Как правильно пишется кенигсберг

Каким бы это ни показалось странным – а то даже и парадоксальным, – дело здесь вовсе не в небрежности, и не в отношении к букве Ё, а совсем, совсем в другом.
Подходить здесь следует с другого конца: думать и говорить не о передаче русскими буквами немецкого названия (Königsberg), а о русском названии города.
Если не разделить, не разнести, не разграничить эти два разнородных подхода, разговор окажется безполезным.
Однако, даже если говорить о транскрипции и транслитерации, то и здесь наблюдается такая вещь, что немецкое Ö (с Umlaut) испокон веков традиционно передается по-русски не как Ё, а именно как Е.
Наиболее близкий, и характерный, и типичный, и яркий пример – Möbel: по-русски мы пишем и говорим мебель, а не «мёбель». Есть и многие, многие другие.
Именно это, а не что-либо иное, как раз и лежит в основе русского названия Кенигсберг – как его начертания, так и произношения.
В прошлом (до омерзительного переименования в «Калининград») двух точек над е в этом названии не встречалось. По-русски оно произносится с отчетливым ударением на последнем слоге – и с безударным первым.
Когда в русском языке встречается буква ё, ударение – всегда на ней.
Безударное ё для русского языка противоестественно.
Это знает и ощущает даже любой нормальный МАЛЕНЬКИЙ РЕБЕНОК.
Вековые традиции и особенности нашего родного языка следует знать, и внутренне ощущать, и относиться к ним с достодолжным благочестием.
По-русски – именно Кенигсберг, а не «Кёнигсберг». (Точно так же, как и мебель.)
А «Кёнигсберг» – это новомодная вкусовщина людей не шибко грамотных и образованных, недостаточно чутких и не отягощенных пониманием того, о чём здесь говорилось.
«Кёнигсберг» по-русски – то же самое, что «Ляйпциг» вместо Лейпциг.

А ведь я не сказал, пожалуй, самого главного.
Ладно – образованность, бережность и чуткость к родному языку. Понятное дело, стремление к этому не всем людям особенно присуще.
Но людям не свойственно, к величайшему сожалению, прежде чем за что-нибудь ухватиться и этому следовать, ОСТАНОВИТЬСЯ, ПЕРЕВЕСТИ ДЫХАНИЕ И СОТВОРИТЬ МОЛИТВУ.
И тогда уже смотреть – хвататься или нет, следовать этому или не следовать.
Если бы этой способности было хоть чуточку больше, многие новомодные поветрия были бы заранее обречены.
Ведь совершенно ясно, что какому-то ослу (которому неведомо всё то, о чём тут говорилось) показалось, что «Кёнигсберг» – с буквой Ё – «правильнее». (Потому что он узнал, как по-немецки, – и обрадовался. А то пусть даже и хорошо знает немецкий язык.)
Но Бог с ним, с единичным ослом. ПОЧЕМУ ВСЕ СРАЗУ ЗА НИМ ПОБЕЖАЛИ – вот в чём вопрос!
Хотя вопрос, разумеется, риторический.
И вот, перед нами уже не единичный осёл, а грандиозное ослиное стадо. Настолько грандиозное, что любой не осёл легко в нём затеряется – и голос его услышан не будет.

http://sergedid.livejournal.com/50604.html

https://sergedid.livejournal.com/335486.html

Интересно, что было время, когда Кенигсберг входил в состав Российской Империи.
И великий философ Иммануил Кант был подданным именно Российской Империи.

https://sergedid.livejournal.com/335138.html

Познакомился я недавно на отдыхе с жителем славного города калининграда, выпили мы с ним несколько «рюмок чая»)) и разговорились: сначала, как водится, обсудили мировые проблемы, потом российские, а потом перешли к наболевшим проблемам города калиниграда. С одной из них я и хочу познакомить моих «читателей».

Но сначала небольшое отступление:

В 90-е годы, сразу после распада «советской империи», когда ездить в любимые мной Кемери (Юрмала, Латвия), Ниду (Литва) и Пярну(Эстония) стало юридически и организационно — проблематично, я открыл для себя «русскую Прибалтику» и стал частым гостем курортов калиниградской области. Как то, прилетев в калиниград поздно вечером, Я оказался в калиниградском клубе «Ольштын», где познакомился с весёлой компанией молодых и успешных калиниградцев. Там впервые, среди прочих «злободневных и не очень» тем, и была затронута тема «названия» города. Я никак не ожидал такого горячего обсуждения этой темы и что этот вопрос оказывается так волнует сравнительно молодую аудиторию.

Коротко коснусь основных тезисов той горячей дискуссии:

1.Königsberg, полностью Königsberg in Preußen — Кёнигсберг в Пруссии — название, которое носил этот город в период до 1946 года. По решению Потсдамской конференции северная часть немецкой провинции Восточная Пруссия вместе со своей столицей — Königsberg — временно (!) была передана Советскому Союзу

2.4 июля 1946 года после смерти Михаила Ивановича Калинина Königsberg был переименован в Калининград.

Здесь вынужден добавить немного «лирики» о том, чьё имя носит этот славный город (эти факты, стали известны широкой публике в 90-е годы, когда вся правда о коммунистических вождях стала достоянием общественности):

Народ именовал Калинина всесоюзным старостой. Сталин говорил: «всесоюзный козел». И добавлял: «похотливый». Добрый дедушка Калинин любил малолеток. Прелестниц всесоюзный староста одаривал импортным бельем, косметикой и побрякушками. Особенно ему нравились юные танцовщицы. Не все девушки понимали, какая высокая честь им оказывается. Известно, что 16-летняя Белла Уварова покорила Калинина красотой, но не ответила высокому покровителю взаимностью. Чем и навлекла на себя гнев сластолюбца. После очередного вызова к Председателю ВЦИК девушка исчезла. А вскоре ее обезображенное тело отыскали в подмосковном лесу. Сталин распорядился создать специальную комиссию для расследования происшествия. Калинина срочно отправили в отпуск — «подлечиться». И тут же в Москве начался очередной «шпионский» процесс, где фигурировали имена родителей пропавшей артистки. Их репрессировали, а Калинин вернулся к исполнению обязанностей и продолжил шефство над Большим театром. Калинин, у которого в то время был роман с молодой певицей Татьяной Бах, однако, не унялся и обольщать девушек не прекратил. Вождь закрывал глаза на его блуд, а Татьяна Бах, став любовницей Калинина, вскоре превратилась в приму московской оперетты.
А вот жена Калинина терпеть похождения мужа не пожелала. В 1924 г, после 18 лет совместной жизни, Екатерина Ивановна уехала на Алтай, оставив в Москве неверного супруга и пятерых детей. Она устала жить под одной крышей с любовницей мужа — экономкой Горчаковой.
Впрочем, 50-летний староста понемногу сбавлял обороты. Сказывалась нервная работа — и все чаще девушки уходили от него неудовлетворенными. Но Калинин не привык пасовать перед трудностями. Он искал нетрадиционные пути восстановления былой силы. Помогал ему в этом приятель — художник Мешков. Калинин частенько, устав принимать ходоков, забегал к другу-живописцу на рюмочку наливки. Мешков посоветовал Михал Ванычу старый народный способ от импотенции — укусы пчел для улучшения притока крови к члену. На даче художника всесоюзный староста присаживался на пчелиный улей нагишом и терпел ради любви укусы злющих насекомых. Однако способ не возымел действия. Слух о половой слабости всесоюзного старосты подлым образом расползся по Москве. Девушки стали избегать встреч с Михаилом Ивановичем. В 1938 г стареющий глава ВЦИК завез на дачу 17-летнюю барышню и попытался изнасиловать ее. На беду выяснилось, что жертва оказалась родственницей военачальника А.Егорова. Калинин пытался уладить неприятность, заплатив жертве большую сумму. Но очередная громкая история очень не понравилась Сталину. Поговаривают, что, рассвирепев, вождь распорядился арестовать жену Калинина якобы за то, что не смогла удержать подле себя мужа. Екатерина Ивановна провела в лагерях семь лет. Освободили ее в 1945 году. Обиду она не простила и к супругу не вернулась.

3.Во времена перестройки взялись за разоблачение «всесоюзного старосты». В 1990 году городу Калинину было возвращено историческое название Тверь. А в 1996-м исчез с карт подмосковный полный тезка Калининграда — теперь это Королев.

4.Летчик-космонавт, дважды Герой Советского Союза Алексей Леонов однажды высказался за то, что Калининграду следует вернуть историческое имя «Кенигсберг». Об этом почетный калининградец заявил в интервью «Комсомолке»: «Я за переименование. Давно пора! Кенигсберг – это не фашистский город, это название к нацизму никакого отношения не имеет, — сказал Леонов. — Это город науки, студентов и мира. Королевская гора! Альбрехт – достойный человек – основал университет в Кенигсберге. Один из старейших университетов Европы. Вот о чем думать надо, это история, которую нужно уважать. А как мы молодежи объясним, кто такой Калинин? Что он сделал для отечества? Расстрельные списки подписывал»?

Остальные тезисы в точности я уже не помню, помню только, что все присутствующие за двумя сдвинутыми столами (около 20 чел) единодушно высказывались за переименование города.

