More visions of Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad is one of my privileged cities in the world, because of its beauty, its calm but modern rythm of life and its important history. From the eyes of a non Russian citizen, I will try to cooperate in this blog in order to show you the exciting Kaliningrad....

The Secrets. Königsberg 13.

There was a secret laboratory on Knipehof Island (located not far from the Pregel old river-bed) and it called Königsberg 13.

Pregel River. Present days.

The Sights. FASCINATING FORTRESS SYSTEM.

The uniqueness of the Kaliningrad Fortress system comes from the mostly well preserved site, a complete brick stone architecture, the visibility of the fortress structure and of the fronts in the city’s ground plan, the massiveness of its walls, the one of-a-kind gate architecture and the massive rings of the outer forts and intermediate works.

The Kaliningrad Fortress System

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The system mainly consists of the fortress gates that belong to the enceinte, the walls and the fronts as well as the outer forts.

The Secrets. THE AMBER ROOM / ЯНТАРНАЯ КОМНАТА (a treasure stolen by Nazis in 1941 from the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia, it subsequently disappeared in 1945, amidst the chaos at the end of the war).

The Amber Room, Tsarskoye Selo, Russia, Present Days

Much has been written about the lost Amber Room, but the mystery remains. It was one of Russia's masterpieces of artistry until it vanished with the Nazi retreat. Now a magnificent replica has been created to rival the original.

WELCOME TO KALININGRAD, RUSSIA! Excursus: A Brief History of Kaliningrad.

Kaliningrad, Southern Railway Station. Present Days

The Kaliningrad exclave lies on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania. It is a part of the Russian Federation nowadays.
Ever since its foundation, Königsberg has been a city of enigmas and paradoxes. The knights originally planned to build the city some 200 km to the east, at the Neman river. During their rest stop at a mountaun that contained a heathen place of worship, the knights observed a solar eclipse. The Teutonic Order's Magisters considered the phenomenon to be a sign from God, and decided not to disobey it. The mountain later bacame  Königs Berg - Royal Mountain.
In 1255 the main castle of Königsberg was founded on the bank of the Pregel River. A ring of fifteen fortresses (allegedly united by a system of underground tunnels) surrounds the city.
Königsberg was the grand capital of East Prussia. During the fifteenth century it found itself cut off from the rest of Prussia after a fearsome battle between the ruling Teutonic Order and Poland. Despite its isolation from other Germanic states, Königsberg continued to prosper as a centre of culture and learning, beautified by spectacular castles and palaces.