Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic
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 ...
and
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 name of the city now called
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 ...
, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small
Old Prussian
Old Prussian is an extinct West 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 av ...
settlement ''
Twangste'' by the
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
during the
Baltic Crusades. It was named in honour of King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...
, who led a campaign against the pagan Old Prussians, a Baltic tribe.
A
Baltic
Baltic may refer to:
Peoples and languages
*Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian
*Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...
port city, it successively became the capital of the
State of the Teutonic Order
The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...
, the
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...
and the provinces of
East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
and
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, ...
. Königsberg remained the coronation city of the Prussian monarchy from 1701 onwards, though the capital was
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. From the thirteenth to the twentieth centuries on, the inhabitants spoke predominantly
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 ...
, although the city also had a profound influence upon the Lithuanian and Polish cultures. It was a publishing center of
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
literature; this included the first Polish translation of the
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
, printed in the city in 1551, as well as the first book in
Lithuanian and the first Lutheran catechism, both printed in Königsberg in 1547.
A university city, home of the
Albertina University (founded in 1544), Königsberg developed into an important German intellectual and cultural center, being the residence of
Simon Dach,
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
,
Käthe Kollwitz
Käthe Kollwitz ( born Schmidt; 8 July 186722 April 1945) was a German artist who worked with painting, printmaking (including etching, lithography and woodcuts) and sculpture. Her most famous art cycles, including ''The Weavers'' and ''The Peasa ...
,
E. T. A. Hoffmann,
David Hilbert
David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of his time.
Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental idea ...
,
Agnes Miegel
Agnes Miegel (9 March 1879 – 26 October 1964) was a German author, journalist and poet. She is best known for her poems and short stories about East Prussia, but also for the support she gave to the Nazi Party.
Biography
Agnes Miegel was born ...
,
Hannah Arendt
Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century.
Her work ...
,
Michael Wieck, and others. It was the easternmost large city in Germany until
World War II
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 ...
. Between the wars, it was in the
exclave
An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...
of East Prussia, separated from
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
by the
Polish Corridor.
The city was heavily damaged by
Allied bombing in 1944 and during 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 ...
in 1945, when it was occupied by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
. The
Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...
of 1945 placed it provisionally under Soviet administration, and it was annexed by the Soviet Union on 9 April 1945. Its small
Lithuanian population was allowed to remain, but the
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...
were
expelled. The city was largely repopulated with
Russians
Russians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Eastern Europe. Their mother tongue is Russian language, Russian, the most spoken Slavic languages, Slavic language. The majority of Russians adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church ...
and, to a lesser degree,
Ukrainians
Ukrainians (, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. Their native tongue is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, and the majority adhere to Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, forming the List of contemporary eth ...
and
Belarusians
Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...
from the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
after the
ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...
. It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946, in honour of
Soviet Communist head of state
Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (, ; 3 June 1946) was a Soviet politician and Russian Old Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the first chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state) from 1938 until his resignation in 1946. From ...
. The city's historic centre was subsequently demolished by the Soviet government.
[ // archikld.ru][О восстановлении послевоенного Калининграда 1946—1953 гг.](_blank)
// klgd.ru
It is now the capital of Russia's
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...
, an exclave bordered in the north by
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
and in the south by
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
. In the
Final Settlement treaty of 1990, Germany renounced all claims to the city.
Name
The first mention of the present-day location in chronicles indicates it as the place of a village of fishermen and hunters. When the
Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
began the
Northern Crusades
The Northern Crusades or Baltic Crusades were Christianization campaigns undertaken by Catholic Church, Catholic Christian Military order (society), military orders and kingdoms, primarily against the paganism, pagan Balts, Baltic, Baltic Finns, ...
, they built a wooden fortress, and later a stone fortress, calling it "Conigsberg", which later morphed into "Königsberg". The literal meaning of this is 'King's mountain', in apparent honour of King
Ottokar II of Bohemia
Ottokar II (; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Austria, Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his death in 1278 ...
,
who led one of the Teutonic campaigns.
In Polish, it is called , in Lithuanian (
calque
In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language ...
s of the original German name).
History
Sambians
Königsberg was preceded by a
Sambian
The Sambians were a Prussian tribe. They inhabited the Sambia Peninsula north of the city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). Sambians were located in a coastal territory rich in amber and engaged in trade early on (see Amber Road). Therefore, the ...
— or
Old Prussian
Old Prussian is an extinct West 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 av ...
— fort known as ''Twangste'' (
Prussian word tvinksta means a pond made by a dam), as well as several Old Prussian settlements including the fishing village and port
Lipnick and the farming villages
Sakkeim and
Trakkeim.
Arrival of the Teutonic Order
During the conquest of the Prussian
Sambians
The Sambians were a Prussian tribe. They inhabited the Sambia Peninsula north of the city of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). Sambians were located in a coastal territory rich in amber and engaged in trade early on (see Amber Road). Therefore, the ...
by the
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
in 1255, Twangste was destroyed and replaced with a new fortress known as ''Conigsberg''. This name meant "King's Hill" (), honoring King
Ottokar II of
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 ...
who paid for the erection of the first fortress there during the
Prussian Crusade
The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Crusades, crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianization, Christianize Forced conversion, under duress the Prussian mythol ...
.
Northwest of this new
Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order and of the dukes and kings of Prussia in the city of Königsberg (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights ...
arose an initial settlement, later known as
Steindamm, roughly from the
Vistula Lagoon
The Vistula Lagoon is a brackish water lagoon on the Baltic Sea roughly 56 miles (90 km) long, 6 to 15 miles (10 to 19 km) wide, and up to 17 feet (5 m) deep, separated from the Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit.
Geography
The lag ...
.
The Teutonic Order used Königsberg to fortify their conquests in
Samland and as a base for campaigns against pagan
Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
.
Under siege
''Under Siege'' is a 1992 action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis and written by J. F. Lawton. It stars Steven Seagal (who also produced the film), Tommy Lee Jones, Gary Busey, and Erika Eleniak. Seagal plays Casey Ryback, a former ...
during the
Prussian uprisings in 1262–63, Königsberg Castle was relieved by the Master of the
Livonian Order
The Livonian Order was an autonomous branch of the Teutonic Order,
formed in 1237. From 1435 to 1561 it was a member of the Livonian Confederation.
History
The order was formed from the remnants of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword after thei ...
.
Because the initial northwestern settlement was destroyed by the Prussians during the rebellion, rebuilding occurred in the southern valley between the castle hill and the
Pregolya River. This new settlement,
Altstadt
''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...
, received
Culm rights in 1286.
Löbenicht View of Löbenicht from the Pregel, including its church and gymnasium, as well as the nearby Propsteikirche
Löbenicht (; ) was a quarter of central Königsberg, Germany. During the Middle Ages it was the weakest of the three towns that com ...
, a new town directly east of Altstadt between the Pregolya River and the
Schlossteich, received its own rights in 1300. Medieval Königsberg's third town was
Kneiphof
Coat of arms of Kneiphof
Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse
Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum
Kneiphof (; ; ) was a quarter of central Königsberg (Kaliningrad). During the Middle Ages it was one of the three towns that co ...
, which received town rights in 1327 and was located on an island of the same name in the Pregolya, south of Altstadt.

Within the
state of the Teutonic Order
The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...
, Königsberg was the residence of the marshal, one of the chief administrators of the military order.
The city was also the seat of the
Bishopric of Samland
The Diocese of Samland (Sambia) (, ) was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sambia Peninsula, Samland (Sambia) in Prussia (region), medieval Prussia. It was founded in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, ...
, one of the four
diocese
In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
s into which
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, ...
had been divided in 1243 by the
papal legate
300px, A woodcut showing Henry II of England greeting the Pope's legate.
A papal legate or apostolic legate (from the ancient Roman title '' legatus'') is a personal representative of the Pope to foreign nations, to some other part of the Catho ...
,
William of Modena
William of Modena ( – 31 March 1251), also known as ''William of Sabina'', ''Guglielmo de Chartreaux'', ''Guglielmo de Savoy'', ''Guillelmus'', was an Italian clergyman and papal diplomat. .
Adalbert of Prague
Adalbert of Prague (, , , , ; 95623 April 997), known in the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia by his birth name Vojtěch (), was a Czech missionary and Christian saint. He was the Bishop of Prague and a missionary to the Hungarians, Poles, ...
became the main
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of
Königsberg Cathedral
Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...
, a landmark of the town of Kneiphof.
Königsberg joined the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
in 1340 and developed into an important port for the south-eastern Baltic region, trading goods throughout Prussia, the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
, and the
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
. The chronicler
Peter of Dusburg Peter of Dusburg (; ; died after 1326), also known as Peter of Duisburg, was a Priest-Brother and chronicler of the Teutonic Knights. He is known for writing the ''Chronicon terrae Prussiae'', which described the 13th and early 14th century Teutonic ...
probably wrote his ''Chronicon terrae Prussiae'' in Königsberg from 1324 to 1330.
