The Königsberg Castle (german: Königsberger Schloss, russian: Кёнигсбергский замок, Konigsbergskiy zamok) was a castle in

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 ...

(since 1946

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 ...

), and was one of the landmarks of the East Prussian capital Königsberg.

History

The site of the castle was originally an

Old Prussian Old Prussian was a Western Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to avoid con ...

fort known as ''Tuwangste'' near the Pregel River at an important waypoint in Prussian territory. Nearby were three Prussian villages, later known as Löbenicht, Sackheim, and Tragheim. After conquering the area in 1255, 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 ...

constructed a provisionary wooden and earthworks fort in place of the Prussian one. By 1257, a new stone

Ordensburg ''Ordensburg'' (plural ''Ordensburgen'') is a German term meaning "castles/fortresses of (military) orders", and is used specifically for such fortified structures built by crusading German military orders during the Middle Ages. Medieval Or ...

castle was being constructed. The castle was greatly enlarged and refortified in several stages between the 16th to 18th centuries. The fortress, later designated a castle, was the residence of the Grandmasters of the Teutonic Order and later residence for

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

rulers. The 1815 ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' 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 center of the city, was formerly a seat of the Teutonic Order. It was altered and enlarged from the 16th to 18th centuries. The west wing contained the Schloßkirche, or palace church, where

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

was crowned in 1701 and

William I William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 10 ...

in 1861. The arms emblazoned upon the walls and columns were those of members of the

Order of the Black Eagle The Order of the Black Eagle (german: Hoher Orden vom Schwarzen Adler) was the highest order of chivalry in the Kingdom of Prussia. The order was founded on 17 January 1701 by Elector Friedrich III of Brandenburg (who became Friedrich I, King ...

. Above the church was the 83 m long and 18 m high Moscowiter-Saal, one of the largest halls in the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

. Until the latter part of

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 ...

, the apartments of the

Hohenzollerns The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenb ...

and the Prussia Museum (north wing, ) were open to the public daily. Among other things, the museum accommodated 240,000 exhibits of the ''Prussian collection'', a collection of the Königsberg State and University Library, as well as many paintings by the artist

Lovis Corinth Lovis Corinth (21 July 1858 – 17 July 1925) was a German artist and writer whose mature work as a painter and printmaker realized a synthesis of impressionism and expressionism. Corinth studied in Paris and Munich, joined the Berlin Sec ...

. In 1926, Friedrich Lahrs led an excavation of the castle courtyard. During

, various pieces of captured Russian art were stored there, possibly including parts of the

Amber Room The Amber Room ( rus, Янтарная комната, r=Yantarnaya Komnata, german: Bernsteinzimmer, pl, Bursztynowa komnata) was a chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, located in the Catherine Palace of Tsa ...

. An extensive collection of provincial archives was also housed there. Also the ''Blutgericht'', a wine selling tavern, was situated within the castle. An image of Hans von Sagan was used as the castle's weathervane. Following the

bombing of Königsberg A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanic ...

by the Allies in the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

in 1944, the castle completely burnt down. However, the thick walls were able to withstand both the aerial bombing and

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

, as well as urban fighting in April 1945, allowing the ruins of the castle to stay standing. The largely demolished Königsberg became part of 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, ...

and was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. Kaliningrad was to be rebuilt as a model town on the remains of Königsberg, without reminders of the German past left standing. Despite protests from students and intellectuals from Kaliningrad, the ruins of the castle were blown up on

Leonid Brezhnev Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev; uk, links= no, Леонід Ілліч Брежнєв, . (19 December 1906– 10 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between 1964 and ...

's personal orders in 1968. However, the ruins of the nearby

Königsberg Cathedral , infobox_width = , image = Kaliningrad 05-2017 img04 Kant Island.jpg , image_size = , alt = , caption = Front (west side) of the cathedral , map_type = , map_ ...

, which included the tomb of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

, were left standing, and in the late 1990s and early years of the 21st century were rebuilt and restored.

Current situation

Today Kaliningrad is part of Russia. The centre square of Kaliningrad resides on the site of the castle which, despite its name, actually lies to the southeast of the town centre. Adjacent to the centre square on the filled-in moat is the " House of Soviets", which in 1960 was intended to be the central administration building. Continuation of development was stopped in the 1980s as the massive building gradually sank into the structurally unsound soil stemming from the collapse of tunnels in the old castle's subterranean levels. Many people call this the "Revenge of the Prussians" or "The Monster". The outside of the building was finally completed pending a visit by President Putin in 2005. The inside remains unfinished. The current Kaliningrad city administration debated whether to rebuild the castle with the financial assistance of the Russian Department of Culture. In contrast to the Königsberger Dom, there would be the difficult task of erecting the castle from scratch, so plans were dropped for the time being. Instead, the centre square is cobbled. In June 2010, the regional Minister of Culture, Mikhail Andreyev, announced that a referendum on the reconstruction of the castle would be held in the city of in March 2011. Previously, it had been intended to hold the referendum in October 2010, but budgetary pressures caused a delay. Dom Sovietov excavation 2018

Since September 2001, the German magazine '' Der Spiegel'' has financed the excavation of parts of the castle's cellar, which was carried out with the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts. It is hoped that various buried treasures of the previous castle museum are uncovered, and possibly the rest of the

. During the

the Amber Room was transferred by Germany to Königsberg where it was installed in one of the halls of the Castle. Here its traces were lost. So far, thousands of items have been discovered. In June 2005, an occult silver casket with medals and amulets was found, causing a sensation among experts. It is planned that after completion of the excavation, parts of the castle's vaults will be made accessible as an open-air museum.

Gallery

Schultheiß von Unfriedt – Schloss Königsberg (Teilansicht).jpg, East wing and castle entrance in 1900 Schultheiß von Unfriedt – Schloss Königsberg (Fassade).jpg, Castle facade plan H2 pg33 Schloss Königsberg.jpg, East wing and entrance to the castle Königsberger Schloss (Barock).JPG, Castle Church with two round towers, constructed in 1597 Firmarie-Flur.jpg, Firmari Shelter Moskowitersaal.jpg, Interior view of the Hall of Muscovites Koenigsberg Schloss Ostseite 1900.jpg, The later renovated facade of the castle Königsberger Schloss Süd Ost.jpg, Castle terrace from southeast of the Pregel River Koenigsberger Schloss Oben.jpg, Aerial view of the castle from the side of the Royal Pond Koenigsberger Schloss Nord Ost.jpg, Northeast corner of the castle with the Haberturm and the monument to Duke Albrecht Königsberg Castle courtyard.jpg, Königsberg Castle courtyard in c. 1900 Blutgericht001.jpg, The famous restaurant "Blood Court" in the northern wing of the castle Руины замка Кёнигсберг, 1958 год..png, The ruins of the Königsberg Castle, 1958 Руины замка Кёнигсберг, 1961 год.png, The ruins of Königsberg Castle, 1961 Königsberger schloss schlossturm sprengung 1959.tif, Demolition of the castle tower with explosives, 1959

References

Bibliography

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External links