С той поры прошло немало лет….Много чего изменилось в мире, в России, изменился и город калининград: он безусловно похорошел, приосанился, через год будет принимать участников Чемпионата Мира по футболу и многочисленных гостей. Кстати, в туристских и рекламных проспектах, посвящённых городу, в основном представлены его историческое прошлое и то «что осталось от немцев», а теперь тщательно восстанавливается:

А про советский период лишь сказано: «Город изменил свой облик, превратившись из Кёнигсберга в советский Калининград.Но сохранены многие исторические и архитектурные памятники….» и….не представлено ни одной советской достопримечательности!

Странно, не правда ли – деньги городу приносит всё, что связано с прошлым, с Кёнигсбергом, а называется город по-прежнему – калининград?

А как по-вашему должен называться этот удивительный город?.

Königsberg

Königsberg Castle before World War I; demolished after World War II bombing
Königsberg was a port city on the south eastern corner of the Baltic Sea. It is today known as Kaliningrad and is part of Russia.
Coordinates	54°43′00″N 20°31′00″E / 54.71667°N 20.51667°E
History
Founded	1255
Abandoned	1945
Associated with	Sambians, Germans, Poles, Jews, Russians, Lithuanians
Events	World War II
Site notes
Ownership	State of the Teutonic Order, Poland, Prussia, Russia, Germany

Königsberg (German: [ˈkøːnɪçsbɛʁk] (listen), lit. ‘King’s hill’) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia.^[1] A Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the Królewiec Voivodeship, the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia and the provinces of East Prussia and Prussia. Königsberg remained the coronation city of the Prussian monarchy, though the capital was moved to Berlin in 1701.

Between the thirteenth and the twentieth centuries, the inhabitants spoke predominantly German, but the multicultural city also had a profound influence upon the Lithuanian and Polish cultures.^[2] The city was a publishing center of Lutheran literature, including the first Polish translation of the New Testament, printed in the city in 1551, 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, Käthe Kollwitz, E. T. A. Hoffmann, David Hilbert, Agnes Miegel, Hannah Arendt, Michael Wieck and others.

Königsberg was the easternmost large city in Germany until World War II. Between the wars it was in the exclave of East Prussia, separated from Germany by Poland. The city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and during the Battle of Königsberg in 1945, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. The Potsdam Agreement of 1945 placed it provisionally under Soviet administration, and it was annexed on 9 April 1945. Its Lithuanian population was allowed to remain, but its German population was expelled, and the city was largely repopulated with Russians and others from the Soviet Union. It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946, in honour of Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin. It is now the capital of Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave bordered in the north by Lithuania and in the south by Poland. In the Final Settlement treaty of 1990, Germany renounced all claim to it.

Name[edit]

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 crusaders began their Baltic Crusades, 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,^[1] who led one of the Teutonic campaigns. In Polish, the city is called Królewiec, and in Lithuanian, it is called Karaliaučius (with the same meaning as the German name).^[3]

History[edit]

Sambians[edit]

Königsberg was preceded by a Sambian, or Old Prussian, fort known as Twangste (Tuwangste, Tvankste), meaning ‘Oak Forest’,^[4] 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[edit]

During the conquest of the Prussian Sambians by the Teutonic Knights in 1255, Twangste was destroyed and replaced with a new fortress known as Conigsberg. This name meant «King’s Hill» (Latin: castrum Koningsberg, Mons Regius, Regiomontium), honoring King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who paid for the erection of the first fortress there during the Prussian Crusade.^[5][6] Northwest of this new Königsberg Castle arose an initial settlement, later known as Steindamm, roughly 4.5 miles (7 km) from the Vistula Lagoon.^[7]

The Teutonic Order used Königsberg to fortify their conquests in Samland and as a base for campaigns against pagan Lithuania. Under siege during the Prussian uprisings in 1262–63, Königsberg Castle was relieved by the Master of the Livonian Order.^[8][9] 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, received Culm rights in 1286. Löbenicht, a new town directly east of Altstadt between the Pregolya and the Schlossteich, received its own rights in 1300. Medieval Königsberg’s third town was Kneiphof, 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, Königsberg was the residence of the marshal, one of the chief administrators of the military order.^[10] The city was also the seat of the Bishopric of Samland, one of the four dioceses into which Prussia had been divided in 1243 by the papal legate, William of Modena. Adalbert of Prague became the main patron saint of Königsberg Cathedral, a landmark of the city located in Kneiphof.

Königsberg joined the Hanseatic League in 1340 and developed into an important port for the south-eastern Baltic region, trading goods throughout Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The chronicler Peter of Dusburg probably wrote his Chronicon terrae Prussiae in Königsberg from 1324 to 1330.^[11] After the Teutonic Order’s victory over pagan Lithuanians in the 1348 Battle of Strėva, Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode established a Cistercian nunnery in the city.^[12] Aspiring students were educated in Königsberg before continuing on to higher education elsewhere, such as Prague or Leipzig.^[11]

Although the knights suffered a crippling defeat in the Battle of Grunwald, 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’s troops.^[13]

Polish sovereignty[edit]

Since 1440, the city was a founding member of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. In 1454 the Confederation rebelled against the Teutonic Knights and asked the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon to incorporate Prussia into the Kingdom of Poland, to which the King agreed and signed an act of incorporation.^[14] The local mayor pledged allegiance to the Polish King during the incorporation in March 1454.^[15] This marked the beginning of the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) between the State of the Teutonic Order and the Kingdom of Poland. The city, known in Polish as Królewiec, became the seat of the short-lived Królewiec Voivodeship.^[16] King Casimir IV authorized the city to mint Polish coins.^[17] While Königsberg/Królewiec’s 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.^[18]

Following the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), which ended the Thirteen Years’ War, Königsberg became the new capital of the reduced monastic state, which became a part of the Kingdom of Poland as a fief.^[19][20] The grand masters took over the quarters of the marshal. During the Polish-Teutonic War (1519–1521), Königsberg was unsuccessfully^[21] besieged 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[edit]

Through the preachings of the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polenz, Königsberg became predominantly Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation.^[22] After summoning a quorum of the Knights to Königsberg, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg (a member of the House of Hohenzollern) secularised the Teutonic Knights’ remaining territories in Prussia in 1525 and converted to Lutheranism.^[23] By paying feudal homage to his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, Albert became the first duke of the new Duchy of Prussia, a fief of Poland.^[16]

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.^{[citation needed]} After convincing the rebels to lay down their arms, Albert had several of their leaders executed.^[24]

Königsberg, the capital, became one of the biggest cities and ports of Ducal Prussia, having considerable autonomy, a separate parliament and currency. While German continued to be the official language, the city served as a vibrant center of publishing in both Polish and Lithuanian.^{[citation needed]} The city flourished through the export of wheat, timber, hemp, and furs,^[25] as well as pitch, tar, and fly ash.^[26]

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 and Riga.^[27] The University of Königsberg, founded by Duke Albert in 1544 and receiving token royal approval from King Sigismund II Augustus in 1560,^[16] 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 nobility.

The capable Duke Albert was succeeded by his feeble-minded son, Albert Frederick. Anna, daughter of Albert Frederick, married Elector John Sigismund of Brandenburg, who was granted the right of succession 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.^{[citation needed]}

Brandenburg-Prussia[edit]

When Imperial and then Swedish armies overran Brandenburg during the Thirty Years’ War of 1618–1648, the Hohenzollern court fled to Königsberg. On 1 November 1641, Elector Frederick William persuaded the Prussian diet to accept an excise tax.^[28] 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 in 1657, however, he negotiated the release of Prussia from Polish sovereignty in return for an alliance with Poland. The 1660 Treaty of Oliva 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 could convene with his permission.^[29] 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».^[30] Delegations from the city’s burghers went to the Polish king, John II Casimir Vasa, who initially promised aid, but then failed to follow through.^[30] 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.^[30] However, Frederick William succeeded in imposing his authority after arriving with 3,000 troops in October 1662 and training his artillery on the town.^[30] Refusing to request mercy, Roth went to prison in Peitz until his death in 1678.^[29]

The Prussian estates which swore fealty to Frederick William in Königsberg on 18 October 1663^[31] 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.^[32] The economic and political weakening of Königsberg strengthened the power of the Junker nobility within Prussia.^[33]

Königsberg long remained a center of Lutheran resistance to Calvinism within Brandenburg-Prussia; Frederick William forced the city to accept Calvinist citizens and property-holders in 1668.^[34]

Kingdom of Prussia[edit]

By the act of coronation in Königsberg Castle on 18 January 1701, Frederick William’s son, Elector Frederick III, became Frederick I, King in Prussia. The elevation of the Duchy of Prussia to the Kingdom of Prussia was possible because the Hohenzollerns’ authority in Prussia was independent of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. Since «Kingdom of Prussia» was increasingly used to designate all of the Hohenzollern lands, former ducal Prussia became known as the Province of Prussia (1701–1773), with Königsberg as its capital. However, Berlin and Potsdam 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.^[35] On 13 June 1724, Altstadt, Kneiphof, and Löbenicht amalgamated to formally create the larger city Königsberg. Suburbs that subsequently were annexed to Königsberg include Sackheim, Rossgarten, and Tragheim.^[7]