After the Teutonic Order's victory over pagan
Lithuanians
Lithuanians () are a Balts, Baltic ethnic group. They are native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,378,118 people. Another two million make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the Lithuanian Americans, United Sta ...
in the 1348
Battle of Strėva
The Battle of Strėva, Strebe, or Strawe was fought on 2 February 1348 between the Teutonic Order and the pagan Grand Duchy of Lithuania on the banks of the Strėva River, a right tributary of the Neman River, near present-day Žiežmariai. Chro ...
, Grand Master
Winrich von Kniprode established a
Cistercian nunnery
Cistercian nuns are female members of the Cistercian Order, a religious order of the Catholic Church.
History
The Cistercian Order was initially a male order. Cistercian female monasteries began to appear by 1125. The first Cistercian monastery ...
in the city.
Aspiring students were educated in Königsberg before continuing on to higher education elsewhere, such as
Prague
Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
or
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
.
Although the Knights suffered a crippling defeat in the
Battle of Grunwald
The Battle of Grunwald was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respectively by King Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila), a ...
, Königsberg remained under the control of the Teutonic Knights throughout the
Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War. Livonian knights replaced the Prussian branch's garrison at Königsberg, allowing them to participate in the recovery of towns occupied by
Władysław II Jagiełło
Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...
's troops.
Polish sovereignty

In 1440, Königsberg became a founding member of the anti-Teutonic
Prussian Confederation
The Prussian Confederation (, ) was an organization formed on 21 February 1440 at Marienwerder (present-day Kwidzyn) by a group of 53 nobles and clergy and 19 cities in Prussia, to oppose the arbitrariness of the Teutonic Knights. It was based o ...
. In 1454 the Confederation rebelled against the Teutonic Knights and asked the Polish king,
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...
, to incorporate Prussia into the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
; the king agreed, and signed an act of incorporation. The local mayor pledged allegiance to the Polish king during the incorporation in March 1454. This marked the beginning of the
Thirteen Years' War (1454–1466)
The Thirteen Years' War (; ), also called the War of the Cities, was a conflict fought in 1454–1466 between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Teutonic Order.
After the Battle of Grunwald, enormous defeat suffered by the German Ord ...
between the
State of the Teutonic Order
The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...
and the Kingdom of Poland. The city, known in Polish as ''Królewiec'', became the seat of the short-lived
Królewiec Voivodeship. King Casimir IV authorized the city to mint Polish coins. While Königsberg three towns initially joined the rebellion, Altstadt and Löbenicht soon rejoined the Teutonic Knights and defeated Kneiphof (Knipawa) in 1455. Grand Master
Ludwig von Erlichshausen fled from the crusaders' capital at
Castle Marienburg (Malbork) to Königsberg in 1457; the city's magistrate presented Erlichshausen with a barrel of beer out of compassion.
In 1465, a landing force from Polish-allied
Elbląg
Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County.
Elbląg is one of the ol ...
destroyed the shipyard near Altstadt, preventing the Teutonic Knights from rebuilding their fleet until the end of the war.
Following the
Second Peace of Thorn (1466)
The Peace of Thorn or Toruń of 1466, also known as the Second Peace of Thorn or Toruń (; ), was a peace treaty signed in the Hanseatic city of Thorn (Toruń) on 19 October 1466 between the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon and the Teutonic K ...
— which ended the Thirteen Years' War — the reduced monastic state became a fief of the Kingdom of Poland, and Königsberg became the new capital.
The grand masters took over the marshal's quarters. During the
Polish-Teutonic War (1519–1521), Königsberg was besieged without success
by Polish forces led by Grand Crown Hetman
Mikołaj Firlej. The city itself opposed the Teutonic Knights' war against Poland and demanded peace.
Duchy of Prussia
Through the preachings of the
Bishop of Samland,
Georg von Polenz, Königsberg became predominantly
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
during the
Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
.
After summoning a
quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...
of the Knights to Königsberg, Grand Master
Albert of Brandenburg
Albert von Brandenburg (; 28 June 149024 September 1545) was a German cardinal, elector, Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545.
Through his notorious sale of indulgences, he became the catalyst ...
(a member of the
House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern Castle, Hohenzollern, Margraviate of Bran ...
) secularised the Teutonic Knights' remaining territories in Prussia in 1525 and converted to Lutheranism.
By paying
feudal homage to his uncle, King
Sigismund I of Poland, Albert became the first duke of the new
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...
, a fief of Poland.
While the Prussian estates quickly allied with the duke, the Prussian peasantry would only swear allegiance to Albert in person at Königsberg, seeking the duke's support against the oppressive nobility. After convincing the rebels to lay down their arms, Albert had several of their leaders executed.
Königsberg, the capital, became one of the biggest cities and ports of Ducal Prussia, having considerable autonomy, a separate
parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
and currency. While
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 ...
continued to be the official language, the city served as a vibrant center of publishing in both
Polish and
Lithuanian. The city flourished through the export of
wheat
Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
,
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
,
hemp
Hemp, or industrial hemp, is a plant in the botanical class of ''Cannabis sativa'' cultivars grown specifically for industrial and consumable use. It can be used to make a wide range of products. Along with bamboo, hemp is among the fastest ...
, and
furs
A fur is a soft, thick growth of hair that covers the skin of almost all mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an ...
,
as well as
pitch,
tar
Tar is a dark brown or black viscous liquid of hydrocarbons and free carbon, obtained from a wide variety of organic materials through destructive distillation. Tar can be produced from coal, wood, petroleum, or peat. "a dark brown or black b ...
, and
fly ash
Coal combustion products (CCPs), also called coal combustion wastes (CCWs) or coal combustion residuals (CCRs), are byproducts of burning coal. They are categorized in four groups, each based on physical and chemical forms derived from coal combust ...
.
The city acted as an intermediary in maritime trade between the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
and the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Many Poles, including noblemen and Polish Jews, came to the city for trade. The 17th-century stock exchange included a painting depicting a townswoman buying goods from a Pole and a Dutchman, embracing the notion that the city's prosperity was based on trade with the East and West, particularly Poland and the Netherlands.
Königsberg was one of the few Baltic ports regularly visited by more than one hundred ships annually in the latter 16th century, along with
Gdańsk
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
and
Riga
Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
.
The
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...
, founded by Duke Albert in 1544 and receiving token royal approval from King
Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...
in 1560, became a center of Protestant teaching. The university had a profound impact on the development of
Lithuanian culture, and several important Lithuanian writers attended the ''Albertina'' (see ''Lithuanians'' section below). Poles, including several notable figures, were also among the staff and students of the university (see ''Poles'' section below). The university was also the preferred educational institution of the
Baltic German
Baltic Germans ( or , later ) are Germans, ethnic German inhabitants of the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea, in what today are Estonia and Latvia. Since Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–1950), their resettlement in 1945 after the end ...
nobility.
With the growth of the
Scottish diaspora in Poland, the first acquisition of citizenship in the city by a Scotsman occurred in 1561.
On several occasions the city got into disputes with the Prussian Dukes and sought intervention and confirmation of its rights from the Polish authorities. In 1566, the city's rights were extended and the Prussian dukes were not allowed to interfere in the city's internal affairs by the Polish Royal Commissioners. In 1635, Polish King
Władysław IV Vasa
Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV (9 June 1595 – 20 May 1648) was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Monarchy of Sweden, Sweden and List of Russian monarchs, Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince ...
granted the city the right to organize its military defense against a possible
Swedish attack in exchange for exemption from paying taxes to Prussian dukes. King Władysław IV was hosted in the city very grandly during his visits in 1635 and 1636. He appointed
Jerzy Ossoliński as the Polish governor of the duchy in 1636. Ossoliński resided in the city and completed the fortification of the city against a potential Swedish attack.
The capable Duke Albert was succeeded by his feeble-minded son,
Albert Frederick. Anna, daughter of Albert Frederick, married Elector
John Sigismund of
Brandenburg
Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...
, who was granted the right of
succession
Succession is the act or process of following in order or sequence.
Governance and politics
*Order of succession, in politics, the ascension to power by one ruler, official, or monarch after the death, resignation, or removal from office of ...
to Prussia on Albert Frederick's death in 1618. From this time the
Electors of Brandenburg, the rulers of
Brandenburg-Prussia, governed the Duchy of Prussia.
