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Coordinates: 54°43′N 20°30′E / 54.717°N 20.500°E / 54.717; 20.500
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For other uses, see Kaliningrad (disambiguation) and Königsberg (disambiguation)
Kaliningrad
Flag of Kaliningrad
Flag
Coat of arms of Kaliningrad
Coat of arms
Location of Kaliningrad
Map
Kaliningrad is located in Russia
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Location of Kaliningrad
Coordinates: 54°43′N 20°30′E / 54.717°N 20.500°E / 54.717; 20.500
CountryRussia
Federal subjectKaliningrad Oblast
Founded1255 (Julian)Edit this on Wikidata[1]
Elevation
5 m (16 ft)
Time zoneUTC+2 (MSK–1 Edit this on Wikidata[2])
Postal code(s)[3]
236000Edit this on Wikidata
OKTMO ID27701000001

Kaliningrad (Russian: Калинингра́д; Template:Audio-de) is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea. The territory borders on NATO and EU members Poland and Lithuania, and is geographically separated from the rest of Russia.

As of the 2002 Census, its population was 430,003, an increase from the 401,280 recorded in the 1989 Census. Its ethnic composition consists of 77.9% Russians, 8.0% Belarusians, and 7.3% Ukrainians.[4]

Under its original German name of Königsberg, it was a capital of the monastic state of the Teutonic Knights, the Duchy of Prussia, and the German province of East Prussia. Before being renamed to Kaliningrad in 1946, it was briefly Russified as Kyonigsberg (Кёнигсберг).

History

Map of Kaliningrad Oblast in the historical Northeastern Prussia

Teutonic Order

During the conquest of the Sambians by the Teutonic Knights, Königsberg (Latin: castrum Koningsberg, Mons Regius, Regiomonti) ("King's Mountain" or "Montroyal") was founded in 1256 and named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who paid for the erection of the first fortress there during the Prussian Crusade.[5][6] Over a long period, the Teutonic Knights, assisted by various knights from Western Europe, conquered the indigenous pagan Old Prussians. The surviving population of Old Prussians became assimilated and Germanised by the German colonists who immigrated to Prussia. However, the Old Prussian language did not become extinct until the 18th century.

Königsberg was originally the capital of the Bishopric of Samland, one of the four dioceses into which Prussia had been divided in 1243 by the papal legate William of Modena. Saint Adalbert of Prague became the main patron saint of Königsberg Cathedral, one of the main landmarks of the city.

Königsberg eventually became a member of the Hanseatic League and an important port for the southeastern Baltic region, trading goods throughout Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

The Prussian Confederation rebelled against the Teutonic Knights in 1454 and sought the assistance of Poland. Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen fled from the crusaders' capital of Marienburg to Königsberg in 1457. When western Prussia was transferred to victorious Poland in the 1466 Second Peace of Toruń ending the Thirteen Years' War, Königsberg became the new capital of the reduced monastic state of the Teutonic Knights, which became a fief of the Crown of the Polish Kingdom. During the Polish-Teutonic War (1519–1521), Königsberg was besieged by Polish forces led by Grand Crown Hetman Mikołaj Firlej.

Duchy of Prussia

The 14th century Königsberg Cathedral
Cathedral

In 1525 during the Protestant Reformation, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg from the Hohenzollern dynasty secularised the Teutonic Knights' remaining territories in Prussia. By paying feudal homage to King Sigismund I of Poland, Albert became the first duke of the new Duchy of Prussia, a fief of Poland. The capital of the duchy was Königsberg (Polish: Królewiec). It became one of the biggest cities and ports of the Prussian region, having considerable autonomy, a separate parliament and currency, and with German as its dominant language.

Anna, daughter of Duke Albert Frederick, married Elector John Sigismund of Brandenburg, who was granted the right of succession to Prussia on Albert Frederick's death in 1618. From this time the Duchy of Prussia and Königsberg were ruled by the Electors of Brandenburg, the rulers of Brandenburg-Prussia.

Brandenburg-Prussia and German Empire

In the Treaty of Wehlau in 1657, the Hohenzollern dynasty negotiated the release of the Duchy of Prussia from Polish sovereignty for the duration of their line, upon the expiration of which the duchy would revert back to Poland. By the act of coronation in Königsberg in 1701, Prince-elector Frederick III of Brandenburg became Frederick I, King in Prussia. The elevation of the Duchy of Prussia to the Kingdom of Prussia was possible because the Hohenzollerns' authority in Prussia was independent of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire.