Russian Empire[edit]

During the Seven Years’ War of 1756 to 1763 Imperial Russian troops occupied eastern Prussia at the beginning of 1758. On 31 December 1757, Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issued an ukase about the incorporation of Königsberg into Russia.^[30] On 24 January 1758, the leading burghers of Königsberg submitted to Elizabeth.^[36] Under the terms of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (signed 5 May 1762) Russia exited the Seven Years’ War, the Russian army abandoned eastern Prussia, and the city reverted to Prussian control.^[37]

Kingdom of Prussia after 1773[edit]

After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Königsberg became the capital of the newly formed province of East Prussia in 1773, which replaced the Province of Prussia in 1773. By 1800 the city was approximately five miles (8.0 km) 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.^[38]

After Prussia’s defeat at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition and the subsequent occupation of Berlin, King Frederick William III of Prussia fled with his court from Berlin to Königsberg.^[39] The city was a centre for political resistance to Napoleon. In order to foster liberalism and nationalism 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 in Berlin.^[40] Königsberg officials, such as Johann Gottfried Frey, formulated much of Stein’s 1808 Städteordnung, or new order for urban communities, which emphasised self-administration for Prussian towns.^[41] The East Prussian Landwehr was organised from the city after the Convention of Tauroggen.^[42]

In 1819 Königsberg had a population of 63,800.^[43] It served as the capital of the united Province of Prussia from 1824 to 1878, when East Prussia was merged with West Prussia. It was also the seat of the Regierungsbezirk Königsberg, an administrative subdivision.^[44]

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.^[45] During the revolution of 1848, there were 21 episodes of public unrest in the city;^[46] major demonstrations were suppressed.^[47] Königsberg became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany. A sophisticated-for-its-time series of fortifications around the city that included fifteen forts was completed in 1888.^[48]

The extensive Prussian Eastern Railway linked the city to Breslau, Thorn, Insterburg, Eydtkuhnen, Tilsit, and Pillau. In 1860 the railway connecting Berlin with St. Petersburg was completed and increased Königsberg’s commerce. Extensive electric tramways were in operation by 1900; and regular steamers plied the waterways to Memel, Tapiau and Labiau, Cranz, Tilsit, and Danzig. 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.^[49] The city was an important entrepôt for Scottish herring. in 1904 the export peaked at more than 322 thousand barrels.^[50] By 1900 the city’s population had grown to 188,000, with a 9,000-strong military garrison.^[7] By 1914 Königsberg had a population of 246,000;^[51] Jews flourished in the culturally pluralistic city.^[52]

Weimar Republic[edit]

Following the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, Imperial Germany was replaced with the democratic Weimar Republic. The Kingdom of Prussia ended with the abdication of the Hohenzollern monarch, Wilhelm II, and the kingdom was succeeded by the Free State of Prussia. Königsberg and East Prussia, however, were separated from the rest of Weimar Germany following the restoration of independent Poland and the creation of the so-called Polish Corridor. Due to the isolated geographical situation after World War I the German Government supported a lot of large infrastructure projects: 1919 Airport «Devenau» (the first civil airport in Germany), 1920 «Deutsche Ostmesse» (a new German trade fare; 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[edit]

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 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 politician Max von Bahrfeldt were severely injured. Members of the Reichsbanner were attacked and the local Reichsbanner Chairman of Lötzen (Giżycko), Kurt Kotzan, was murdered on 6 August 1932.^[53][54]

Following Adolf Hitler’s coming to power, Nazis confiscated Jewish shops and, as in the rest of Germany, a public book burning was organised, accompanied by anti-Semitic 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.^[55]

In July 1934 Hitler made a speech in the city in front of 25,000 supporters.^[56] In 1933 the NSDAP alone received 54% of votes in the city.^[56] 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.^[57] Many who would not co-operate with the rulers of Nazi Germany were sent to concentration camps and held prisoner there until their death or liberation.

In 1935, the Wehrmacht designated Königsberg as the Headquarters for Wehrkreis I (under the command of General der Artillerie Albert Wodrig), which took in all of East Prussia.^{[citation needed]} According to the census of May 1939, Königsberg had a population of 372,164.^[58]

In World War II both Koenigsberg and Berlin had large Fernschreibstelle (teleprinter offices) for the Germn Army which collected morning messages each day from regional or local centres to be sent in a 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 in England, where they were known as Fish.. Some messages were daily returns, and some were between Hitler and his generals; both were valuable to Allied intelligence. Koenigsberg had links over the Eastern Front.^[59]

Persecution of Jews under the Nazi regime[edit]

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 Untermensch 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 (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:^[60] 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 near Minsk on 24 June 1942. Almost all were murdered soon after their arrival. Additional transports from Königsberg to the Theresienstadt ghetto and Auschwitz took place until 1945.^[61]

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.^[62] In 1939, the Germans also established a forced labour camp for Romani people in the city.^[63]

Persecution of Poles during World War II[edit]

In September 1939, with the German invasion of Poland 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.^[64] Polish students at the local university were captured, tortured and finally executed.^[64] Other victims included local Polish civilians guillotined for petty violations of German law and regulations such as buying and selling meat.^[64]

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.^[65] 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 and Wehrmacht.^[65] They were denied basic spiritual and physical needs and food, and suffered from famine and exhaustion.^[65] The conditions of the forced labour were described as «tragic», especially for Poles and Russians, 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 in order 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.^[65]

Destruction in World War II[edit]

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.^[66]

Many people fled from Königsberg ahead of the Red Army’s advance after October 1944, particularly after word spread of the Soviet atrocities at Nemmersdorf.^[67][68] In early 1945, Soviet forces, under the command of the Polish-born Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, besieged the city that Hitler had envisaged as the home for a museum holding all the Germans had ‘found in Russia’.^[69] In Operation Samland, General Baghramyan’s 1st Baltic Front, now known as the Samland Group, captured Königsberg in April.^[70] Although Hitler 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.^[71]

On 21 January, during the Red Army’s East Prussian Offensive, mostly Polish and Hungarian Jews from Seerappen, Jesau, Heiligenbeil, Schippenbeil, and Gerdauen (subcamps of Stutthof concentration camp) were gathered in Königsberg by the Nazis. Up to 7,000 of them were forced on a death march to Sambia: those that survived were subsequently executed at Palmnicken.^[60]

On 9 April – one month before the end of the war in Europe – the German military commander of Königsberg, General Otto Lasch, 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.^[72] 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.^[73] Lasch’s subterranean command bunker is preserved as a museum in today’s Kaliningrad.^[74]

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.^[75] Between October 1947 and October 1948, about 100,000 Germans were forcibly moved to Germany.^{[76][need quotation to verify]} The remaining 20,000 German residents were expelled in 1949–50.^[77]

According to Soviet documents, there were 140,114 German inhabitants in September 1945 in the region that later became the Kaliningrad Oblast, 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.^[78] 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.^[79]

Soviet/Russian Kaliningrad[edit]

At the Potsdam Conference, northern Prussia, including Königsberg, was annexed by the USSR which attached it to the Russian SFSR. In 1946, the city’s name was changed to Kaliningrad. The territory remained part of the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991, and since then has been an exclave of the Russian Federation.

Demographics[edit]

Following the Christianization of the region, the vast majority of the population was Catholic, and after the Reformation, the majority of the population belonged to the Evangelical Church of Prussia. A majority of its parishioners were Lutherans, although there were also Calvinists.

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 and 3,975 Jews.^[80]
• 1905: 223,770, among whom were 10,320 Roman Catholics, 4,415 Jews and 425 Poles.^[81]
• 1910: 245,994
• 1919: 260,895
• 1925: 279,930, among whom were 13,330 Catholics, 4,050 Jews and approximately 6,000 others.^[82]
• 1933: 315,794
• 1939: 372,164
• 1945: 73,000

Jews[edit]

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^[83] 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.^[84]

The number of Jewish inhabitants peaked in 1880 at about 5,000, many of whom were migrants escaping pogroms in the Russian Empire. This number declined subsequently so that by 1933, when the Nazis took over, the city had about 3,200 Jews. As a result of anti-semitism 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 in occupied Czechoslovakia, Kaiserwald concentration camp in occupied Latvia, as well as camps in Minsk in the occupied Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.^[85]

Lithuanians[edit]

The University of Königsberg was an important center of Protestant Lithuanian culture and studies.^[86] Abraomas Kulvietis and Stanislovas Rapalionis are also seen as important early Lithuanian scholars.^[86] Daniel Klein published the first Lithuanian grammar book in Königsberg in 1653.