Brandenburg-Prussia
When Imperial and then
Swedish armies overran Brandenburg during the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
of 1618–1648, the Hohenzollern court fled to Königsberg. On 1 November 1641, Elector
Frederick William The name Frederick William usually refers to several monarchs and princes of the Hohenzollern dynasty:
* Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (1620–1688)
* Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (1675–1713)
* Frederick William I of ...
persuaded the Prussian diet to accept an
excise tax
file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...
.
In the
Treaty of Königsberg of January 1656, the elector recognised his Duchy of Prussia as a fief of Sweden. In the
Treaty of Wehlau
The Treaty of Bromberg (, Latin: Pacta Bydgostensia) or Treaty of Bydgoszcz was a treaty between John II Casimir of Poland and Elector Frederick William of Brandenburg-Prussia that was ratified at Bromberg (Bydgoszcz) on 6 November 1657. The t ...
in 1657, however, he negotiated the release of Prussia from Polish sovereignty in return for an alliance with Poland. The 1660
Treaty of Oliva
The Treaty or Peace of Oliva (; ; ) was one of the peace treaties ending the Second Northern War (1655–1660).Frost (2000), p. 183 It was signed on .Evans (2008), p. 55 The Treaty of Oliva, the Treaty of Copenhagen in the same year, and the T ...
confirmed Prussian independence from both Poland and Sweden.
In 1661 Frederick William informed the Prussian diet that he possessed ''jus supremi et absoluti domini'', and that the
Prussian Landtag
The Landtag of Prussia () was the representative assembly of the Kingdom of Prussia implemented in 1849, a bicameral legislature consisting of the upper House of Lords (''Herrenhaus'') and the lower House of Representatives (''Abgeordnetenhaus'') ...
could convene with his permission.
The Königsberg burghers, led by
Hieronymus Roth of Kneiphof, opposed "the Great Elector's"
absolutist claims, and actively rejected the Treaties of Wehlau and Oliva, seeing Prussia as "indisputably contained within the territory of the Polish Crown".
Delegations from the city's burghers went to the Polish king,
John II Casimir Vasa
John II Casimir Vasa (; ; 22 March 1609 – 16 December 1672) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1648 to his abdication in 1668 as well as a claimant to the throne of Sweden from 1648 to 1660. He was the first son of Sigis ...
, who initially promised aid, but then failed to follow through.
The town's residents attacked the elector's troops while local Lutheran priests held masses for the Polish king and for the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
.
However, Frederick William succeeded in imposing his authority after arriving with 3,000 troops in October 1662 and training his artillery on the town.
Refusing to request mercy, Roth went to prison in
Peitz until his death in 1678.
[
The Prussian estates which swore fealty to Frederick William in Königsberg on 18 October 1663] refused the elector's requests for military funding, and Colonel Christian Ludwig von Kalckstein sought assistance from neighbouring Poland. After the elector's agents had abducted Kalckstein, he was executed in 1672. The Prussian estates' submission to Frederick William followed; in 1673 and 1674 the elector received taxes not granted by the estates and Königsberg received a garrison without the estates' consent. The economic and political weakening of Königsberg strengthened the power of the Junker
Junker (, , , , , , ka, იუნკერი, ) is a noble honorific, derived from Middle High German , meaning 'young nobleman'Duden; Meaning of Junker, in German/ref> or otherwise 'young lord' (derivation of and ). The term is traditionally ...
nobility within Prussia.
Königsberg long remained a center of Lutheran resistance to Calvinism
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...
within Brandenburg-Prussia; Frederick William forced the city to accept Calvinist citizens and property-holders in 1668.
Kingdom of Prussia
By the act of coronation in Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order and of the dukes and kings of Prussia in the city of Königsberg (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights ...
on 18 January 1701, Frederick William's son, Elector Frederick III, became Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich 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 ...
, King in Prussia
King ''in'' Prussia (German language, German: ''König in Preußen'') was a title used by the Prussian kings (also in personal union Elector of Brandenburg, Electors of Brandenburg) from 1701 to 1772. Subsequently, they used the title King ''of' ...
. The elevation of the Duchy of Prussia to the Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
was possible because the Hohenzollerns' authority in Prussia was independent of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. Since "Kingdom of Prussia" was increasingly used to designate all of the Hohenzollern lands, former ducal Prussia became known as the Province of Prussia
The Province of Prussia (; ; ; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1824 to 1878. The province was established in 1824 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia, and was dissolved in 1878 when the merger was reversed.
König ...
(1701–1773), with Königsberg as its capital. However, Berlin and Potsdam
Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...
in Brandenburg were the main residences of the Prussian kings.
The city was wracked by plague and other illnesses from September 1709 to April 1710, losing 9,368 people, or roughly a quarter of its populace. On 13 June 1724, Altstadt
''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...
, Kneiphof
Coat of arms of Kneiphof
Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse
Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum
Kneiphof (; ; ) was a quarter of central Königsberg (Kaliningrad). During the Middle Ages it was one of the three towns that co ...
, and Löbenicht View of Löbenicht from the Pregel, including its church and gymnasium, as well as the nearby Propsteikirche
Löbenicht (; ) was a quarter of central Königsberg, Germany. During the Middle Ages it was the weakest of the three towns that com ...
amalgamated to formally create the larger city Königsberg. Suburbs that subsequently were annexed to Königsberg include Sackheim, Rossgarten, and Tragheim.
From 1734, during the War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession (; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a civil war in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth over the succession to Augustus II the Strong, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of ...
, Polish King Stanisław Leszczyński
Stanisław I Leszczyński (Stanisław Bogusław; 20 October 1677 – 23 February 1766), also Anglicized and Latinized as Stanislaus I, was twice King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and at various times Prince of Deux-Ponts, Duk ...
stayed in the city, and several prominent Polish officials, including Franciszek Maksymilian Ossoliński, and voivodes Antoni Michał Potocki, Piotr Jan Czapski and Andrzej Morsztyn, formed an informal political committee in support of Leszczyński there in 1734. After the arrival of more Leszczyński's supporters in 1735, the city was the main center of authority and court of King Stanisław Leszczyński. After his defeat in the war, Leszczyński signed an act of renunciation of the Polish crown in the city on 26 January 1736, and then left the city for France on 27 March 1736.
Russian occupation
During the Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
(1756–1763), the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
decided to go to war with the Kingdom of Prussia and annex the territory and city, which was then to be offered to Poland as part of a territorial exchange desired by Russia. Russia occupied and annexed Königsberg in January 1758 with no resistance, and the Prussian estates pledged allegiance to Russia. The economic growth of the following years was based on the supply of arms to the Russian army and boosted trade with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the terms of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (signed 5 May 1762), Russia relinquished its claim to Königsberg and it reverted back to Prussian control.
Kingdom of Prussia after 1773
After the First Partition of Poland
The First Partition of Poland took place in 1772 as the first of three partitions that eventually ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth by 1795. The growth of power in the Russian Empire threatened the Kingdom of Prussia an ...
in 1772, Königsberg became the capital of the newly formed province
A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
in 1773, which replaced the Province of Prussia in 1773. 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.
After Prussia's defeat at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
in 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition
The War of the Fourth Coalition () was a war spanning 1806–1807 that saw a multinational coalition fight against Napoleon's First French Empire, French Empire, subsequently being defeated. The main coalition partners were Kingdom of Prussia, ...
and the subsequent occupation of Berlin, King Frederick William III of Prussia
Frederick William III (; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, when the empire was dissolved ...
fled with his court from Berlin to Königsberg. The city was a centre for political resistance to Napoleon. To foster liberalism
Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
and nationalism
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
among the Prussian middle class, the "League of Virtue" was founded in Königsberg in April 1808. The French forced its dissolution in December 1809, but its ideals were continued by the ''Turnbewegung'' of Friedrich Ludwig Jahn
(11August 177815October 1852) was a German gymnastics educator and nationalist whose writing is credited with the founding of the German gymnastics (Turner) movement, first realized at Volkspark Hasenheide in Berlin, the origin of modern sports ...
in Berlin. Königsberg officials, such as Johann Gottfried Frey, formulated much of Stein
Stein may refer to:
Places Austria
* Stein, a neighbourhood of Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria
* Stein, Styria, a municipality in the district of Fürstenfeld, Styria
* Stein (Lassing), a village in the district of Liezen, Styria
* Stein a ...
's 1808 ''Städteordnung'', or new order for urban communities, which emphasised self-administration for Prussian towns. The East Prussian ''Landwehr
''Landwehr'' (), or ''Landeswehr'', is a German language term used in referring to certain national army, armies, or militias found in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Europe. In different context it refers to large-scale, low-strength fo ...
'' was organised from the city after the Convention of Tauroggen.
In 1819 Königsberg had a population of 63,800. It served as the capital of the united Province of Prussia
The Province of Prussia (; ; ; ) was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1824 to 1878. The province was established in 1824 from the provinces of East Prussia and West Prussia, and was dissolved in 1878 when the merger was reversed.