On December 31 1757, during the Seven Years' War, Empress Elizabeth of Russia issued an ukase about the incorporation of Königsberg into Russia.[citation needed] Five Imperial Russian general-governors administered the city during the war from 1758-62; the Russian army did not abandon the town until 1763.[citation needed]

After the First Partition of Poland, Königsberg became the capital of the newly-created province of East Prussia in 1773. The city also served as the capital of the Province of Prussia (1824-1878).

Königsberg became a centre of education when the Albertina University was founded by Duke Albert of Prussia in 1544. The university was situated opposite the north and east side of the Königsberg Cathedral. In 1560 Albert's sovereign, Polish king Sigismund II of Poland equalled the university in law with the University of Kraków. In 1900 it contained the Municipal Library. In 1862 a new university in the Renaissance style, was completed. The facade was adorned by an equestrian figure in relief of Albert of Prussia, the founder. Below it were niches containing statues of Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. Inside was a handsome staircase, borne by marble columns. The Senate Hall contained a portrait of Emperor Frederick III and a bust of Immanuel Kant by Friedrich Hagemann. The adjacent hall ("Aula") was adorned with frescoes painted in 1870. The university library was situated in Dritte Fliess Straße and contained over 230,000 volumes. There were 900 students in 1900.

Königsberg as well was the place where the first printed books in Lithuanian language were published and it for long remained the center of the publishing in Lithuanian because here there were educated Lithuanians (from Lithuania Minor, which was as well part of East Prussia; in Lithuania Minor sermons after the Protestant reformation were held in Lithuanian, and thus Lithuanian prayer books were needed). Protestantism and policies of Prussia promoted education and this helped as well. The first non-religious Lithuanian books were published later as well.

The Königsberg Castle before World War I

It was the birthplace (1690) of the mathematician Christian Goldbach, the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, and the home of the philosopher Immanuel Kant. In 1736, the mathematician Leonhard Euler used the arrangement of bridges and islands at Königsberg as the basis for the Seven Bridges of Königsberg Problem which led to the mathematical branches of topology and graph theory. In the 19th century Königsberg was the birthplace of David Hilbert, the most influential mathematician of the first half of the 20th century and professor at the German intellectual centre at the University of Goettingen.

Also in the Dritte Fliess Straße was the Palaestra Albertina, established in 1898 for the encouragement of the higher forms of sport among the students and citizens. Nearby were the government offices, adorned with mural paintings by Knorr and Schmidt.

In the König Straße stood the Academy of Art with a good collection of over 400 pictures. About 50 works were by old Italian Masters; and some early Dutch paintings were also to be found there. (A summary list of some of the paintings can be found in Baedeker's Northern Germany, London, 1904.) At the Königs Tor (King's Gate) stood statues of Otakar I of Bohemia, Albert of Prussia and Frederick I of Prussia. Königsberg had a magnificent Exchange (completed in 1875) with fine views of the harbour from the staircase. In Bahnhof Strasse (Railway Street) were the offices of the famous Royal Amber Works – this district was celebrated as the "Amber Coast". There was also an Observatory fitted up by the astronomer Friedrich Bessel, a Botanical Garden and Zoological Museum. The "Physikalisch", near the Heumarkt, contained botanic and anthropological collections and prehistoric antiquities.

Of Königsberg's notable structures, the 1815 Encyclopaedia Britannica refers to "the magnificent palace in which is a hall 83.5 m long and 18 m broad without pillars to support it, and a handsome library. The gothic tower of the castle is very high (100 m) and has 284 steps to the top, from where a great distance can be seen". This extensive building, enclosed in a large quadrangle and situated almost in the centre of the city, was formerly a seat of the Teutonic Order. It was altered and enlarged in the 16th - 18th centuries. The west wing contained the Schloßkirche, where Frederick I of Prussia was crowned in 1701, and Wilhelm I, later the first Emperor or Kaiser of Germany, as King of Prussia, in 1861. The arms emblazoned upon the walls and columns were those of the Knights of the Order of the Black Eagle. Above the church was the spacious Moscowiter-Saal, one of the largest halls in Germany. Until the latter part of World War II the apartments of the Royal Family and the Prussia Museum (north wing) were open to the public daily. An extensive collection of provincial archives was also housed there.