Poles[edit]

Poles were among the first professors of the University of Königsberg,^[87] which received the royal Law of Privilege from King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland on 28 March 1560.^[88] University of Königsberg lecturers included Hieronim Malecki (theology), Maciej Menius (astronomy) and Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (medicine).^[89] Jan Kochanowski and Stanislaw Sarnicki were among the first students known to be Polish, later Florian Ceynowa, Wojciech Kętrzynski^[90] and Julian Klaczko studied in Königsberg.^[91] For 24 years Celestyn Myślenta (who first registered at the University as «Polonus») was a seven time rector of the university,^[92] while Maciej Menius was a three times rector.^[93] 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 pastors, including Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius and August Grzybowski.^[89][94] 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.^[95] In 1564 Jan Mączyński issued his Polish-Latin lexicon at Königsberg.^[96]

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 or Calvinists who did not have centralised places of worship until the 17th century, hence records that far back for these two groups are not available.^[84]

From the 16th to 20th centuries, the city was a publishing center of Polish-language religious literature. In 1545 in Königsberg a Polish catechism was printed by Jan Seklucjan.^[97][98] In 1551 the first translation of the New Testament in Polish came out, issued by Stanisław Murzynowski.^[97] 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.^[99] Maciej Stryjkowski announced in Königsberg the publication of his Kronika Polska, Litewska, Żmudzka, i wszystkiej Rusi («A Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all Rus»).^[100]

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.^[101] 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.^[30]

During the Protestant Reformation the oldest church in Königsberg, St. Nicholas, was opened for non-Germans, especially Lithuanians and Poles.^[102] Services for Lithuanians started in 1523, and by the mid-16th century also included ones for Poles.^[103] 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.^[104] The church was bombed in 1944, further damaged in 1945, and the remaining ruins were demolished after the war in 1950.^[105]

Culture and society of Königsberg[edit]

Notable people[edit]

Königsberg was the birthplace of the mathematician Christian Goldbach and the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann,^[106] as well as the home of the philosopher Immanuel Kant,^[107] who lived there virtually all his life and rarely travelled more than ten miles (16 km) away from the city.^[108] 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 (arguing that knowledge arises from the application of innate concepts to sensory experience) and his Metaphysics of Morals which argues that virtue is acquired by the performance of duty for its own sake.^[109] In 1736, the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler 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 and graph theory. In 1862, David Hilbert was born in Königsberg; he established himself as one of the world’s most influential mathematicians by the turn of the century.^{[citation needed]} Noted South African baboon rescuer Rita Miljo (1931-2012) grew up in Königsberg.^[110]

Languages[edit]

The language of government and high culture was German. The Low Prussian dialect was widely spoken, but is now a moribund language 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 were commonly heard on the streets of Königsberg. Old Prussian, a Baltic language, became extinct in the 18th century.

The visual and performing arts[edit]

In the Königsstraße (King Street) stood the Academy of Art with a collection of over 400 paintings. About 50 works were by Italian masters; some early Dutch paintings were also to be found there.^[111] At the King’s Gate stood statues of King Ottakar I of Bohemia, Albert of Prussia, and Frederick I of Prussia. 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 fitted up by the astronomer Friedrich Bessel, 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 era were the Stadttheater (municipal theatre) and the Apollo.

Königsberg Castle[edit]

Königsberg Castle was one of the city’s most notable structures. The former seat of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights and the Dukes of Prussia, it contained the Schloßkirche, or palace church, where Frederick I was crowned in 1701 and William I in 1861. It also contained the spacious Moscowiter-Saal, one of the largest halls in the German Reich, and a museum of Prussian history.

A center of education[edit]

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. Lithuanian scholar Stanislovas Rapalionis, one of the founding fathers of the university, was the first professor of theology.^[112]

A multiethnic and multicultural metropolis[edit]

As a consequence of the Protestant Reformation, the 1525 and subsequent Prussian church orders called for providing religious literature in the languages spoken by the recipients.^[113] 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.^[114] The expected readership were inhabitants of the duchy, religious refugees, Lutherans in Poland (including neighbouring Warmia) and Lithuania as well as Lutheran priests from Poland and Lithuania called in by the duke.^[113] Königsberg thus became a centre for printing German, Polish and Lithuanian books:^[115] In 1530, the first Polish translation of Luther’s Small Catechism was published by Weinrich.^[116] 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».^[117] The first Lithuanian-language book, Catechismvsa prasty szadei, makslas skaitima raschta yr giesmes by Martynas Mažvydas, was also printed in Königsberg, published by Weinreich in 1547.^[118] 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.^[2]

Sports[edit]

Sports clubs which played in Königsberg included VfB Königsberg and SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg. Lilli Henoch, the world record holder in the discus, shot put, and 4 × 100 meters relay events was born in Königsberg,^[119] as was Eugen Sandow, dubbed the «father of modern bodybuilding». Segelclub RHE, Germany’s oldest sailing club, was founded in Königsberg in 1855. The club still exists, and is now headquartered in Hamburg.

Cuisine[edit]

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 made from blackcurrants or redcurrants
• Bärenfang
• Ochsenblut, literally «ox blood», a champagne-burgundy cocktail mixed at the popular Blutgericht pub, which no longer exists

Fortifications[edit]

The fortifications of Königsberg consist of numerous defensive walls, forts, bastions and other structures. They make up the First and the Second Defensive Belt, built in 1626–1634 and 1843–1859, respectively.^[48] The 15-metre-thick First Belt was erected due to Königsberg’s vulnerability during the Polish–Swedish wars.^[48] The Second Belt was largely constructed on the place of the first one, which was in a bad condition.^[48] The new belt included twelve bastions, three ravelins, seven spoil banks and two fortresses, surrounded by water moat.^[48] Ten brick gates served as entrances and passages through defensive lines and were equipped with moveable bridges.^[48]

There was a Bismarck tower just outside Königsberg, on the Galtgarben, the highest point on the Sambian peninsula. It was built in 1906 and destroyed by German troops sometime in January 1945 as the Soviets approached.^[121][122]

See also[edit]

• List of people from Königsberg
• Seven Bridges of Königsberg, a topology problem
• Kaliningrad (Königsberg) question
• Königsberger Paukenhund, traditional kettle drum dog of the Prussian infantry

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

• Photoarchaeology of Kneiphof
• Kaliningrad Photo Gallery – Reisebilder aus Königsberg
• The Film Königsberg is dead, France/Germany 2004 by Max & Gilbert (in German and English)
• Territory’s history from 1815 to 1945 (in German)
• Interactive Map with photos of Königsberg and modern Kaliningrad
• Site with 400+ side-by-side photos of 1939/2005 identical locations in Königsberg/Kaliningrad (in Russian and German)
• Northeast Prussia 2000: Travel Photos
• Adreßbuch der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Königsberg., Адресная книга Кёнигсберга. (нем. яз.)(1770-1941)

Königsberg

Königsberg Castle before World War I; demolished after World War II bombing
Königsberg was a port city on the south eastern corner of the Baltic Sea. It is today known as Kaliningrad and is part of Russia.
Coordinates	54°43′00″N 20°31′00″E / 54.71667°N 20.51667°E
History
Founded	1255
Abandoned	1945
Associated with	Sambians, Germans, Poles, Jews, Russians, Lithuanians
Events	World War II
Site notes
Ownership	State of the Teutonic Order, Poland, Prussia, Russia, Germany

Königsberg (German: [ˈkøːnɪçsbɛʁk] (listen), lit. ‘King’s hill’) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was named in honour of King Ottokar II of Bohemia.^[1] A Baltic port city, it successively became the capital of the Królewiec Voivodeship, the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia and the provinces of East Prussia and Prussia. Königsberg remained the coronation city of the Prussian monarchy, though the capital was moved to Berlin in 1701.

Between the thirteenth and the twentieth centuries, the inhabitants spoke predominantly German, but the multicultural city also had a profound influence upon the Lithuanian and Polish cultures.^[2] The city was a publishing center of Lutheran literature, including the first Polish translation of the New Testament, printed in the city in 1551, 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, Käthe Kollwitz, E. T. A. Hoffmann, David Hilbert, Agnes Miegel, Hannah Arendt, Michael Wieck and others.

Königsberg was the easternmost large city in Germany until World War II. Between the wars it was in the exclave of East Prussia, separated from Germany by Poland. The city was heavily damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and during the Battle of Königsberg in 1945, when it was occupied by the Soviet Union. The Potsdam Agreement of 1945 placed it provisionally under Soviet administration, and it was annexed on 9 April 1945. Its Lithuanian population was allowed to remain, but its German population was expelled, and the city was largely repopulated with Russians and others from the Soviet Union. It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946, in honour of Soviet leader Mikhail Kalinin. It is now the capital of Russia’s Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave bordered in the north by Lithuania and in the south by Poland. In the Final Settlement treaty of 1990, Germany renounced all claim to it.

Name[edit]

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 crusaders began their Baltic Crusades, 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,^[1] who led one of the Teutonic campaigns. In Polish, the city is called Królewiec, and in Lithuanian, it is called Karaliaučius (with the same meaning as the German name).^[3]

History[edit]

Sambians[edit]

Königsberg was preceded by a Sambian, or Old Prussian, fort known as Twangste (Tuwangste, Tvankste), meaning ‘Oak Forest’,^[4] 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[edit]

During the conquest of the Prussian Sambians by the Teutonic Knights in 1255, Twangste was destroyed and replaced with a new fortress known as Conigsberg. This name meant «King’s Hill» (Latin: castrum Koningsberg, Mons Regius, Regiomontium), honoring King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who paid for the erection of the first fortress there during the Prussian Crusade.^[5][6] Northwest of this new Königsberg Castle arose an initial settlement, later known as Steindamm, roughly 4.5 miles (7 km) from the Vistula Lagoon.^[7]

The Teutonic Order used Königsberg to fortify their conquests in Samland and as a base for campaigns against pagan Lithuania. Under siege during the Prussian uprisings in 1262–63, Königsberg Castle was relieved by the Master of the Livonian Order.^[8][9] 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, received Culm rights in 1286. Löbenicht, a new town directly east of Altstadt between the Pregolya and the Schlossteich, received its own rights in 1300. Medieval Königsberg’s third town was Kneiphof, 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, Königsberg was the residence of the marshal, one of the chief administrators of the military order.^[10] The city was also the seat of the Bishopric of Samland, one of the four dioceses into which Prussia had been divided in 1243 by the papal legate, William of Modena. Adalbert of Prague became the main patron saint of Königsberg Cathedral, a landmark of the city located in Kneiphof.