König ...
from 1824 to 1878, when East Prussia was merged with West Prussia
The Province of West Prussia (; ; ) was a province of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and from 1878 to 1919. West Prussia was established as a province of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1773, formed from Royal Prussia of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonweal ...
. It was also the seat of the Regierungsbezirk Königsberg
A ' (, 'governmental district') is a type of administrative division in Germany. Currently, four of sixteen ' (states of Germany) are split into '. Beneath these are rural and urban districts
' (plural, ) serve as regional mid-level local gov ...
, an administrative subdivision.
Led by the provincial president Theodor von Schön and the ''Königsberger Volkszeitung'' newspaper, Königsberg was a stronghold of liberalism against the conservative government of King Frederick William IV
Frederick William IV (; 15 October 1795 – 2 January 1861), the eldest son and successor of Frederick William III of Prussia, was King of Prussia from 7 June 1840 until his death on 2 January 1861. Also referred to as the " romanticist on the t ...
. During the revolution of 1848
The revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the springtime of the peoples or the springtime of nations, were a series of revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...
, there were 21 episodes of public unrest in the city; major demonstrations were suppressed. Königsberg became part of the German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany
The unification of Germany (, ) was a process of building the first nation-state for Germans with federalism, federal features based on the concept of Lesser Germany (one without Habsburgs' multi-ethnic Austria or its German-speaking part). I ...
. A sophisticated-for-its-time series of fortifications around the city that included fifteen forts was completed in 1888.
The extensive Prussian Eastern Railway
The Prussian Eastern Railway () 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) and Königsberg (now Kalini ...
linked the city to Breslau (Wrocław), Thorn (Toruń), Insterburg
Chernyakhovsk (; German language, German: Insterburg) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, and the administrative center of Chernyakhovsky District. Located at the confluence of the Instruch and Angrap ...
, Eydtkuhnen, Tilsit
Sovetsk (; ) is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River which forms the border with Lithuania.
History Early history
Tilsit, which received civic rights from Albert, Duke of Prussia in 1552,''Sło ...
, and Pillau
Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...
. In 1860 the railway connecting Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
with St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...
was completed and increased Königsberg's commerce. Extensive electric tramways were in operation by 1900; and regular steamers plied the waterways to Memel, Tapiau
Gvardeysk ( rus, Гвардейск, p=ɡvɐrˈdʲejsk, a=Ru-Гвардейск.oga; known prior to 1946 by its German name Tapiau ; ; ), is a town and the administrative center of Gvardeysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on t ...
and Labiau, Cranz, Tilsit, and Danzig (Gdańsk). The completion of a canal to Pillau in 1901 increased the trade of Russian grain in Königsberg, but, like much of eastern Germany, the city's economy was generally in decline. The city was an important entrepôt
An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...
for Scottish herring. in 1904 the export peaked at more than 322 thousand barrels. By 1900 the city's population had grown to 188,000, with a 9,000-strong military garrison. By 1914 Königsberg had a population of 246,000; Jew
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...
s flourished in the culturally pluralistic city.
Weimar Republic
Following the defeat of the Central Powers
The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
in World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, Imperial Germany was replaced with the democratic Weimar Republic
The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...
. The Kingdom of Prussia ended with the abdication of the Hohenzollern monarch, Wilhelm II
Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...
, and the kingdom was succeeded by the Free State of Prussia
The Free State of Prussia (, ) was one of the States of the Weimar Republic, constituent states of Weimar Republic, Germany from 1918 to 1947. The successor to the Kingdom of Prussia after the defeat of the German Empire in World War I, it cont ...
. Königsberg and East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
, however, were separated from the rest of Weimar Germany following the restoration of independent Poland and the creation of the Polish Corridor. Due to the isolated geographical situation after World War I the German Government supported several large infrastructure projects: 1919 Airport "Devenau" (the first civil airport in Germany), 1920 "Deutsche Ostmesse" (a new German trade fair; including new hotels and radio station), 1929 reconstruction of the railway system including the new central railway station and 1930 opening of the North station.
Nazi Germany
In 1932 the local paramilitary SA had already started to terrorise their political opponents. On the night of 31 July 1932 there was a bomb attack on the headquarters of the Social Democrats
Social democracy is a social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...
in Königsberg, the Otto-Braun-House. The Communist politician Gustav Sauf was killed, and the executive editor of the Social Democrat ''"Königsberger Volkszeitung"'', Otto Wyrgatsch, and the German People's Party
The German People's Party (German: , DVP) was a conservative-liberal political party during the Weimar Republic that was the successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire. Along with the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP), ...
politician Max von Bahrfeldt were severely injured. Members of the Reichsbanner were attacked and the local Reichsbanner Chairman of Lötzen (Giżycko
Giżycko (former or ''Łuczany''; ) is a town in northeastern Poland with 28,597 inhabitants as of December 2021. It is situated between Lake Kisajno and Lake Niegocin in the region of Masuria, within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. It is ...
), Kurt Kotzan, was murdered on 6 August 1932.
Following Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
's coming to power, Nazis confiscated Jewish shops and, as in the rest of Germany, a public book burning was organised, accompanied by antisemitic speeches in May 1933 at the Trommelplatz square. Street names and monuments of Jewish origin were removed, and signs such as "Jews are not welcomed in hotels" started appearing. As part of the state-wide "aryanisation" of the civil service Jewish academics were ejected from the university.
In July 1934, Hitler made a speech in the city in front of 25,000 supporters.[Janusz Jasinski, Historia Krolewca, 1994, page 249] In 1933 the NSDAP alone received 54% of votes in the city. After the Nazis took power in Germany, opposition politicians were persecuted and newspapers were banned. The Otto-Braun-House was requisitioned and became the headquarters of the SA, which used the house to imprison and torture opponents. Walter Schütz, a communist member of the Reichstag, was murdered there. Many who would not co-operate with the rulers of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
were sent to concentration camps
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
and held prisoner there until their death or liberation.
In 1935, the Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...
designated Königsberg as the Headquarters for Wehrkreis I (under the command of General der Artillerie Albert Wodrig
__NOTOC__
Albert Wodrig (16 July 1883 – 31 October 1972) was a German general during World War II who commanded the XXVI Army Corps, which was initially briefly his namesake ("Corps Wodrig"). He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iro ...
), which took in all of East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
. According to the census of May 1939, Königsberg had a population of 372,164.
In World War II both Königsberg and Berlin had large Fernschreibstellen (teleprinter offices) for the German Army
The German Army (, 'army') is the land component of the armed forces of Federal Republic of Germany, Germany. The present-day German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German together with the German Navy, ''Marine'' (G ...
which collected morning messages each day from regional or local centres to be sent in long messages to headquarters. They also had a Geheimschreibstube or cipher room where plaintext messages could be encrypted on Lorenz SZ40/42 machines. If sent by radio rather than landline they were intercepted and decrypted at Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park is an English country house and Bletchley Park estate, estate in Bletchley, Milton Keynes (Buckinghamshire), that became the principal centre of Allies of World War II, Allied World War II cryptography, code-breaking during the S ...
in England, where they were known as Fish
A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...
. Some messages were daily returns, and some were between Hitler and his generals; both were valuable to Allied intelligence. Königsberg had links over the Eastern Front.
Persecution of Jews under the Nazi regime
Prior to the Nazi era, Königsberg was home to a third of East Prussia's 13,000 Jews. Under Nazi rule, the Polish and Jewish minorities were classified as ''Untermenschen
''Untermensch'' (; plural: ''Untermenschen'') is a German language word literally meaning 'underman', 'sub-man', or ' subhuman', which was extensively used by Germany's Nazi Party to refer to their opponents and non- Aryan people they deemed ...
'' and persecuted by the authorities. The city's Jewish population shrank from 3,200 in 1933 to 2,100 in October 1938. The New Synagogue of Königsberg, constructed in 1896, was destroyed during Kristallnacht
( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...
(9 November 1938); 500 Jews soon fled the city.
After the Wannsee Conference of 20 January 1942, Königsberg's Jews began to be deported to various Nazi concentration camps
From 1933 to 1945, Nazi Germany operated more than a thousand concentration camps (), including subcamp (SS), subcamps on its own territory and in parts of German-occupied Europe.
The first camps were established in March 1933 immediately af ...
: The SS sent the first and largest group of Jewish deportees, comprising 465 Jewish men, women and children, from Königsberg and East Prussia to the Maly Trostenets extermination camp
Maly Trostenets (Maly Trascianiec, , "Little Trostenets") is a village near Minsk in Belarus, formerly the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. During Nazi Germany's occupation of the area during World War II (when the Germans referred to it as ...
near Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
on 24 June 1942. Almost all were murdered soon after their arrival. Additional transports from Königsberg to the Theresienstadt ghetto
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...
and Auschwitz
Auschwitz, or Oświęcim, was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It consisted of Auschw ...
took place until 1945.
