Königsberg Castle (, ) was the seat of the grand masters of 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 ...

and of the dukes and kings of

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, ...

in the city of

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

(since 1946

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 Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

). The original fortress on the site was built by the Teutonic Knights in the 1250s, then enlarged and rebuilt into a castle over the following centuries. The castle was severely damaged during

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 ...

, although its exterior walls remained structurally intact. The building survived until 1968, when it was demolished on the orders of Soviet leader

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 ...

. Königsberg and the surrounding territories 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 ...

had become

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 ...

, a 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 ...

, in 1946. The House of Soviets was built where the castle had stood, but the building was never completed and remained unused for decades before it was torn down in 2024.

History

The site of the castle was originally an

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

Tragheim Tragheim was a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Tragheim was first documented in 1299, but probably already existed as an Old Prussians, Old Prussian f ...

, which grew into the city of Königsberg. After conquering the area in 1255, 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 ...

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

Ordensburg ''Ordensburg'' (plural ''Ordensburgen'') is a German language, German term meaning a "castle of a (military) order". It is used specifically for the fortified structures built by Crusades, crusading German Military order (religious society), m ...

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

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

rulers. 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 ...

resided at the castle during his stay in the city as the suzerain of Ducal Prussia. In 1734–1736, it was the place of stay 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 ...

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 ...

. The 1815 ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'' refers to "the magnificent palace in which is a hall 83.5 m long and 18 m broad without pillars to support it, and a handsome library. The Gothic tower of the castle is very high (100 m) and has 284 steps to the top, from where a great distance can be seen". The extensive building was enclosed in a large quadrangle and situated almost in the centre of the city. The west wing contained the Schloßkirche, or palace church, where 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. The

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

emblazoned upon the walls and columns were those of members of the

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

. Above the church was the 83 m long and 18 m high Hall of Muscovites, 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 ...

. Until the latter part of

, the apartments of the Hohenzollerns and the Prussia Museum (north wing, ) were open to the public daily. Among other things, the museum accommodated 240,000 exhibits of the ''Prussian collection'', a collection of the

Königsberg State and University Library The Königsberg State and University Library () was a combined state library and academic library in Königsberg, East Prussia, Germany. It was one of the most prestigious libraries of the eastern German ''Sprachraum'', comparable only to the in ...

, as well as many paintings by the artist

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

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

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

Amber Room The Amber Room (, ) was a chamber decorated in amber panels backed with gold leaf and mirrors, located in the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo near Saint Petersburg. Constructed in the 18th century in Prussia, the room was dismantled and ...

. An extensive collection of provincial archives was also housed there. The ('Blood Court'), a wine-selling tavern, was situated within the castle. An image of Hans von Sagan was used as the castle's weathervane. During the

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

, the British bombing of Königsberg on 29/30 August 1944 reduced the castle to a burned-out shell. The thick walls were able to withstand both the bombing and the Soviet artillery barrages of the three-month long siege of the city that ended with 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 April 1945. The largely demolished Königsberg became part of the

and was renamed

in 1946. Kaliningrad was to be rebuilt as a model town on the remains of Königsberg, with no reminders of its German past left standing. The ruins of the castle were periodically dynamited over the next several years, with the last remnants destroyed in 1968 on

's personal orders. The ruins of the nearby

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 ...

, which included the tomb of

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 ...

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

Current status

The centre square of Kaliningrad is on the site of the castle. Adjacent to the centre square on the filled-in moat was the " House of Soviets", which when construction began in 1970 was intended to be the central administration building of the

. Development stopped in the 1980s as the massive building gradually sank into the structurally unsound base caused by the collapse of tunnels in the old castle's subterranean levels. Many people called the building the "Revenge of the Prussians" or "The Monster". In June 2010, the regional Minister of Culture, Mikhail Andreyev, announced that a referendum on the reconstruction of the castle would be held in the city in March 2011. Previously, it had been intended to hold the referendum in October 2010, but budgetary pressures caused a delay. The Kaliningrad city administration debated whether to rebuild the castle with the financial assistance of the Russian Department of Culture. In contrast to the Königsberger Dom (cathedral), there would be the difficult task of erecting the castle from scratch, so plans were dropped. Instead, the centre square was cobbled. Dom Sovietov excavation 2018

In 2001, the German magazine financed the excavation of parts of the castle's cellar, which was carried out with the Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History and Arts. It was hoped that various buried treasures of the previous castle museum would be uncovered, and possibly the rest of the

. During the Second World War, the Amber Room was transferred from

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

to Königsberg where it was installed in one of the halls of the Castle. There its traces were lost. Thousands of other items were discovered during the excavation. In June 2005, an occult silver casket with medals and amulets was found. It was planned that after completion of the excavation, parts of the castle's vaults would be made accessible as an open-air museum. Demolition of the House of Soviets was announced on 12 November 2020. The demolition process began in May 2023, and the building's demolition was completed in August 2024.

Gallery

Königsberg 129.jpg, West face Südflügel Königsberger Schloss.JPG, South face Königsberg 170.jpg, View from the Castle Pond Königsberger Schloss (Barock).JPG, Castle church with two round towers, constructed in 1597 Firmarie-Flur.jpg, Firmari shelter Moskowitersaal.jpg, Interior view of the Hall of Muscovites Koenigsberg Schloss Ostseite 1900.jpg, The later renovated facade of the castle Königsberger Schloss Süd Ost.jpg, Castle terrace from southeast of the Pregel River File:Königsberg (Luftaufnahme).JPG, Aerial view of the castle from the side of the royal pond Koenigsberger Schloss Nord Ost.jpg, Northeast corner of the castle with the Haberturm and the monument to Duke Albrecht Königsberg Castle courtyard.jpg, Königsberg Castle courtyard in Blutgericht001.jpg, The famous restaurant "Blood Court" in the northern wing of the castle Königsberger schloss schlossturm sprengung 1959.tif, Demolition of the castle tower, 1959 Kaliningrad - The south terrace of the royal castle - 2024-06-15 - p1.jpg, Remains of the castle south terrace in June 2024

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *

External links

An illustrative account of the castle
{{DEFAULTSORT:Königsberg Castle 1255 establishments in Europe 1945 disestablishments in Germany Castles of the Teutonic Knights

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...