Königsberg joined the Hanseatic League in 1340 and developed into an important port for the south-eastern Baltic region, trading goods throughout Prussia, the Kingdom of Poland, and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. The chronicler Peter of Dusburg probably wrote his Chronicon terrae Prussiae in Königsberg from 1324 to 1330.^[11] After the Teutonic Order’s victory over pagan Lithuanians in the 1348 Battle of Strėva, Grand Master Winrich von Kniprode established a Cistercian nunnery in the city.^[12] Aspiring students were educated in Königsberg before continuing on to higher education elsewhere, such as Prague or Leipzig.^[11]

Although the knights suffered a crippling defeat in the Battle of Grunwald, 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’s troops.^[13]

Polish sovereignty[edit]

Since 1440, the city was a founding member of the anti-Teutonic Prussian Confederation. In 1454 the Confederation rebelled against the Teutonic Knights and asked the Polish King Casimir IV Jagiellon to incorporate Prussia into the Kingdom of Poland, to which the King agreed and signed an act of incorporation.^[14] The local mayor pledged allegiance to the Polish King during the incorporation in March 1454.^[15] This marked the beginning of the Thirteen Years’ War (1454–1466) between the State of the Teutonic Order and the Kingdom of Poland. The city, known in Polish as Królewiec, became the seat of the short-lived Królewiec Voivodeship.^[16] King Casimir IV authorized the city to mint Polish coins.^[17] While Königsberg/Królewiec’s 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.^[18]

Following the Second Peace of Thorn (1466), which ended the Thirteen Years’ War, Königsberg became the new capital of the reduced monastic state, which became a part of the Kingdom of Poland as a fief.^[19][20] The grand masters took over the quarters of the marshal. During the Polish-Teutonic War (1519–1521), Königsberg was unsuccessfully^[21] besieged 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[edit]

Through the preachings of the Bishop of Samland, Georg von Polenz, Königsberg became predominantly Lutheran during the Protestant Reformation.^[22] After summoning a quorum of the Knights to Königsberg, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg (a member of the House of Hohenzollern) secularised the Teutonic Knights’ remaining territories in Prussia in 1525 and converted to Lutheranism.^[23] By paying feudal homage to his uncle, King Sigismund I of Poland, Albert became the first duke of the new Duchy of Prussia, a fief of Poland.^[16]

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.^{[citation needed]} After convincing the rebels to lay down their arms, Albert had several of their leaders executed.^[24]

Königsberg, the capital, became one of the biggest cities and ports of Ducal Prussia, having considerable autonomy, a separate parliament and currency. While German continued to be the official language, the city served as a vibrant center of publishing in both Polish and Lithuanian.^{[citation needed]} The city flourished through the export of wheat, timber, hemp, and furs,^[25] as well as pitch, tar, and fly ash.^[26]

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 and Riga.^[27] The University of Königsberg, founded by Duke Albert in 1544 and receiving token royal approval from King Sigismund II Augustus in 1560,^[16] 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 nobility.

The capable Duke Albert was succeeded by his feeble-minded son, Albert Frederick. Anna, daughter of Albert Frederick, married Elector John Sigismund of Brandenburg, who was granted the right of succession 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.^{[citation needed]}

Brandenburg-Prussia[edit]

When Imperial and then Swedish armies overran Brandenburg during the Thirty Years’ War of 1618–1648, the Hohenzollern court fled to Königsberg. On 1 November 1641, Elector Frederick William persuaded the Prussian diet to accept an excise tax.^[28] 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 in 1657, however, he negotiated the release of Prussia from Polish sovereignty in return for an alliance with Poland. The 1660 Treaty of Oliva 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 could convene with his permission.^[29] 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».^[30] Delegations from the city’s burghers went to the Polish king, John II Casimir Vasa, who initially promised aid, but then failed to follow through.^[30] 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.^[30] However, Frederick William succeeded in imposing his authority after arriving with 3,000 troops in October 1662 and training his artillery on the town.^[30] Refusing to request mercy, Roth went to prison in Peitz until his death in 1678.^[29]

The Prussian estates which swore fealty to Frederick William in Königsberg on 18 October 1663^[31] 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.^[32] The economic and political weakening of Königsberg strengthened the power of the Junker nobility within Prussia.^[33]

Königsberg long remained a center of Lutheran resistance to Calvinism within Brandenburg-Prussia; Frederick William forced the city to accept Calvinist citizens and property-holders in 1668.^[34]

Kingdom of Prussia[edit]

By the act of coronation in Königsberg Castle on 18 January 1701, Frederick William’s son, Elector Frederick III, became Frederick I, King in Prussia. The elevation of the Duchy of Prussia to the Kingdom of Prussia was possible because the Hohenzollerns’ authority in Prussia was independent of Poland and the Holy Roman Empire. Since «Kingdom of Prussia» was increasingly used to designate all of the Hohenzollern lands, former ducal Prussia became known as the Province of Prussia (1701–1773), with Königsberg as its capital. However, Berlin and Potsdam 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.^[35] On 13 June 1724, Altstadt, Kneiphof, and Löbenicht amalgamated to formally create the larger city Königsberg. Suburbs that subsequently were annexed to Königsberg include Sackheim, Rossgarten, and Tragheim.^[7]

Russian Empire[edit]

During the Seven Years’ War of 1756 to 1763 Imperial Russian troops occupied eastern Prussia at the beginning of 1758. On 31 December 1757, Empress Elizabeth I of Russia issued an ukase about the incorporation of Königsberg into Russia.^[30] On 24 January 1758, the leading burghers of Königsberg submitted to Elizabeth.^[36] Under the terms of the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (signed 5 May 1762) Russia exited the Seven Years’ War, the Russian army abandoned eastern Prussia, and the city reverted to Prussian control.^[37]

Kingdom of Prussia after 1773[edit]

After the First Partition of Poland in 1772, Königsberg became the capital of the newly formed province of East Prussia in 1773, which replaced the Province of Prussia in 1773. By 1800 the city was approximately five miles (8.0 km) 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.^[38]

After Prussia’s defeat at the hands of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1806 during the War of the Fourth Coalition and the subsequent occupation of Berlin, King Frederick William III of Prussia fled with his court from Berlin to Königsberg.^[39] The city was a centre for political resistance to Napoleon. In order to foster liberalism and nationalism 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 in Berlin.^[40] Königsberg officials, such as Johann Gottfried Frey, formulated much of Stein’s 1808 Städteordnung, or new order for urban communities, which emphasised self-administration for Prussian towns.^[41] The East Prussian Landwehr was organised from the city after the Convention of Tauroggen.^[42]

In 1819 Königsberg had a population of 63,800.^[43] It served as the capital of the united Province of Prussia from 1824 to 1878, when East Prussia was merged with West Prussia. It was also the seat of the Regierungsbezirk Königsberg, an administrative subdivision.^[44]

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.^[45] During the revolution of 1848, there were 21 episodes of public unrest in the city;^[46] major demonstrations were suppressed.^[47] Königsberg became part of the German Empire in 1871 during the Prussian-led unification of Germany. A sophisticated-for-its-time series of fortifications around the city that included fifteen forts was completed in 1888.^[48]

The extensive Prussian Eastern Railway linked the city to Breslau, Thorn, Insterburg, Eydtkuhnen, Tilsit, and Pillau. In 1860 the railway connecting Berlin with St. Petersburg was completed and increased Königsberg’s commerce. Extensive electric tramways were in operation by 1900; and regular steamers plied the waterways to Memel, Tapiau and Labiau, Cranz, Tilsit, and Danzig. 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.^[49] The city was an important entrepôt for Scottish herring. in 1904 the export peaked at more than 322 thousand barrels.^[50] By 1900 the city’s population had grown to 188,000, with a 9,000-strong military garrison.^[7] By 1914 Königsberg had a population of 246,000;^[51] Jews flourished in the culturally pluralistic city.^[52]

Weimar Republic[edit]

Following the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, Imperial Germany was replaced with the democratic Weimar Republic. The Kingdom of Prussia ended with the abdication of the Hohenzollern monarch, Wilhelm II, and the kingdom was succeeded by the Free State of Prussia. Königsberg and East Prussia, however, were separated from the rest of Weimar Germany following the restoration of independent Poland and the creation of the so-called Polish Corridor. Due to the isolated geographical situation after World War I the German Government supported a lot of large infrastructure projects: 1919 Airport «Devenau» (the first civil airport in Germany), 1920 «Deutsche Ostmesse» (a new German trade fare; 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[edit]

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 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 politician Max von Bahrfeldt were severely injured. Members of the Reichsbanner were attacked and the local Reichsbanner Chairman of Lötzen (Giżycko), Kurt Kotzan, was murdered on 6 August 1932.^[53][54]

Following Adolf Hitler’s coming to power, Nazis confiscated Jewish shops and, as in the rest of Germany, a public book burning was organised, accompanied by anti-Semitic 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.^[55]

In July 1934 Hitler made a speech in the city in front of 25,000 supporters.^[56] In 1933 the NSDAP alone received 54% of votes in the city.^[56] 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.^[57] Many who would not co-operate with the rulers of Nazi Germany were sent to concentration camps and held prisoner there until their death or liberation.

