300px, Friedrichsburg is situated in the western Pregel in this map of Königsberg from 1905. 300px, Fort Friedrichsburg in modern Kaliningrad Fort Friedrichsburg or Feste Friedrichsburg was a

fort A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

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 named ...

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 ...

. The only remnant of the former fort is the Friedrichsburg Gate (russian: Фридрихсбургские ворота, german: Friedrichsburger Tor) in

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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

History

Construction of the fort began in 1657 during the

Second Northern War The Second Northern War (1655–60), (also First or Little Northern War) was fought between Sweden and its adversaries the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (1655–60), the Tsardom of Russia (Russo-Swedish War (1656–1658), 1656–58), Brande ...

by the order of Frederick William of

Brandenburg-Prussia Brandenburg-Prussia (german: Brandenburg-Preußen; ) is the historiographic denomination for the early modern realm of the Brandenburgian Hohenzollerns between 1618 and 1701. Based in the Electorate of Brandenburg, the main branch of the Hohenz ...

. The fort was built in place of a tollhouse on the southern shore of the Pregel River at the western edge of Königsberg.Albinus, p. 81 It was included within the new ring of

Königsberg fortifications The fortifications of the former East Prussian capital Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) consist of numerous defensive walls, forts, bastions and other structures. They make up the First and the Second Defensive Belt, built in 1626—1634 and 1843� ...

constructed from 1626 to 1634. Districts neighboring the fort were

Vorstadt In German, a Vorstadt is an area of a city that is outside the Altstadt (city center) but tightly connected to it and densely populated, thus distinguishing itself from a ''Vorort'' (suburb). Historically, a ''Vorstadt'' ("suburb" in German) was ...

to the east,

Nasser Garten Nasser Garten or Nassengarten was a quarter of Königsberg, Germany, located southwest of the city center. Its territory is now part of the Moskovsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. History The name Nasser Garten name means "wet garden" in Germ ...

to the southwest outside of the city walls, and

Lastadie Postcard of Lastadie Lastadie was a quarter of central Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. Etymology The name Lastadie is derived from the Medieval Latin ''Lastagium'', referring specifically to sailing bal ...

to the north across the river. Construction of the fort was resented by the constituent towns of Königsberg, especially

Kneiphof Coat of arms of Kneiphof Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum Kneiphof (russian: Кнайпхоф; pl, Knipawa; lt, Knypava) was a quarter of central Königsberg (Kaliningrad). During the M ...

. Friedrichsburg was designed by Christian Otter, court mathematician and

Albertina The Albertina is a museum in the Innere Stadt (First District) of Vienna, Austria. It houses one of the largest and most important print rooms in the world with approximately 65,000 drawings and approximately 1 million old master prints, as well ...

professor. Friedrichsburg's position allowed its cannons to defend the city from the west, monitor incoming traffic from the

Frisches Haff The Vistula Lagoon ( pl, Zalew Wiślany; russian: Калининградский залив, transliterated: ''Kaliningradskiy Zaliv''; german: Frisches Haff; lt, Aistmarės) is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 ...

, and suppress civil uprising. The fort originally consisted of earthwork, bricks, and ditches. The square-shaped structure included four

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s, nicknamed '' Smaragd'', '' Perle'', ''

Rubin Rubin is both a surname and a given name. Rubins is a Latvian-language form of the name. As a Jewish name, it derives from the biblical name Reuben. The choice is also influenced by the word ''rubin'' meaning "ruby" is some languages.

'', and ''

Diamant The Diamant rocket (French for "diamond") was the first exclusively French expendable launch system and at the same time the first satellite launcher not built by either the United States or USSR. As such, it has been referred to as being a key ...

''. Initially only the northeastern bastion contained a

cavalier The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

and

ravelin A ravelin is a triangular fortification or detached outwork, located in front of the innerworks of a fortress (the curtain walls and bastions). Originally called a ''demi-lune'', after the ''lunette'', the ravelin is placed outside a castle ...

. Later additions included ravelins along the western and southern fronts, a cavalier along the southwestern bastion, and a

covered way In military architecture, a covertway or covered way (french: chemin couvert it, strada coperta) is a path on top of the counterscarp of a fortification. It is protected by an embankment which is made up by the crest of the glacis. It is able ...

along the

counterscarp A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ditch or moat used in fortifications. Attackers (if they have not bridged the ditch) must descend the counterscarp and ascend the scarp. In permanent fortifications th ...

. These additions were possibly completed during the occupation of Königsberg by the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

(1758–62). The additions were not visible on Valerianus Müller's plan from 1815. The interior of the fort contained a command building, lodging, supplies, and prisons. It had a small permanent garrison of about 150 men, but could host a stronger force if need be. A small church, constructed in 1671, served as the garrison church until 1816. An armory was completed in 1796, but dismantled in 1892.Bötticher, p. 9

Peter I of Russia Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

studied the fort in 1697 while touring Europe.Iwanov, p. 120 The fort was used as a state and military prison until 1825;

Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg Johann David Ludwig Graf Yorck von Wartenburg (born von Yorck; 26 September 1759 – 4 October 1830) was a Prussian ''Generalfeldmarschall'' instrumental in the switching of the Kingdom of Prussia from a French alliance to a Russian allianc ...

was imprisoned there for insubordination from 1780 to 1781.Armstedt, p. 222 The Friedrichsburg Gate was completed during the reign of King

Frederick William IV of Prussia Frederick William IV (german: Friedrich Wilhelm IV.; 15 October 17952 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, reigned as King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 to his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to ...

. The fort was remodeled in 1852 during the reign of King

, with construction of the stately Friedrichsburg Gate, new walls, and expansion of the

citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...

with four round towers. By the end of the 19th century, however, the fort was used only for military storage. To allow construction of new tracks for Königsberg's

goods station A goods station (also known as a goods yard or goods depot) or freight station is, in the widest sense, a railway station where, either exclusively or predominantly, goods (or freight), such as merchandise, parcels, and manufactured items, are lo ...

, Friedrichsburg was sold to the

Prussian Eastern Railway The Prussian Eastern Railway (german: Preußische Ostbahn) was a railway in the Kingdom of Prussia and later Germany until 1918. Its main route, approximately long, connected the capital, Berlin, with the cities of Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland) ...

on 23 August 1910 and subsequently dismantled. Segelclub RHE moved from Friedrichsburg to

Contienen Contienen or Kontienen was a quarter of western Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of the Moskovsky District of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Contienen was originally an outwork (''Vorwerk'') estate on the southern shore of the lo ...

in 1914. The site was used for storage and automobile exhibitions after the change of German Königsberg to Russian Kaliningrad resulting from

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 opposin ...

. It is being restored during the 2010s and is part of the Museum of the World's Oceans.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Coord, 54, 42, 16, N, 20, 29, 38, E, region:RU-KGD_type:city_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title 1657 establishments in Europe 1910 disestablishments in Germany Buildings and structures demolished in 1910 Buildings and structures in Kaliningrad Former buildings and structures in Königsberg Friedrichsburg Friedrichsburg Gates in Russia Tourist attractions in Kaliningrad Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Kaliningrad Oblast