In 1944–1945, the Germans operated a sub-camp of the Stutthof concentration camp in Königsberg, where they imprisoned around 500 Jews as forced labour
Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
. In 1939, the Germans also established a forced labour camp for Romani people
{{Infobox ethnic group
, group = Romani people
, image =
, image_caption =
, flag = Roma flag.svg
, flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress
, po ...
in the city.
Persecution of Poles during World War II
In September 1939, with the German invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
underway, the Polish consulate in Königsberg was attacked (which constituted a violation of international law), its workers arrested and sent to concentration camps where several of them died.[Janusz Jasinski, ''Historia Krolewca'' (1994), p. 256] Polish students at the local university were captured, tortured and finally executed. Other victims included local Polish civilians guillotined for petty violations of German law and regulations such as buying and selling meat. Nevertheless, the Polish resistance movement was active in the city, which served as one of the region's main transfer points for smuggled Polish underground press
The Polish underground press, devoted to prohibited materials ( sl. , lit. semitransparent blotting paper or, alternatively, , lit. second circulation), has a long history of combatting censorship of oppressive regimes in Poland. It existed th ...
.
In September 1944 69,000 slave labourers were registered in the city (not counting prisoners of war), with most of them working on the outskirts; within the city were 15,000 slave labourers.[Janusz Jasinski, ''Historia Krolewca'', 1994, p. 257.] All of them were denied freedom of movement, forced to wear a "P" sign, if Poles, or "Ost" sign, if they were from the Soviet Union, and were watched by special units of the Gestapo
The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.
The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
and Wehrmacht.[ They were denied basic spiritual and physical needs and food, and suffered from famine and exhaustion.][ The conditions of the forced labour were described as "tragic", especially for Poles and Soviets, who were treated harshly by their German overseers. Ordered to paint German ships with toxic paints and chemicals, they were neither given gas-masks nor was there any ventilation in facilities where they worked, supposedly to expedite construction, while the substances evaporated in temperatures as high as 40 Celsius. As a result, there were cases of sudden illness or death during the work.][
]
Destruction in World War II
In 1944, Königsberg suffered heavy damage from British bombing attacks and burned for several days. The historic city center, especially the original quarters Altstadt, Löbenicht, and Kneiphof were destroyed, including the cathedral, the castle, all churches of the old city, the old and the new universities, and the old shipping quarters.
Many people fled from Königsberg ahead of the Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...
's advance after October 1944, particularly after word spread of the Soviet atrocities at Nemmersdorf. In early 1945, Soviet forces, under the command of the Polish-born Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Konstantinovich Rokossovsky ( 1896 – 3 August 1968) was a Soviet and Polish general who served as a top commander in the Red Army during World War II and achieved the ranks of Marshal of the Soviet Union and Marshal of Poland. He a ...
, besieged the city that Hitler had envisaged as the home for a museum holding all the Germans had 'found in Russia'. In Operation Samland, General Baghramyan's 1st Baltic Front
The First Baltic Front ( Russian: Пéрвый Прибалтийский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War. It was commanded by Army General Andrey Yeryomenko, succeeded by Army General Bagramyan. It ...
, now known as the Samland Group, captured Königsberg in April. Although Hitler
Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
had declared Königsberg an "invincible bastion of German spirit", the Soviets captured the city after a three-month-long siege. A temporary German breakout had allowed some of the remaining civilians to escape via train and naval evacuation from the nearby port of Pillau. Königsberg, which had been declared a "fortress" ('' Festung'') by the Germans, was fanatically defended.
On 21 January, during the Red Army's East Prussian Offensive, mostly Polish and Hungarian Jews from Seerappen, Jesau, Heiligenbeil The term Heiligenbeil can refer to:
*The German name of Mamonovo, Russia
* Heiligenbeil concentration camp built near Mamonovo
*Heiligenbeil Pocket
The Heiligenbeil Pocket or Heiligenbeil Cauldron () was the site of a major encirclement battle o ...
, Schippenbeil, and Gerdauen (subcamps of Stutthof concentration camp
Stutthof was a Nazi concentration camp established by Nazi Germany in a secluded, marshy, and wooded area near the village of Stutthof (now Sztutowo) 34 km (21 mi) east of the city of Danzig (Gdańsk) in the territory of the German-an ...
) were gathered in Königsberg by the Nazis. Up to 7,000 of them were forced on a death march
A death march is a forced march of prisoners of war, other captives, or deportees in which individuals are left to die along the way. It is distinct from simple prisoner transport via foot march. Article 19 of the Geneva Convention requires tha ...
to Sambia
Sambia () or Samland () or Kaliningrad Peninsula (official name, , ''Kaliningradsky poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is bounded by the Curonian Lagoon t ...
: those that survived were subsequently executed at Palmnicken.
On 9 April – one month before the end of the war in Europe – the German military commander of Königsberg, General Otto Lasch
Otto Lasch (25 June 1893 in Pleß, Oberschlesien – 29 April 1971) was a German general in the ''Wehrmacht'' during World War II who commanded the LXIV Corps. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves.
...
, surrendered the remnants of his forces, following the three-month-long siege by the Red Army. For this act, Lasch was condemned to death, in absentia, by Hitler. 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 is preserved as a museum in today's Kaliningrad.
About 120,000 survivors remained in the ruins of the devastated city. The German civilians were held as forced labourers until 1946. Only the Lithuanians, a small minority of the pre-war population, were collectively allowed to stay. Between October 1947 and October 1948, about 100,000 Germans were forcibly moved to Germany. The remaining 20,000 German residents were expelled in 1949–50.
According to Soviet documents, there were 140,114 German inhabitants in September 1945 in the region that later became the Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast () is the westernmost federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of the Russian Federation. It is a Enclave and exclave, semi-exclave on the Baltic Sea within the Baltic region of Prussia (region), Prussia, surrounded by Pola ...
, thereof 68,014 in Königsberg. Between April 1947 and May 1951, according to Soviet documents, 102,407 were deported to the Soviet occupation zone of Germany. How many of the deportees were from the city of Königsberg does not become apparent from Soviet records. It is estimated that 43,617 Germans were in the city in the spring of 1946. According to German historian Andreas Kossert, there were about 100,000 to 126,000 German civilians in the city at the time of Soviet conquest, and of these only 24,000 survived to be deported in 1947. Hunger accounted for 75% of the deaths, epidemics (especially typhoid fever) for 2.6% and violence for 15%, according to Kossert.
Soviet Kaliningrad
Under the Potsdam Agreement
The Potsdam Agreement () was the agreement among three of the Allies of World War II: the United Kingdom, the United States, and the Soviet Union after the war ended in Europe that was signed on 1 August 1945 and published the following day. A ...
of 1 August 1945, the city became part of the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
pending the final determination of territorial borders at an anticipated peace settlement. This final determination eventually took place on 12 September 1990 when the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany
The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (),
more commonly referred to as the Two Plus Four Agreement (),
is an international agreement that allowed the reunification of Germany in October 1990. It was negotiated in 1990 betwee ...
was signed. The excerpt from the initial agreement pertaining to the partition of East Prussia, including the area surrounding Königsberg, is as follows (note that Königsberg is spelt "Koenigsberg" in the original document):
VI. CITY OF KOENIGSBERG AND THE ADJACENT AREA
The Conference examined a proposal by the Soviet Government
The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...
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
Braniewo () (, , Old Prussian: ''Brus''), is a town in northern Poland, in Warmia, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 16,907 as of June 2021. It is the capital of Braniewo County.
Braniewo is the second biggest city of ...
– Goldep, to the meeting point of the frontiers of Lithuania
Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
, the Polish Republic and East Prussia
East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...
.
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
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
and the British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet, and selects its ministers. Modern pri ...
supported the proposal of the Conference at the forthcoming peace settlement.
Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 after the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
The Constitution of the Soviet Union recognised the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (between 1938 and 1989) and the earlier Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the Congress of Soviets (between 1922 and 1938) as the highest organs of state author ...
of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin
Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (, ; 3 June 1946) was a Soviet politician and Russian Old Bolshevik revolutionary who served as the first chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (head of state) from 1938 until his resignation in 1946. From ...
, although Kalinin was unrelated to the city, and there were already cities named in honour of Kalinin in the Soviet Union, namely ''Kalinin'' (now Tver
Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population:
The city is ...
) and ''Kaliningrad'' (now Korolev, Moscow Oblast).
