The King's Gate (

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

: ''Королевские ворота'', tr.: ''Korolevskie vorota'',

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Königstor'') is one of the former six gates that were built during the 19th century around

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

(the former

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n city of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

). The King's Gate was originally the

Gumbinnen Gusev (; ; ; ) is a town and the administrative center of Gusevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Pissa and Krasnaya Rivers, near the border with Poland and Lithuania, east of Chernyakhovsk. It is p ...

Gate (German: ''Gumbinner Tor''), built in 1765 at the edge of the district Neue Sorge. In 1811 it was renamed the King's Gate and was the terminus of the Königstraße boulevard. The gate was redesigned by

Friedrich August Stüler Friedrich August Stüler (28 January 1800 – 18 March 1865) was an influential Prussian architect and builder. His masterpiece is the Neues Museum in Berlin, as well as the dome of the triumphal arch of the main portal of the Berliner Schloss. ...

in 1850. The west facade has three sandstone statues, made by sculptor Wilhelm Stürmer: nine metres above the ground to the left the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n king Ottokar II is depicted, who was Königsberg's namesake.

Frederick I of Prussia Frederick I (; 11 July 1657 – 25 February 1713), of the Hohenzollern dynasty, was (as Frederick III) List of margraves and electors of Brandenburg, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713) and Duke of Prussia in personal union (Brandenburg–Pr ...

, Prussia's first king, follows as the middle statue. To the right Albert, Prussia's first duke and founder of the Albertina university, holds an eye over the city. Above the sculptures the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

of Samland and Natangen are shown. The gate was damaged during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Furthermore, as a first victory celebration, Soviet soldiers decapitated the statues. With the celebration of the city's 750-year existence in June 2005, the gate was renovated. A few months before the beginning of the festivities, the gate was still in a desolate condition. Within a few weeks, however, the gate was restored to its condition before the war. Fully restored statues replaced the decapitated ones on the gate with this renovation. Image:ID003163 A070 Koenigstor.jpg, King's Gate before the Second World War Image:ID003164 A071 Koenigstor.jpg, King's Gate before the Second World War Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R94432, Königsberg, gefangene deutsche Offiziere.jpg, German POWs after the

Battle of Königsberg The Battle of Königsberg, also known as the Königsberg offensive, was one of the last operations of the East Prussian offensive during World War II. In four days of urban warfare, Soviet Union, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3 ...

Image:Kaliningrad Koenigstor.JPG, King's Gate before reconstruction in 2004 Image:Kaliningrad 05-2017 img19 Kings Gate.jpg, Statues on the facade of King's Gate

Literature

* Robert Albinus: ''Königsberg-Lexikon''. Würzburg 2002, * Richard Armstedt: ''Geschichte der königl. Haupt- und Residenzstadt Königsberg in Preußen''. Reprint der Originalausgabe, Stuttgart 1899. * Fritz Gause: ''Die Geschichte der Stadt Königsberg in Preußen''. 3 Bände, Köln 1996, * Jürgen Manthey: ''Königsberg – Geschichte einer Weltbürgerrepublik''. Hanser 2005, * Gunnar Strunz: ''Königsberg entdecken''. Berlin 2006, {{DEFAULTSORT:King's Gate Gates in Russia Prussian cultural sites Buildings and structures in Kaliningrad Former buildings and structures in Königsberg Tourist attractions in Kaliningrad Oblast Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Kaliningrad Oblast