In 1935, the Wehrmacht designated Königsberg as the Headquarters for Wehrkreis I (under the command of General der Artillerie Albert Wodrig), which took in all of East Prussia.^{[citation needed]} According to the census of May 1939, Königsberg had a population of 372,164.^[58]

In World War II both Koenigsberg and Berlin had large Fernschreibstelle (teleprinter offices) for the Germn Army which collected morning messages each day from regional or local centres to be sent in a 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 in England, where they were known as Fish.. Some messages were daily returns, and some were between Hitler and his generals; both were valuable to Allied intelligence. Koenigsberg had links over the Eastern Front.^[59]

Persecution of Jews under the Nazi regime[edit]

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 Untermensch 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 (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:^[60] 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 near Minsk on 24 June 1942. Almost all were murdered soon after their arrival. Additional transports from Königsberg to the Theresienstadt ghetto and Auschwitz took place until 1945.^[61]

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.^[62] In 1939, the Germans also established a forced labour camp for Romani people in the city.^[63]

Persecution of Poles during World War II[edit]

In September 1939, with the German invasion of Poland 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.^[64] Polish students at the local university were captured, tortured and finally executed.^[64] Other victims included local Polish civilians guillotined for petty violations of German law and regulations such as buying and selling meat.^[64]

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.^[65] 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 and Wehrmacht.^[65] They were denied basic spiritual and physical needs and food, and suffered from famine and exhaustion.^[65] The conditions of the forced labour were described as «tragic», especially for Poles and Russians, 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 in order 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.^[65]

Destruction in World War II[edit]

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.^[66]

Many people fled from Königsberg ahead of the Red Army’s advance after October 1944, particularly after word spread of the Soviet atrocities at Nemmersdorf.^[67][68] In early 1945, Soviet forces, under the command of the Polish-born Soviet Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, besieged the city that Hitler had envisaged as the home for a museum holding all the Germans had ‘found in Russia’.^[69] In Operation Samland, General Baghramyan’s 1st Baltic Front, now known as the Samland Group, captured Königsberg in April.^[70] Although Hitler 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.^[71]

On 21 January, during the Red Army’s East Prussian Offensive, mostly Polish and Hungarian Jews from Seerappen, Jesau, Heiligenbeil, Schippenbeil, and Gerdauen (subcamps of Stutthof concentration camp) were gathered in Königsberg by the Nazis. Up to 7,000 of them were forced on a death march to Sambia: those that survived were subsequently executed at Palmnicken.^[60]

On 9 April – one month before the end of the war in Europe – the German military commander of Königsberg, General Otto Lasch, 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.^[72] 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.^[73] Lasch’s subterranean command bunker is preserved as a museum in today’s Kaliningrad.^[74]

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.^[75] Between October 1947 and October 1948, about 100,000 Germans were forcibly moved to Germany.^{[76][need quotation to verify]} The remaining 20,000 German residents were expelled in 1949–50.^[77]

According to Soviet documents, there were 140,114 German inhabitants in September 1945 in the region that later became the Kaliningrad Oblast, 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.^[78] 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.^[79]

Soviet/Russian Kaliningrad[edit]

At the Potsdam Conference, northern Prussia, including Königsberg, was annexed by the USSR which attached it to the Russian SFSR. In 1946, the city’s name was changed to Kaliningrad. The territory remained part of the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991, and since then has been an exclave of the Russian Federation.

Demographics[edit]

Following the Christianization of the region, the vast majority of the population was Catholic, and after the Reformation, the majority of the population belonged to the Evangelical Church of Prussia. A majority of its parishioners were Lutherans, although there were also Calvinists.

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 and 3,975 Jews.^[80]
• 1905: 223,770, among whom were 10,320 Roman Catholics, 4,415 Jews and 425 Poles.^[81]
• 1910: 245,994
• 1919: 260,895
• 1925: 279,930, among whom were 13,330 Catholics, 4,050 Jews and approximately 6,000 others.^[82]
• 1933: 315,794
• 1939: 372,164
• 1945: 73,000

Jews[edit]

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^[83] 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.^[84]

The number of Jewish inhabitants peaked in 1880 at about 5,000, many of whom were migrants escaping pogroms in the Russian Empire. This number declined subsequently so that by 1933, when the Nazis took over, the city had about 3,200 Jews. As a result of anti-semitism 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 in occupied Czechoslovakia, Kaiserwald concentration camp in occupied Latvia, as well as camps in Minsk in the occupied Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.^[85]

Lithuanians[edit]

The University of Königsberg was an important center of Protestant Lithuanian culture and studies.^[86] Abraomas Kulvietis and Stanislovas Rapalionis are also seen as important early Lithuanian scholars.^[86] Daniel Klein published the first Lithuanian grammar book in Königsberg in 1653.

Poles[edit]

Poles were among the first professors of the University of Königsberg,^[87] which received the royal Law of Privilege from King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland on 28 March 1560.^[88] University of Königsberg lecturers included Hieronim Malecki (theology), Maciej Menius (astronomy) and Jan Mikulicz-Radecki (medicine).^[89] Jan Kochanowski and Stanislaw Sarnicki were among the first students known to be Polish, later Florian Ceynowa, Wojciech Kętrzynski^[90] and Julian Klaczko studied in Königsberg.^[91] For 24 years Celestyn Myślenta (who first registered at the University as «Polonus») was a seven time rector of the university,^[92] while Maciej Menius was a three times rector.^[93] 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 pastors, including Krzysztof Celestyn Mrongovius and August Grzybowski.^[89][94] 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.^[95] In 1564 Jan Mączyński issued his Polish-Latin lexicon at Königsberg.^[96]

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 or Calvinists who did not have centralised places of worship until the 17th century, hence records that far back for these two groups are not available.^[84]

From the 16th to 20th centuries, the city was a publishing center of Polish-language religious literature. In 1545 in Königsberg a Polish catechism was printed by Jan Seklucjan.^[97][98] In 1551 the first translation of the New Testament in Polish came out, issued by Stanisław Murzynowski.^[97] 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.^[99] Maciej Stryjkowski announced in Königsberg the publication of his Kronika Polska, Litewska, Żmudzka, i wszystkiej Rusi («A Chronicle of Poland, Lithuania, Samogitia and all Rus»).^[100]

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.^[101] 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.^[30]

During the Protestant Reformation the oldest church in Königsberg, St. Nicholas, was opened for non-Germans, especially Lithuanians and Poles.^[102] Services for Lithuanians started in 1523, and by the mid-16th century also included ones for Poles.^[103] 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.^[104] The church was bombed in 1944, further damaged in 1945, and the remaining ruins were demolished after the war in 1950.^[105]

Culture and society of Königsberg[edit]

Notable people[edit]

Königsberg was the birthplace of the mathematician Christian Goldbach and the writer E.T.A. Hoffmann,^[106] as well as the home of the philosopher Immanuel Kant,^[107] who lived there virtually all his life and rarely travelled more than ten miles (16 km) away from the city.^[108] 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 (arguing that knowledge arises from the application of innate concepts to sensory experience) and his Metaphysics of Morals which argues that virtue is acquired by the performance of duty for its own sake.^[109] In 1736, the Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler 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 and graph theory. In 1862, David Hilbert was born in Königsberg; he established himself as one of the world’s most influential mathematicians by the turn of the century.^{[citation needed]} Noted South African baboon rescuer Rita Miljo (1931-2012) grew up in Königsberg.^[110]

Languages[edit]

The language of government and high culture was German. The Low Prussian dialect was widely spoken, but is now a moribund language 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 were commonly heard on the streets of Königsberg. Old Prussian, a Baltic language, became extinct in the 18th century.

The visual and performing arts[edit]

In the Königsstraße (King Street) stood the Academy of Art with a collection of over 400 paintings. About 50 works were by Italian masters; some early Dutch paintings were also to be found there.^[111] At the King’s Gate stood statues of King Ottakar I of Bohemia, Albert of Prussia, and Frederick I of Prussia. 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 fitted up by the astronomer Friedrich Bessel, 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 era were the Stadttheater (municipal theatre) and the Apollo.

Königsberg Castle[edit]

Königsberg Castle was one of the city’s most notable structures. The former seat of the Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights and the Dukes of Prussia, it contained the Schloßkirche, or palace church, where Frederick I was crowned in 1701 and William I in 1861. It also contained the spacious Moscowiter-Saal, one of the largest halls in the German Reich, and a museum of Prussian history.