Some historians speculate that it may have originally been offered to the Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
because the resolution from the conference specifies that Kaliningrad's border would be at the (pre-war) Lithuanian frontier. The remaining German population was forcibly expelled between 1947 and 1948. The annexed territory was populated with Soviet citizens, mostly ethnic Russians but to a lesser extent also Ukrainians and Belarusians.
The German language was replaced with the Russian language. In 1950, there were 1,165,000 inhabitants, which was only half the number of the pre-war population.
From 1953 to 1962, a monument to Stalin stood on Victory Square. In 1973, the town hall was turned into the House of Soviets. In 1975, the trolleybus was launched again. In 1980, a concert hall was opened in the building of the former Lutheran Church of the Holy Family. In 1986, the Kreuzkirche building was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.
For foreigners, the city was completely closed and, with the exception of rare visits of friendship from neighboring Poland, it was practically not visited by foreigners.
The old city was not restored, and the ruins of the Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order and of the dukes and kings of Prussia in the city of Königsberg (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights ...
were demolished in the late 1960s, on Leonid Brezhnev
Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev (19 December 190610 November 1982) was a Soviet politician who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1964 until Death and state funeral of Leonid Brezhnev, his death in 1982 as w ...
's personal orders, despite the protests of architects, historians, local historians and ordinary residents of the city.
The "reconstruction" of the oblast, threatened by hunger in the immediate post-war years, was carried out through an ambitious policy of oceanic fishing with the creation of one of the main fishing harbours of the USSR in Kaliningrad city. Fishing not only fed the regional economy but also was a basis for social and scientific development, in particular oceanography.[Roqueplo O: La Russie et son miroir d'Extrême-Occident, 2018]
In 1957, an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the border between Polish People's Republic
The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
(Soviet satellite state
A satellite state or dependent state is a country that is formally independent but under heavy political, economic, and military influence or control from another country. The term was coined by analogy to planetary objects orbiting a larger ob ...
at the time) and the Soviet Union.
The region was added as a semi-exclave to the Russian SFSR; since 1946 it has been known as the Kaliningrad Oblast. According to some historians, Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
created it as an oblast separate from the Lithuanian SSR
The Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic (Lithuanian SSR; ; ), also known as Soviet Lithuania or simply Lithuania, was '' de facto'' one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union between 1940–1941 and 1944–1990. After 1946, its terr ...
because it further separated the Baltic states from the West. Others think that the reason was that the region was far too strategic for the USSR to leave it in the hands of another SSR other than the Russian one. The names of the cities, towns, rivers, and other geographical features were changed to Russian names.
The area was administered by the planning committee of the Lithuanian SSR, although it had its own Communist Party committee. In the 1950s, Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...
offered the entire Kaliningrad Oblast to the Lithuanian SSR but Antanas Sniečkus
Antanas Sniečkus ( – 22 January 1974) was a Lithuanian communist politician who served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Lithuania ('' de facto'' leader of Lithuanian SSR) from 15 August 1940 to his death on 22 January 1974. ...
refused to accept the territory because it would add at least a million ethnic Russians to Lithuania proper.
In 2010, the German magazine ''Der Spiegel
(, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' published a report claiming that Kaliningrad had been offered to Germany in 1990 (against payment). The offer was not seriously considered by the West German government which, at the time, saw reunification with East Germany as a higher priority. However, this story was later denied by Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
.
Demographics
Following the Christianization of the region, the vast majority of the population was Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, and after the Reformation, the majority of the population belonged to the Evangelical Church of Prussia. A majority of its parishioners were Lutherans
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched the Reformation in 15 ...
, although there were also Calvinists
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
.
;Number of inhabitants, by year
* 1400: 10,000
* 1663: 40,000
* 1819: 63,869
* 1840: 70,839
* 1855: 83,593
* 1871: 112,092
* 1880: 140,909
* 1890: 172,796
* 1900: 189,483 (including the military), among whom were 8,465 Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
and 3,975 Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
.
* 1905: 223,770, among whom were 10,320 Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, 4,415 Jews
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and 425 Poles.
* 1910: 245,994
* 1919: 260,895
* 1925: 279,930, among whom were 13,330 Catholics, 4,050 Jews and approximately 6,000 others.
* 1933: 315,794
* 1939: 372,164
* 1945: 73,000
Jews
The Jewish community in the city had its origins in the 16th century, with the arrival of the first Jews in 1538. The first synagogue was built in 1756. A second, smaller synagogue which served Orthodox Jews was constructed later, eventually becoming the New Synagogue.
The Jewish population of Königsberg in the 18th century was fairly low, although this changed as restrictions became relaxed over the course of the 19th century. In 1756 there were 29 families of "protected Jews" in Königsberg, which increased to 57 by 1789. The total number of Jewish inhabitants was less than 500 in the middle of the 18th century, and around 800 by the end of it, out of a total population of almost 60,000 people.
The number of Jewish inhabitants peaked in 1880 at about 5,000, many of whom were migrants escaping pogroms
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century attacks on Jews i ...
in the Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
. This number declined subsequently so that by 1933, when the Nazis
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
took over, the city had about 3,200 Jews. As a result of antisemitism and persecution in the 1920s and 1930s two-thirds of the city's Jews emigrated, mostly to the US and Great Britain. Those who remained were shipped by the Germans to concentration camps in two waves; first in 1938 to various camps in Germany, and the second in 1942 to the Theresienstadt concentration camp
Theresienstadt Ghetto was established by the SS during World War II in the fortress town of Terezín, in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia ( German-occupied Czechoslovakia). Theresienstadt served as a waystation to the extermination c ...
in occupied Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
, Kaiserwald concentration camp in occupied Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, as well as camps in Minsk
Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...
in the occupied Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic (BSSR, Byelorussian SSR or Byelorussia; ; ), also known as Soviet Belarus or simply Belarus, was a Republics of the Soviet Union, republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 19 ...
.
Lithuanians
The Lithuanian Duke Butautas was baptized
Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...
in Königsberg in 1365. In the 14th century Vytautas the Great
Vytautas the Great (; 27 October 1430) was a ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. He was also the prince of Grodno (1370–1382), prince of Lutsk (1387–1389), and the postulated king of the Hussites.
In modern Lithuania, Vytautas is revere ...
was residing in Königsberg following his retreat from the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...
and 31 Samogitian nobles visited him in 1390 to recognize him as their ruler and concluded a peace and trade treaty.
The University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...
was an important center of Protestant Lithuanian culture and studies. Abraomas Kulvietis and Stanislovas Rapalionis are also seen as important early Lithuanian scholars, who also were one of the co-founders of the University of Königsberg. Daniel Klein published the first Lithuanian grammar book in Königsberg in 1653. Königsberg was closely related to the Lithuanian culture, and had an important impact in founding the literary language and national press of Lithuania. Despite persecution and intensive Germanisation
Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people, and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In l ...
, about 9 percent of the city was Lithuanian by the end of the 19th century. Quite many Lithuanian publications were published by Königsberg's printing press
A printing press is a mechanical device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a printing, print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink. It marked a dramatic improvement on earlier printing methods in whi ...
es.
Poles
Poles
Pole or poles may refer to:
People
*Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland
* Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name
* Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist
...
were among the first professors of the University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...
, which received the royal Law of Privilege from King Sigismund II Augustus
Sigismund II Augustus (, ; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first ruler of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and t ...
of Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
on 28 March 1560. University of Königsberg lecturers included Hieronim Malecki (theology), Maciej Menius (astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...
) and Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (medicine
Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
). Jan Kochanowski
Jan Kochanowski (; 1530 – 22 August 1584) was a Polish Renaissance poet who wrote in Latin and Polish and established poetic patterns that would become integral to Polish literary language. He has been called the greatest Polish poet before ...
and Stanislaw Sarnicki were among the first students known to be Polish, later Florian Ceynowa
Florian Stanisław Ceynowa ( Kashubian ''Florión Cenôwa'') (May 4, 1817 – March 26, 1881) was a doctor, political activist, writer, and linguist. He was a pioneer of the nationalist movement among the Kashubian people in the mid-19th centur ...
, Wojciech Kętrzynski and Julian Klaczko
Julian Klaczko (6 November 1825, Vilna (Wilno, Vilnius) – 26 November 1906, Kraków) was a Polish author, proficient in Hebrew, Polish, French, and German.
He was born Jehuda Lejb into a wealthy Jewish family. At the age of 17 he published ...
studied in Königsberg. For 24 years Celestyn Myślenta (who first registered at the University as "Polonus") was a seven time rector of the university, while Maciej Menius was a three times rector. From 1728 there was a "Polish Seminar" at the seminary of Protestant theology, which operated until the early 1930s and had developed a number of pastor
A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
s, including Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius
Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius (; ) (July 19, 1764 – June 3, 1855) was a Protestant pastor, writer, philosopher, distinguished linguist, and translator. Mrongovius was a noted defender of the Polish language in Warmia and Mazury.
