Kaliningrad

Alternate Form: Konigsberg

Location

Kaliningrad is the capital of the Kaliningrad region in West European Russia, situated on the Pregolya River near its mouth on the Vislinski Zalev, which in turn empties into the Gulf of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea.

Population

approx. 402,000 (est. 1990)

Economic Activity

Kaliningrad is one of Russia's major ice free Baltic seaport and naval base. It is a center for fishing and industries that produce ships, machinery, food processing equipment and wood.

Overview

Kaliningrad was founded in 1255 as a fortress for the Teutonic Knights by King Ottocar II of Bohemia. The city joined the Hanseatic League in 1340 and became the seat of the grand master of the Teutonic Order after the Knights lost Marienburg to Poland in 1457. From 1525 until 1618, Kainingrad was the residence of the Dukes of Prussia when union between Prussia and Brandenburg was effected. In 1701 it became the coronation city of the kings of Prussia.
The year 1544 saw the founding of the University of Konigsberg, the university where the philosopher Kant taught (Kant was born and lived in Konigsberg). Unfortunately, the university building, the 14th century cathedral and most of the old city suffered extensive damage during World War II. After the war, the old castle was demolished, and the resident German population was deported to Siberia. Also after the war, the city, as part of the northern section of East Prussia, was transferred to the Soviet Union in 1945. The city was renamed Kaliningrad after Mikhail Kalinin in 1946 and the new Soviet style city was based upon the former residential suburbs of Konigsberg. In the 1990's, the city saw the arrival of ethnic Germans from other parts of the new Russian Federation.