A center of education[edit]

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. Lithuanian scholar Stanislovas Rapalionis, one of the founding fathers of the university, was the first professor of theology.^[112]

A multiethnic and multicultural metropolis[edit]

As a consequence of the Protestant Reformation, the 1525 and subsequent Prussian church orders called for providing religious literature in the languages spoken by the recipients.^[113] 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.^[114] The expected readership were inhabitants of the duchy, religious refugees, Lutherans in Poland (including neighbouring Warmia) and Lithuania as well as Lutheran priests from Poland and Lithuania called in by the duke.^[113] Königsberg thus became a centre for printing German, Polish and Lithuanian books:^[115] In 1530, the first Polish translation of Luther’s Small Catechism was published by Weinrich.^[116] 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».^[117] The first Lithuanian-language book, Catechismvsa prasty szadei, makslas skaitima raschta yr giesmes by Martynas Mažvydas, was also printed in Königsberg, published by Weinreich in 1547.^[118] 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.^[2]

Sports[edit]

Sports clubs which played in Königsberg included VfB Königsberg and SV Prussia-Samland Königsberg. Lilli Henoch, the world record holder in the discus, shot put, and 4 × 100 meters relay events was born in Königsberg,^[119] as was Eugen Sandow, dubbed the «father of modern bodybuilding». Segelclub RHE, Germany’s oldest sailing club, was founded in Königsberg in 1855. The club still exists, and is now headquartered in Hamburg.

Cuisine[edit]

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 made from blackcurrants or redcurrants
• Bärenfang
• Ochsenblut, literally «ox blood», a champagne-burgundy cocktail mixed at the popular Blutgericht pub, which no longer exists

Fortifications[edit]

The fortifications of Königsberg consist of numerous defensive walls, forts, bastions and other structures. They make up the First and the Second Defensive Belt, built in 1626–1634 and 1843–1859, respectively.^[48] The 15-metre-thick First Belt was erected due to Königsberg’s vulnerability during the Polish–Swedish wars.^[48] The Second Belt was largely constructed on the place of the first one, which was in a bad condition.^[48] The new belt included twelve bastions, three ravelins, seven spoil banks and two fortresses, surrounded by water moat.^[48] Ten brick gates served as entrances and passages through defensive lines and were equipped with moveable bridges.^[48]

There was a Bismarck tower just outside Königsberg, on the Galtgarben, the highest point on the Sambian peninsula. It was built in 1906 and destroyed by German troops sometime in January 1945 as the Soviets approached.^[121][122]

See also[edit]

• List of people from Königsberg
• Seven Bridges of Königsberg, a topology problem
• Kaliningrad (Königsberg) question
• Königsberger Paukenhund, traditional kettle drum dog of the Prussian infantry

References[edit]

Citations[edit]

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

• Photoarchaeology of Kneiphof
• Kaliningrad Photo Gallery – Reisebilder aus Königsberg
• The Film Königsberg is dead, France/Germany 2004 by Max & Gilbert (in German and English)
• Territory’s history from 1815 to 1945 (in German)
• Interactive Map with photos of Königsberg and modern Kaliningrad
• Site with 400+ side-by-side photos of 1939/2005 identical locations in Königsberg/Kaliningrad (in Russian and German)
• Northeast Prussia 2000: Travel Photos
• Adreßbuch der Haupt- und Residenzstadt Königsberg., Адресная книга Кёнигсберга. (нем. яз.)(1770-1941)

Эта статья рассказывает о периоде истории Калининграда до 1946 года.

Кёнигсберг (лат. Regiomontum, нем. Königsberg, полностью Кёнигсберг-ин-Про́йсен, нем. Königsberg in Preußen — Кёнигсберг в Пруссии) — название, которое носил Калининград (до 1255 года — Твангсте, прус. Twangste) в период до 1946 года^[1][2][3]. В период с 1773 по 1945 годы город являлся центром провинции Восточная Пруссия.

Этимология названия

Ядром города явился замок, который при основании в 1255 году получил название «Королевская гора» (по-латински Regiomontum, позже Regiomonti, по-немецки Königsberg). По наиболее распространённой версии,^[4][5]назван так в честь короля Чехии Пржемысла Оттокара (при решающей помощи которого и был основан). Однако существуют и другие толкования топонима, например, от прусского топонима готского происхождения Konungaberg, где kuniggs — глава рода (князь), berg — брег, берег^[6].

C момента основания замка соседние народы обычно называли его на своих собственных языках: лит. Karaliaučius, польск. Królewiec (Крулевец) (по-старопольски Kralowgród — Королевский замок), чеш. Královec (Краловец). Под именем Королевец (Королевецъ) или Королевиц замок и местность вокруг него долгое время, начиная с XIII века, упоминается и в различных русских источниках: летописях, книгах, атласах^[7][5]. В России это название широко используется до Петра I и, изредка, в более поздний период^[8], вплоть до начала XX века^[9], в том числе в художественной литературе, например, в текстах М. Салтыкова-Щедрина^[10][11]. Однако после Петра I и до переименования в 1946 году русские чаще использовали немецкий вариант.

До 1721 года официально название Кёнигсберг носил только замок, хотя задолго до этого в быту население объединило под этим именем и три прилегающих города.

История

Орденский период

Город был основан на холме высокого правого берега в нижнем течении реки Прегель на месте прусского городища Twangste (Твангсте) в январе 1255 года как замок рыцарями великого магистра Тевтонского ордена Поппо фон Остерна и чешским королём, герцогом Австрии Оттокаром Пржемыслом Вторым, войска которого пришли на помощь терпевшим поражения от местного населения рыцарям, которые, в свою очередь, были приглашены в Пруссию польским королём для борьбы с язычниками.

Первоначально замок был деревянным, но в 1257 году началось строительство каменного, вернее кирпичного замка.

В 1260 году во время Великого Прусского восстания войска нескольких прусских племён осадили замок, но взять замок им не удалось. Попытки отдельных прусских племен разрушить замок безуспешно повторялись в 1263 и 1273 годах.

В последующие годы в завоеванные земли стали прибывать немецкие колонисты, они постепенно смешивались с местным прусским населением, которое впоследствии забыло свой язык и культуру и почти полностью ассимилировалось. В XVI веке в Кёнигсберге пруссы ещё составляли около 20 % населения.

У стен замка возникло поселение, которое тоже стали называть Кёнигсбергом. Городское право на основе кульмского права поселению было присуждено 28 февраля 1286 года ландмейстером Пруссии Конрадом фон Тирбергом^[12].

Так как рост Кёнигсберга был ограничен городскими стенами, вокруг начали расти другие поселения, потому что близость города и замка несла многие преимущества.

В 1300 году поселение Лёбенихт также получило городские права. Хотя административно эти два города были независимы, фактически они составляли единое целое. Этот двойной город тоже стал называться Кёнигсбергом. Во избежание путаницы первоначальный Кёнигсберг получил название Альтштадт, то есть «старый город» Кёнигсберга.

Первое упоминание о строительстве Кафедрального собора — 1333 год. Расположен в центре города, на острове Канта (бывший Кнайпхоф).

Третьим кёнигсбергским поселением, получившим городские права, стал Кнайпхоф в 1327 году. Он был отделен от Альтштадта рукавом реки Преголи (нем. Pregel — Прегель) и расположен на одноименном острове. Он тоже фактически был частью Кёнигсберга.

После тринадцатилетней войны 1454—1466 Тевтонский Орден признал себя польским вассалом и переместил свою столицу в Кёнигсберг из Мариенбурга (ныне Мальборк в Польше). В 1525 году Великий магистр Тевтонского Ордена Альбрехт преобразовал теократическое государство в светское Прусское Герцогство подвластнное Польше, а сам стал герцогом. Столицей нового государства стал Кёнигсберг.

В 1523 году Хансом Вайнрайхом при содействии герцога Альбрехта в Лёбенихте была основана первая в Кёнигсберге типография, где в 1524 году была напечатана первая книга.^[13] Экономической базой типографии служили заказы герцогского двора, церкви, городской администрации, а позднее и университета.

В 1544 году в городе открылся университет, названный впоследствии Альбертиной — по имени герцога Альбрехта.

Эпоха прусского герцогства и прусского королевства

С XVI века город стал важным центром литовской культуры, здесь вышла первая книга на литовском языке, проживали важные деятели литовской культуры Мартинас Мажвидас, Кристионас Донелайтис, Людвикас Реза и другие.

Не позднее, чем с 1660 года в Кёнигсберге начала выходить своя газета. Эту газету доставляли в Россию и включали в обзоры европейской прессы, которые в Посольском приказе составляли для Боярской думы и царя Алексея Михайловича^[14].

Такой «тройной» город, который фактически был единым, но состоял из трёх административно независимых частей (каждый из трёх кёнигсбержских городов имел свою ратушу, своего бургомистра, собственный суд и т. д.) просуществовал до 1724 года.

В 1724 году три города, многочисленные посёлки, посады и предместья, а также замок, который до этого не входил в состав ни одного из городов, а имел особый статус правительственной резиденции, были объединены в единый город Кёнигсберг.

В том же году в Кёнигсберге родился Иммануил Кант (1724—1804). Он стал величайшим уроженцем города за всю его историю.

Во время Семилетней войны 11 января 1758 года русские войска вошли в Кёнигсберг. Жители города, в том числе и Кант, присягнули на верность императрице Елизавете. До 1762 года город входил в состав России.