Biograph ...
and August Grzybowski. Duke Albert of Prussia established a press in Königsberg that issued thousands of Polish pamphlets and religious books. During the Reformation Königsberg became a place of refuge for Polish Protestant adherents, a training ground for Polish Protestant clergy and a source of Polish Protestant literature. In 1564 Jan Mączyński issued his Polish-Latin lexicon at Königsberg.
According to historian Janusz Jasiński, based on estimates obtained from the records of St. Nicholas's Church, during the 1530s Lutheran Poles constituted about one quarter of the city population. This does not include Polish Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
or Calvinists
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...
who did not have centralised places of worship until the 17th century, hence records that far back for these two groups are not available.
From the 16th to 20th centuries, the city was a publishing center of Polish-language literature, especially religious literature. In 1545 in Königsberg a Polish catechism was printed by Jan Seklucjan
Jan Seklucjan (born either in 1498 or around 1510, died 1578) (also known as ''Jan from Siekluki'', ''Seclucian'', ''Seclucianus'') was a Polish Lutheran theologian, an activist in the Protestant Reformation in Poland and Ducal Prussia (a Polish ...
. In 1551 the first translation of the New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
in Polish came out, issued by Stanisław Murzynowski. Murzynowski's collections of sermons were delivered by Eustachy Trepka and in 1574 by Hieronim Malecki. The works of Mikolaj Rej were printed here by Seklucjan. Maciej Stryjkowski
Maciej Stryjkowski (also referred to as Strykowski and Strycovius;Nowa encyklopedia powszechna PWN. t. 6, 1997 – ) was a Polish historian, writer and a poet, known as the author of ''Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all of Rutheni ...
announced in Königsberg the publication of his ''Kronika Polska, Litewska, Żmudzka, i wszystkiej Rusi'' ("A Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all Rus").
Although formally the relationship of these lands with Poland stopped at the end of the 17th century, in practice the Polish element in Königsberg played a significant role for the next century, until the outbreak of World War II. Before the second half of the 19th century many municipal institutions (e.g. courts, magistrates) employed Polish translators, and there was a course in Polish at the university. Polish books were issued as well as magazines with the last one being the ''Kalendarz Staropruski Ewangelicki'' (Old Prussian Evangelical Calendar) issued between 1866 and 1931. In the 1840s, a local branch of the Polish Democratic Society was founded. The city played an important role in the January Uprising
The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
, as it was one of the main supply centres for Polish underground movement, with about 10 companies of Königsberg smuggling arms and ammunition for Polish insurgents. There was a complex Polish resistance network built in the city, including figures such as Kazimierz Szulc and Piotr Drzewiecki. In 1876, Wojciech Kętrzyński wrote that the city retained a significant Polish community and the local population had pro-Polish sentiments, writing: "In Königsberg ..a Pole among Germans today still finds sympathetic hearts, hearts that nourish sympathy for him". At that time, between 25 and 30 percent of the city's population was Polish.
During the Protestant Reformation the oldest church in Königsberg, St. Nicholas, was opened for non-Germans, especially Lithuanians and Poles. Services for Lithuanians started in 1523, and by the mid-16th century also included ones for Poles. By 1603 it had become a solely Polish-language church as Lithuanian service was moved to St. Elizabeth. In 1880 St. Nicholas was converted to a German-language church; weekly Polish services remained only for Masurians in the Prussian Army, although those were halted in 1901. The church was bombed in 1944, further damaged in 1945, and the remaining ruins were demolished after the war in 1950. The Königsberg Cathedral
Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...
also hosted Polish-language services until the 18th century.
Culture and society
Notable people
Königsberg was the birthplace of the mathematician Christian Goldbach
Christian Goldbach ( , ; 18 March 1690 – 20 November 1764) was a Prussian mathematician connected with some important research mainly in number theory; he also studied law and took an interest in and a role in the Russian court. After travel ...
and the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann
Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann (born Ernst Theodor Wilhelm Hoffmann; 24 January 1776 – 25 June 1822) was a German Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror, a jurist, composer, music critic and artist.Penrith Goff, "E.T.A. Hoffmann" in ...
, as well as the home of the philosopher Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
, who lived there virtually all his life and rarely travelled more than ten miles () away from the city. Kant entered the university of Königsberg at age 16 and was appointed to a chair in metaphysics there in 1770 at the age of 46. While working there he published his ''Critique of Pure Reason
The ''Critique of Pure Reason'' (; 1781; second edition 1787) is a book by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant, in which the author seeks to determine the limits and scope of metaphysics. Also referred to as Kant's "First Critique", it was foll ...
'' (arguing that knowledge arises from the application of innate concepts to sensory experience) and his ''Metaphysics of Morals
The ''Metaphysics of Morals'' () is a 1797 work of political and moral philosophy by Immanuel Kant. It is also Kant's last major work in moral philosophy. The work is divided into two sections: the ''Doctrine of Right'', dealing with political ...
'' which argues that virtue is acquired by the performance of duty for its own sake. In 1736, the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler
Leonhard Euler ( ; ; ; 15 April 170718 September 1783) was a Swiss polymath who was active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, logician, geographer, and engineer. He founded the studies of graph theory and topology and made influential ...
used the arrangement of the city's bridges and islands as the basis for the Seven Bridges of Königsberg Problem, which led to the mathematical branches of topology
Topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is the branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of a Mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformat ...
and graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of ''graph (discrete mathematics), graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of ''Vertex (graph ...
. In 1862, David Hilbert
David Hilbert (; ; 23 January 1862 – 14 February 1943) was a German mathematician and philosopher of mathematics and one of the most influential mathematicians of his time.
Hilbert discovered and developed a broad range of fundamental idea ...
was baptised in Königsberg and educated there; he established himself as one of the world's most influential mathematicians by the turn of the century. Noted South African baboon rescuer Rita Miljo (1931–2012) grew up in Königsberg. The distinguished biochemist and Nobel prizewinner Fritz Lipmann
Fritz Albert Lipmann (; June 12, 1899 – July 24, 1986) was a German-American biochemist and a co-discoverer in 1945 of coenzyme A. For this, together with other research on coenzyme A, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in ...
(1899–1986) was born in Königsberg.
Languages
The language of government and high culture was 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 ...
. The Low Prussian dialect
Low Prussian (), sometimes known simply as Prussian (''Preußisch''), is a moribund dialect of East Low German that developed in East Prussia. Low Prussian was spoken in East and West Prussia and Danzig up to 1945. In Danzig it formed the bas ...
was widely spoken, but is now a moribund language
An endangered language or moribund language is a language that is at risk of disappearing as its speakers die out or shift to speaking other languages. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a " dead langua ...
as its refugee speakers are elderly and dying out. As the capital of the region of East Prussia which was a multi-ethnic territory, diverse languages such as Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, and Yiddish
Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...
were commonly heard on the streets of Königsberg. Old Prussian
Old Prussian is an extinct West 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 av ...
, a Baltic language
The Baltic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively or as a second language by a population of about 6.5–7.0 million people , died out in the 18th century.
Arts
In the Königsstraße (King Street) stood the Academy of Art with a collection of over 400 paintings. About 50 works were by Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
masters; some early Dutch paintings were also to be found there. At the King's Gate stood statues of King Ottakar I of Bohemia, Albert of Prussia, and 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 ...
. Königsberg had a magnificent Exchange (completed in 1875) with fine views of the harbour from the staircase. Along Bahnhofsstraße ("Station Street") were the offices of the famous Royal Amber Works – Samland was celebrated as the " Amber Coast". There was also an observatory
An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial, marine, or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geophysics, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed.
Th ...
fitted up by the astronomer Friedrich Bessel
Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel (; 22 July 1784 – 17 March 1846) was a German astronomer, mathematician, physicist, and geodesy, geodesist. He was the first astronomer who determined reliable values for the distance from the Sun to another star by th ...
, a botanical garden, and a zoological museum. The "Physikalisch", near the Heumarkt, contained botanical and anthropological collections and prehistoric antiquities. Two large theatres built during the Wilhelmine
The Wilhelmine period or Wilhelmian era () comprises the period of German history between 1888 and 1918, embracing the reign of Kaiser Wilhelm II in the German Empire from the death of Kaiser Friedrich III until the end of World War I and Wilh ...
era were the Stadttheater (municipal theatre) and the Apollo.
Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order and of the dukes and kings of Prussia in the city of Königsberg (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights ...
was one of the city's most notable structures. The former seat of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights
The grand master of the Teutonic Order (; ) is the supreme head of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the grand master of other military orders and the superior general in non-military Roman Catholic religious orders. ''Hochmeister'', ...
and the Dukes of Prussia
The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern
The House of Hohenzollern (, ; , ; ) is a formerly royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) German dynasty whose members were variously princes, Prince-elector, electors, kings ...