By 1800 the city was approximately five miles in circumference and had 60,000 inhabitants (including a military garrison of 7,000), making it one of the most populous German cities of the time (for comparison: Berlin ca. 170.000, Cologne and Frankfurt ca. 50.000 each, Munich ca. 30.000). After the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Königsberg remained the capital of East Prussia, which was outside the formal borders of the German Confederation of 1815-1866. it was incorporated into the German Empire in 1871.

Königsberg flourished as the capital of both East Prussia and Regierungsbezirk Königsberg. An extensive local railway network was established linking the city to Breslau, Thorn, Insterburg, Eydtkuhnen, Tilsit, and Pillau. In 1860 the railroad connecting Berlin with St. Petersburg was completed and made Königsberg an even more important commercial centre. Extensive electric tramways were in operation by 1900; and regular steamers plied to Memel, Tapiau and Labiau, Cranz, Tilsit, and Danzig. Two large theatres were built during this time: the Stadt (City) Theatre and the Appollo. By 1900 the city's population had grown to 188,000, with a 9,000-strong military garrison.

Königsberg in historical East Prussia, located near the Baltic Sea. Here seen in German borders from 1919 to 1939.

Weimar Republic

After World War I, the creation of the Polish Corridor cut off the East Prussian land connection from the rest of Weimar Germany. The Ostmesse (East European Fair) at the Königsberg Tiergarten was organized every year since 1920; it was intended as a compensation for the geographical distance that handicapped the economic development of East Prussia and its capital Königsberg. In 1922 the first permanent airport and commercial terminal solely for commercial aviation was built at Königsberg-Devau. In 1929, Königsberg amalgamated with some surrounding suburbs.

Third Reich

In 1932 Prussia's legal (Social Democratic) government under Otto Braun was ousted by the Reich Government, and Gauleiter Erich Koch replaced the elected local government during Nazi rule from 1933 to 1945.

In 1935, the Wehrmacht designated Königsberg as the Headquarters for Wehrkreis I, (under the command of General der Artillerie Albert Wodrig) which originally took in all of East Prussia. Wehrkreis I was extended in March of 1939 to include the Memel area. In October of 1939, it was extended again to include the Ciechanów and Suwałki areas. In 1942, the Wehrkreis was again expanded to include the Białystok district. Army units that called Königsberg home included the I Infantry Corps, which was part of the pre-Nazi era Standing Army; the 61st Infanterie Division, which was formed upon mobilization from Reservists from East Prussia. It took part in the invasion of Belgium, and Russia.

Winston Churchill [WWII, Book XII] referred to Königsberg as "a modernised heavily defended fortress".

Bombing by British
Main article: Bombing of Königsberg in World War II

In 1944 Königsberg suffered heavy damage from British air attacks and burned for several days. Prior to the attacks, the city had been occasionally bombed by the Soviet Air Forces. No. 5 Group of the Royal Air Force first attacked the city on the night of 26/27 August 1944. The raid was in the extreme range for the 174 Avro Lancasters that flew 1500 km from their bases to bomb the city. Fortunately for the Königsbergers, this first raid was not successful, most bombs falling on the eastern side of the town. (Four of the attacking aircraft were lost.)

Three nights later on the 29/30 August, a further 189 Lancasters of No. 5 Group repeated the attack dropping 480 t of bombs on the centre of the city. Bomber Command estimated that 20% of all the industry and 41% of all the housing in Königsberg was destroyed in the attack. A heavy German night fighter defense downed fifteen of the attacking bombers (7.9% of the force).[7]

The historic city center, consisting of the quarters Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof was completely destroyed, among it the cathedral, the castle, all churches of the old city, the old and the new universities and furthermore the old shipping quarter.

