The Upper Pond (russian: Верхний пруд) is a large artificial

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

in northern

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. It was known as the Oberteich while part of

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was name ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, until 1945. The pond is elevated 22 metres above the Pregel River and encompasses 41.1 hectares. Freshwater life living in the Upper Pond include perch, roach, carp, tench, pike, and eels.Albinus, p. 228 Located near the water is the

Kaliningrad Amber Museum The Kaliningrad Regional Amber Museum is a museum located in the Russian city of Kaliningrad devoted to housing and displaying amber artworks. It is located in the city center, on the shore of Lake Verkhneye. Construction on the museum began i ...

History

The Upper Pond, then known as the Oberteich, was created in 1270 by the

Teutonic Knights The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly known as the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. It was formed to aid Christians o ...

as a fishing pond north of medieval Königsberg. The levee separating it from the southern Schlossteich or Lower Pond eventually became the street Wrangelstraße. Part of the rural district of Königsberg ( Landkreis Königsberg i. Pr.) since 1818, the Oberteich was incorporated into the city limits on 1 April 1882. Quarters of Königsberg in the vicinity of the pond included Hinterroßgarten to the southeast, Hintertragheim to the southwest,

Tragheimsdorf Tragheimsdorf was a quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Tragheimsdorf was originally a small village located north of Tragheim along the western shore of the Oberteich. It was incor ...

to the west, and

Maraunenhof Maraunenhof was a suburban quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Leningradsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. History The estate Maraunenhof, originally Maraunen, was located in the forest west of the Oberte ...

to the north. East of the Oberteich were gardens and the Königsberg horse racing track. Along its shores were public baths (Prussia Badeanstalt, KSC-Badeanstalt, Hansa-Badeanstalt), a military bath, and an

angling Angling is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook or "angle" (from Old English ''angol'') attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techni ...

club. The pond was transferred from Germany to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

in 1945. The German

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of diplomatic mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth c ...

is located along the northern shore of the modern Upper Pond.

Gallery

file:Oberteichterrasse.JPG, Former restaurant Oberteichterasse in Königsberg file:KB 1982 007.jpg, Upper Pond vicinity, ca. 1982. The

is in the background.

Notes

References

*{{cite book, last=Albinus, first=Robert, title=Lexikon der Stadt Königsberg Pr. und Umgebung, year=1985, publisher=Verlag Gerhard Rautenberg, location=Leer, pages=371, isbn=3-7921-0320-6, language=de 1270 establishments in Europe Kaliningrad Königsberg Lakes of Kaliningrad Oblast Tourist attractions in Kaliningrad Oblast