, it contained the Schloßkirche, or palace church, where Frederick I Frederick I or Friedrich 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 ...
was crowned in 1701 and William I William I may refer to:
Kings
* William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England
* William I of Sicily (died 1166)
* William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion
* William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...
in 1861. It also contained the spacious Moscowiter-Saal, one of the largest halls in the German Reich
German ''Reich'' (, from ) 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 entirely from a continuing unitary German ''Volk'' ("na ...
, and a museum of Prussian history.
Education
Königsberg became a center of education when the Albertina University was founded by Duke Albert of Prussia in 1544. The university was opposite the north and east side of the Königsberg Cathedral
Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...
. Lithuanian scholar Stanislovas Rapalionis, one of the founding fathers of the university, was the first professor of theology.
Multiculturalism
As a consequence of the Protestant Reformation
The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...
, the 1525 and subsequent Prussian church orders called for providing religious literature in the languages spoken by the recipients. Duke Albrecht thus called in a Danzig (Gdańsk) book printer, Hans Weinreich, who was soon joined by other book printers, to publish Lutheran literature not only in German and (New) Latin, but also in Latvian, Lithuanian, Old Prussian and Polish. The expected readership were inhabitants of the duchy, religious refugees, Lutherans in Poland (including neighbouring Warmia
Warmia ( ; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian subdialect, Warmian: ''Warńija''; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia (reg ...
) and Lithuania as well as Lutheran priests from Poland and Lithuania called in by the duke.[ Königsberg thus became a centre for printing German, Polish and Lithuanian books:] In 1530, the first Polish translation of Luther's Small Catechism
Luther's Small Catechism () is a catechism written by Martin Luther and published in 1529 for the training of children. Luther's Small Catechism reviews the Ten Commandments, the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Bapti ...
was published by Weinrich. In 1545, Weinreich published two Old Prussian editions of the catechism, which are the oldest printed and second-oldest books in that language after the handwritten 14th-century "Elbing dictionary". The first Lithuanian-language book, '' Simple Words of Catechism'' by Martynas Mažvydas
Martynas Mažvydas (1510 – 21 May 1563) was a Protestant author who edited the first printed book in the Lithuanian language.
Variants of his name include Martinus Masvidius, Martinus Maszwidas, M. Mossuids Waytkūnas, Mastwidas, Mažvyda ...
, was also printed in Königsberg, published by Weinreich in 1547. Further Polish- and Lithuanian-language religious and non-religious prints followed. One of the first newspapers in Polish was published in Königsberg in the years 1718–1720, the '' Poczta Królewiecka''. The city remained an important Polish printing center until the early 20th century, with the last Polish book printed in 1931.
Sports
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
clubs which played in Königsberg included VfB Königsberg
VfB Königsberg was a German association football club from the city of Königsberg, East Prussia. The team played its home games at the ''Sportplatz des Vereins für Bewegungs Spiele'' near the Maraunenhof Stadtgärtnerei, aside from 1940 to 1 ...
and SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg
SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg was a German association football club from the city of Königsberg, East Prussia (today Kaliningrad, Russia).
The club was founded in early 1904 as ''Fußball-Club Prussia Königsberg'' and in 1908 merged with ' ...
. Lilli Henoch, the world record holder in the discus, shot put
The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...
, and 4 × 100 meters relay
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
Evolution of the Hi ...
events was born in Königsberg, as was Eugen Sandow
Eugen Sandow (born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller, ; 2 April 1867 – 14 October 1925) was a German bodybuilder and showman from Prussia. He was born in Königsberg, and became interested in bodybuilding at the age of ten during a visit to Italy.
Aft ...
, dubbed the "father of modern bodybuilding". Segelclub RHE, Germany's oldest sailing club
A yacht club is a boat club specifically related to yachting.
Description
Yacht clubs are mostly located by the sea, although there some that have been established at a lake or riverside locations. Yacht or sailing clubs have either a mari ...
, was founded in Königsberg in 1855. The club still exists, and is now headquartered in Hamburg
Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
.
Cuisine
Königsberg was well known within Germany for its unique regional cuisine. A popular dish from the city was Königsberger Klopse, which is still made today in some specialist restaurants in the now Russian city and elsewhere in present-day Germany.
Other food and drink native to the city included:
* Königsberger Marzipan
* Kopskiekelwein, a wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
made from blackcurrant
The blackcurrant (''Ribes nigrum''), also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, w ...
s or redcurrant
The redcurrant or red currant (''Ribes rubrum'') is a member of the genus ''Ribes'' in the gooseberry family. It is native to western Europe. The species is widely cultivated and has escaped into the wild in many regions.
Description
''Ribes ...
s
* Bärenfang
* Ochsenblut, literally "ox blood", a champagne-burgundy cocktail mixed at the popular Blutgericht pub, which no longer exists (the pub was located in the north wing of Königsberg Castle
Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of the Teutonic Order and of the dukes and kings of Prussia in the city of Königsberg (since 1946 Kaliningrad, Russia). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights ...
, which was demolished in 1968)
* Königsberger Fleck or Königsberg-style tripe soup
Tripe soup or tripe stew is a soup or stew made with tripe (cow or lamb/mutton stomach). It is widely considered to be a hangover remedy.
Etymology
The Turkish name , meaning "tripe soup", consists of ("stomach/tripe"), ("soup"), and the po ...
, made with the addition of bone marrow and root vegetables
Fortifications
The fortification
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...
s of Königsberg consist of numerous defensive wall
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications such as curtain walls with t ...
s, forts, bastion
A bastion 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 fire from the ...
s and other structures. They make up the First and the Second Defensive Belt, built in 1626–1634 and 1843–1859, respectively. The 15-metre-thick First Belt was erected due to Königsberg's vulnerability during the Polish–Swedish wars
This is a List of wars between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to ...
. The Second Belt was largely constructed on the place of the first one, which was in a bad condition. The new belt included twelve bastions, three 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 a ...
s, seven spoil banks and two fortresses, surrounded by water moat
A moat is a deep, broad ditch dug around a castle, fortification, building, or town, historically to provide it with a preliminary line of defence. Moats can be dry or filled with water. In some places, moats evolved into more extensive water d ...
. Ten brick gates served as entrances and passages through defensive lines and were equipped with moveable bridge
A moveable bridge, or movable bridge, is a bridge that moves to allow passage for boats or barges. In American English, the term is synonymous with , and the latter is the common term, but drawbridge can be limited to the narrower, historical ...
s.
There was a Bismarck tower just outside Königsberg, on the Galtgarben, the highest point on the Sambia Peninsula
Sambia () or Samland () or Kaliningrad Peninsula (official name, , ''Kaliningradsky poluostrov'') is a peninsula in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia, on the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The peninsula is bounded by the Curonian Lagoon to ...
. It was built in 1906 and destroyed by German troops sometime in January 1945 as the Soviets approached.[ Galtgarben (German Wikipedia)]
See also
* List of people from Königsberg
* Königsberger Klopse, traditional German menu
* Königsberger Marzipan, traditional type of marzipan
* Seven Bridges of Königsberg
The Seven Bridges of Königsberg is a historically notable problem in mathematics. Its negative resolution by Leonhard Euler, in 1736, laid the foundations of graph theory and prefigured the idea of topology.
The city of Königsberg in Prussia ...
, a topology problem
* Kaliningrad (Königsberg) question
* Königsberger Paukenhund, traditional kettle drum dog of the Prussian infantry
References
Citations
Sources
*
* Biskup, Marian. ''Königsberg gegenüber Polen und dem Litauen der Jagiellonen zur Zeit des Mittelalters (bis 1525)'' in Królewiec a Polska Olsztyn 1993
*
*
*
*
* Gause, Fritz: ''Die Geschichte der Stadt Königsberg in Preußen''. Three volumes, Böhlau, Cologne 1996, .
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External links
Photoarchaeology of Kneiphof
* ttp://www.koenigsberg-is-dead.de The Film ''Königsberg is dead'', France/Germany 2004 by Max & Gilbert
Territory's history from 1815 to 1945
* ttp://www.kng750.kanet.ru/index.htm Site with 400+ side-by-side photos of 1939/2005 identical locations in Königsberg/Kaliningrad
Northeast Prussia 2000: Travel Photos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Konigsberg
History of Kaliningrad
Populated places established in the 1250s
Histories of cities in Germany
Capitals of former nations
East Prussia
Germany–Soviet Union relations
Members of the Hanseatic League
Kulm law
1255 establishments in Europe
13th century in the State of the Teutonic Order