Red Army's capture of Königsberg

Many people fled Königsberg ahead of the Red Army's advance after October 1944, particularly after word spread of the alleged Soviet atrocities at Nemmersdorf and Gumbinnen.[8][9] Soviet forces under General Chernyakhovsky reached the city on January 13, 1945 and had encircled the city by the end of the month, but a temporary German breakout allowed many of the remaining civilians to escape via train and naval evacuation from the nearby port of Pillau (now Baltiysk). The siege of Königsberg (or Battle of Königsberg), which had been declared a "fortress" (Festung) by the Germans and fanatically defended, raged all through February and March. The city was bombed and shelled continuously. The Red Army force for the final assault numbered 137,250 men, supported by almost 5,000 artillery pieces, 540 tanks, and 2,450 aircraft. Chernyakhovsky was succeeded by Marshal Aleksandr Vasilevsky.

On April 9 — one month before the end of the war in Europe — the German military commander, General Otto Lasch, surrendered the remnants of his forces, which had numbered 35,000. For this act, he was sentenced to death in absentia by Hitler, who declared him a "traitor." At the time of the surrender, military and civilian dead in the city were estimated at 42,000, with the Red Army claiming over 90,000 prisoners. (Lasch's subterranean command bunker has been preserved in Kaliningrad as a museum.)

About 50,000 survivors (out of Königsberg's prewar population of 316,000) remained in the ruins of the devastated city. These survivors, and a few others who returned immediately after the fighting ended, were held as virtual prisoners until 1949, during which time many died of disease and starvation[citation needed]. The remaining German residents were expelled in 1949-50.[citation needed]

File:Kb 1949 450.jpg
Königsberg City Centre in 1949

Soviet Union

The "House of the Soviets", built on the former site of Königsberg Castle.

At the end of World War II in 1945, the city became part of the Soviet Union pending the final determination of territorial questions at the peace settlement (as part of the Russian SFSR) as agreed upon by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference:

VI. CITY OF KOENIGSBERG AND THE ADJACENT AREA
The Conference examined a proposal by the Soviet Government that pending the final determination of territorial questions at the peace settlement the section of the western frontier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which is adjacent to the Baltic Sea should pass from a point on the eastern shore of the Bay of Danzig to the east, north of Braunsberg and Goldap, to the meeting point of the frontiers of Lithuania, the Polish Republic and East Prussia.

The Conference has agreed in principle to the proposal of the Soviet Government concerning the ultimate transfer to the Soviet Union of the city of Koenigsberg and the area adjacent to it as described above, subject to expert examination of the actual frontier.

The President of the United States and the British Prime Minister have declared that they will support the proposal of the Conference at the forthcoming peace settlement.[1]

It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 after the death of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin, one of the original Bolsheviks. The German population was expelled and the city was repopulated with Russian citizens. Life changed dramatically: the city had a new name (Kaliningrad), and German was replaced by Russian as the language of everyday life. The city was rebuilt, and went through industrialisation and modernisation. As one of the westernmost territories of the USSR, the Kaliningrad Oblast became a strategically important area during the Cold War. The Soviet Baltic Fleet was headquartered in the city in the 1950s. Because of its strategic importance, Kaliningrad was closed to foreign visitors.

In 1957 an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the boundary between Poland and the Soviet Union. (Full text: [2], for other issues of the frontier delimitation see [3])

Russian Federation

Kaliningrad is the only Russian Baltic Sea port that is ice-free all year and hence plays an important role in maintenance of the Baltic Fleet.

Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union from 1989 to 1991, the Kaliningrad Oblast became a Russian exclave, geographically separated from the rest of Russia. This isolation from the rest of Russia became even more pronounced politically when Poland and Lithuania initially became members of NATO, and subsequently the European Union in 2004. All military and civilian land links between the region and the rest of Russia have to pass through members of NATO and the EU. Special travel arrangements for the territory's inhabitants have been made.

Today, there is some debate about giving the city its old name back, as has happened in several Russian cities like St. Petersburg and Tver, which were known as Leningrad and Kalinin, respectively, during much of the Soviet time period. However, the continued use of "Kaliningrad", at least for the next few years, seems certain. "Kyonig" (shortened Russian form of "Königsberg") is often used in advertisements for tourism companies in this region. Another possibility would be to give it a Russian name similar to other historic Slavic names (such as the Polish and Czech below). In this case, its name would be Korolevsk.[citation needed]

In July 2007, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov declared that if US-controlled missile defense systems were deployed in Poland that nuclear weapons may be deployed in Kaliningrad.

