrated around settlements with a settlement and gentlemen who lived in it according to V. T. Pashuto. The famous settlement of a cult character closest to Zelenogradsk is the "Pushkaitis Settlement" (Prussian. Galgenpusch, dosl. "God of the Underworld") is a Prussian sanctuary of the early Middle Ages. 3 km south of the city there is the largest archaeological complex of the Viking age, known on the Neman Way — Kaup (dosl. "The Feast"). It includes an open trade and craft settlement and a burial mound-ground burial ground. IX — beginning XI centuries.
The village of Prussian fishermen Prussian appeared on the territory
of Zelenogradsk. Pillkoppen (dosl. "Coastal settlement"), on the site of
which the village of Prussia appeared in 1282. Kranta-Krug (mixed
Prussian-German "Tavern on the shore"). It served the road leading from
Konigsberg along the Curonian Spit to Klaipeda.
In 1283, the
Crusaders built a castle in the present Zaton tract (1.5 km southeast of
Zelenogradsk). Neuhaus (dosl. "New House"). In the sand on the shore of
the Curonian Lagoon, you can still find the oak logs of the foundation
of this order castle.
In the XVI century, not far from the ruins
of the castle, a customs station arose, next to which a tavern called
Glomsack soon appeared, which died in a fire around 1813.
In 1816, by the decision of the Land minister and politician Count
Theodor von Schoen, a seaside resort was opened in Krantz. This year,
the first resort infrastructure was created here: men's and women's
baths. In the first year of its existence, the resort received 35
guests, the permanent population of the village itself by that time was
about 300 inhabitants.
The popularity of the resort gradually
grew, in particular, in 1829, the famous Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz
visited it. In 1844, Krantz received the status of a royal resort. In
less than half a century, numerous boarding houses, sanatoriums, hotels
and fashionable private houses have appeared in the resort. The
development was also facilitated by the first railway line connecting
the resort with Konigsberg in 1885. As a result, the influx of tourists
has increased significantly.
On February 4, 1945, during the Great Patriotic War, the city of
Krantz was occupied by the Soviet Red Army during the East Prussian
operation. Fierce battles were fought on the Curonian Spit, but Krantz
himself was practically unharmed.
On April 18, 1945, the Hero of
the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Tkachenko Ivan Filippovich, died in the
city area, and was buried in a military mass grave (Moskovskaya Street).
In 1946, after the annexation of the Konigsberg region to the RSFSR
(as a result of the Potsdam Agreement of 1945) and the renaming of
Konigsberg to Kaliningrad, Kranz was renamed Zelenogradsk.
The unofficial coat of arms is divided into two parts, the upper part
depicted brown elk horns on a gold background, the lower part — a silver
flounder on an azure background.
The modern coat of arms of the
city (authorship by G. Lerman) was approved by the decision of the City
Council of Deputies on April 22, 2011 and largely repeats the previous
(unofficial) one, but instead of horns, an oak wreath is placed on it.
The climate is temperate, transitional from maritime to continental. The winter is mild (the average temperature in January is -3 °C). Summers are moderately warm (the average temperature in July is +17 °C). The average water temperature in the sea in summer is from 16.5 to 17 °C, but it also reaches 21-22 °C. Precipitation is about 800 mm per year, mainly in summer. The number of hours of sunshine is about 2000 per year.