Historical names

File:Altstadt.gif
Coat of Arms of Altstadt (Old town) of Königsberg, 1286

Geography

Kaliningrad is located at the mouth of the navigable Pregolya River, which empties into the Vistula Lagoon, an inlet of the Baltic Sea.

Sea vessels can access Gdańsk Bay and the Baltic Sea by way of the Vistula Lagoon and the Strait of Baltiysk.

Until circa 1900 ships drawing more than Template:M to ft of water could not pass the bar and come into town, so that larger vessels had to anchor at Pillau (now Baltiysk), where merchandise was moved onto smaller vessels. In 1901 a ship canal between Königsberg and Pillau was completed at a cost of 13 million marks, which enabled vessels of a Template:M to ft draught to moor alongside the town. (See also Ports of the Baltic Sea.)

Khrabrovo Airport is located Template:Km to mi north of Kaliningrad, and has a few scheduled/charter services to several destinations throughout Europe. There is the smaller Kaliningrad Devau Airport for general aviation. Kaliningrad is also home to Kaliningrad Chkalovsk naval air base.


Climate data for Kaliningrad
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Source: Pogoda.ru.net[10]

Sightseeing

Brandenburg Gate, Kaliningrad

Transport

Kaliningrad is served by the Khrabrovo Airport.

Economy

In 1996 Kaliningrad was designated a Special Economic Zone. Manufacturers based here get tax and customs duty breaks on the goods they send back to Russia.

Although corruption was an early deterrent, that policy means the region is now a manufacturing hub. One in three televisions in Russia is made in Kaliningrad, and it is home to Hummer and BMW car plants. Now Kaliningrad's major industries are Manufacturing, shipping, fishing and amber products. Moscow has declared it will turn the region into "the Russian Hong Kong".

The European Commission provides funds for business projects under its special programme for Kaliningrad. The region has begun to see increasing trade with the countries of the EU as well as increasing economic growth and rising industrial output.

With an average GDP growth of more than 10% for three years to 2007, Kaliningrad is growing faster than any other region in Russia, even outstripping the success of its EU neighbours.[11]

Military

Kaliningrad Oblast is the most heavily militarized area of the Russian Federation, and the density of military infrastructure is the highest in Europe. Kaliningrad also functions as the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet, circled by Chernyakhovsk (air base), Donskoye (air base) and Kaliningrad Chkalovsk (naval air base). Since 1991 the Russians transferred numerous tactical nuclear warheads to the enclave. [12]

Sports

Kaliningrad is home to the football club FC Baltika Kaliningrad, which plays in the Russian First Division.

Notable residents

Writers

Athletes

Cosmonauts

Scientists

Others

Sister cities

Kaliningrad is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ^ https://books.google.de/books?id=-4AOAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA1&hl=da#v=onepage&q&f=false. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ "Об исчислении времени". Официальный интернет-портал правовой информации (in Russian). 3 June 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
  3. ^ Почта России. Информационно-вычислительный центр ОАСУ РПО. (Russian Post). Поиск объектов почтовой связи (Postal Objects Search) (in Russian)
  4. ^ Kaliningrad Oblast
  5. ^ Marian Biskup Königsberg gegenüber Polen und dem Litauen der Jagiellonen zur Zeit des Mittelalters (bis 1525) in Królewiec a Polska Olsztyn 1993
  6. ^ Christiansen, Professor Eric, The Northern Crusades, London, 1980: 102. ISBN 0-333-26243-3
  7. ^ http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/aug44.html RAF Bomber Command: Campaign Diary. August 1944]
  8. ^ Berlin , Antony Beevor
  9. ^ A Writer at War Vasily Grossman, Edited & Translated by Antony Beevor and Luba Vinoradova, Pimlico, 2006
  10. ^ "Pogoda.ru.net" (in Russian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |accessmonthday= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6048708.stm
  12. ^ Bill Gertz, "Russia Transfers Nuclear Arms to Baltics," Washington Times, 3 January 2001, p. 1.
  • Baedeker, Karl, Northern Germany, 14th revised (English-language) edition, Leipzig, London, and New York, 1904, pps: 176–7.
  • Vesilind, Priit J. "Kaliningrad: Coping with a German Past and a Russian Future", National Geographic, March 1997.
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