Развитие города в XIX веке

В течение XIX века проводилась модернизация оборонительных сооружений города. Было построено множество бастионов, равелинов, оборонительных валов, большинство из которых сохранилось до наших дней. Особый интерес представляют городские ворота. Они были возведены в неоготическом стиле и являются интересными архитектурными памятниками.

В XIX веке город значительно вырос. В 1782 году в городе было 31 368, в 1888 — 140 909, в 1910 — 249 600, в 1939 году — 373 464 жителей.

В связи с ростом города появилась необходимость в общественном транспорте. В мае 1881 года в Кёнигсберге был открыт первый маршрут конки (в том же году в Берлине уже был пущен электрический трамвай). Владельцами конки были акционерные общества. По сравнению с дрожками стоимость поездки на конке была намного демократичнее: от 10 до 20 пфеннигов (в зависимости от расстояния) против 60 пфеннигов за одного пассажира, 70 пфеннигов за двоих, 80 за троих и марки за четырёх пассажиров на дрожках.

А в мае 1895 года на кёнигсбергские улицы вышли первые трамваи. В 1901 году город выкупил все линии конки (за исключением линий в Хуфене) и приступил к их электрификации.

Кёнигсберг — Калининград в XX веке

В 1919 году в Кёнигсберге был открыт аэропорт Девау — первый аэропорт Германии и один из первых аэропортов Европы и мира. В 1922 году было организовано воздушное сообщение Кёнигсберг — Рига — Москва.

В XX веке город значительно расширился, вышел за пределы оборонительного кольца. Были построены новые вокзалы, в том числе Главный вокзал, много жилых зданий, пригородные районы (например, Амалиенау), созданные в рамках программы «Город-сад», кирхи, офисные здания в югендстиле и стиле баухаус. Особенно большой вклад в изменение облика города внесли в этот период архитекторы Ганс Хопп и Фридрих Ха́йтманн.

В городе проводилась Восточная ярмарка, главным выставочным залом которой был Дом техники.

Большое внимание уделялось сооружению памятников и малой городской скульптуре, для создания которой широко привлекались выпускники и преподаватели Кёнигсбергской академии художеств (особенно существенный вклад внесли скульпторы Фридрих Ройш и Станислав Кауэр). Была проведена реконструкция и археологические исследования в замке.

После прихода нацистов к власти, во время «Хрустальной ночи», в Кёнигсберге была разрушена Новая Синагога построенная в 1894—1896 годах^[15], гауляйтером Эрихом Кохом активно пропагандировался милитаризм.

Ещё до конца Второй мировой войны, в августе 1944 года город Кёнигсберг был сильно разрушен британскими бомбардировщиками в ходе операции «возмездие». Бомбардировкам подвергся в основном центр города, где практически не было военных объектов. Погибло множество мирных жителей, сгорел старый город и множество памятников старины, сильно пострадал замок. Позднее город был взят штурмом советскими войсками.

До штурма с зимы 1944—1945 годов город и гарнизон под командованием генерала Ляша находился в окружении. Штурм начался 6 апреля, особой ожесточённостью отличался бой за пятый форт. В ходе этого штурма советскими войсками под командованием маршала Василевского была впервые применена тактика начала пехотной атаки до окончания артиллерийской подготовки, что позволило избежать огня противника на подходе к укреплениям и застать гарнизон укреплений врасплох. Обратной стороной медали явились значительные потери штурмующих от огня собственных войск (продолжающейся артподготовки); в числе прочих большие потери понесли отборные гвардейские части, память о них впоследствии была увековечена в монументе «1200 гвардейцам», расположенном в центре города на Гвардейском проспекте. А 9 апреля над башней «Дер Дона», где ныне расположен музей янтаря, было поднято красное знамя, обозначающее конец немецкой истории города.

По решению Потсдамской конференции северная часть немецкой провинции Восточная Пруссия вместе со своей столицей — Кёнигсбергом — временно была передана Советскому Союзу. Позднее при подписании договоров о границах Калининградская область полностью признана владениями Советского Союза.

Осталось только 20 000 из 370 000 немецких жителей, которые жили в нём до войны. Хотя сразу после войны началась работа по адаптации немцев к новой власти — выходила газета «Новое время» на немецком языке, были организованы школы, где преподавание велось на немецком, было принято решение о выселении немецкого населения в Германию. Почти все они были отправлены в Германию к 1947 году, только некоторые специалисты помогали восстанавливать работу предприятий вплоть до 1948 и даже до 1949 годов, но и им было отказано в получении советского гражданства и впоследствии они были депортированы в Германию.

Вместо них в город были переселены советские граждане.

4 июля 1946 года после смерти Михаила Ивановича Калинина Кёнигсберг был переименован в Калининград в его честь.

Руины Королевского замка

После Второй мировой войны на месте руин Королевского замка эпизодически проводились раскопки. В 1967 году по решению первого секретаря обкома КПСС Николая Коновалова развалины замка были взорваны.

Однако территория замка остается незастроенной и вопрос о систематических археологических раскопках этого памятника XIII века остается открытым.^[16] Городская администрация в 2010 году предлагала провести весной 2011 года референдум о необходимости восстановления замка^[17].

Известные деятели науки, культуры, искусства, государственные деятели, жившие или работавшие в городе в период до 1945 года

Основная статья: Список известных уроженцев Кёнигсберга

• Арендт, Ханна — политолог и философ
• Бессель, Фридрих Вильгельм — математик, астроном, переехал в Кёнигсберг в 1810 году
• Брахерт, Герман — немецкий скульптор
• Вагнер, Рихард — оперный композитор, дирижёр и драматург.
• Верушка (Вера Готлиб Анна фон Лендорф) — одна из первых супермоделей мира, актриса, родилась в Кёнигсберге в 1939 году
• Вильгельм I — первый германский император, короновался в Кёнигсберге
• Воейков, Фёдор Матвеевич — последний русский генерал-губернатор Восточной Пруссии во время Семилетней войны
• Гельмгольц, Герман Людвиг Фердинанд — физик, в 1849—1855 в Кёнигсберге, где получает звание профессора физиологии и патологии
• Гильберт, Давид — математик, в 1880 году поступил в Кёнигсбергский университет.
• Гольдбах, Кристиан — математик, академик Петербургской Академии наук с 1725 года
• Гофман, Эрнст Теодор Амадей — писатель, композитор и художник
• Гурвиц, Адольф — математик, в 1884 году стал профессором в Кёнигсбергском университете
• Дёнхоф, Марион — графиня, публицист, главный редактор еженедельника «Цайт»
• Диффенбах, Иоганн Фридрих (нем.) (1795—1847) — немецкий хирург, основатель пластической хирургии
• Донелайтис, Кристионас — литовский поэт, зачинатель литовской художественной литературы
• Кант, Иммануил — философ, родоначальник немецкой классической философии
• Людвиг Шнорр фон Каросфельд — художник-романтик
• Кирхгоф, Густав — физик
• Койдель, Роберт фон — немецкий государственный деятель
• Ян Кристоф — саксонский живописец и хронист XVI в, долгое время жил и работал.
• Кутузов, Михаил Илларионович — русский генерал-фельдмаршал, войска которого освободили Пруссию от войск Наполеона
• Минковский, Герман — математик, в 1872—1887 преподавал в Кёнигсбергском университете
• Барон Мюнхгаузен — прототип сказочного персонажа
• Пётр I — российский император, дважды посещавший город
• Оттокар II Пржемысл — король Чехии, основатель Кёнигсберга
• Реза, Людвикас — литовский поэт, филолог, переводчик
• Розенкранц, Иоганн Карл Фридрих — немецкий философ
• Сандов, Евгений — выдающийся атлет XIX века, считается основоположником современного культуризма, родился в Кёнигсберге в 1867 году
• Суворов, Василий Иванович — русский губернатор Восточной Пруссии, отец генералиссимуса А. В. Суворова
• Шлютер, Андреас — немецкий архитектор и скульптор
• Фогель фон Фалькенштейн, Эдуард — прусский генерал от инфантерии, губернатор Ютландии и Кёнигсберга, генерал-губернатор Богемии.
• Якоби, Карл Густав Якоб — математик, в 1827 году приглашён экстраординарным профессором в Кёнигсбергский университет и в 1829 году получил там ординатуру
• Леонард Эйлер — швейцарский, немецкий и русский математик

Важнейшие памятники Кёнигсберга, утраченные после Второй мировой войны

• Памятник Фридриху I (1697, Андреас Шлютер)
• Памятник Фридриху Вильгельму I в нише у южной стены замка (1730, Йоганн Майсснер)
• Конный памятник Фридриху-Вильгельму III на Парадеплац около университета (1851, Август Кисс, Рудольф фон Принтц)
• Памятник Вильгельму I (1894, Фридрих Ройш) у замка
• Памятник Бисмарку (1901, Фридрих Ройш) на площади у замка
• Скульптура «Немецкий Михель» (1904, Фридрих Ройш) у башни Врангель
• Скульптура «Лучник» (1908, Фриц Хайнеманн) у Замкового пруда
• Памятник фельдмаршалу Людвигу Йорку (1913, Вальтер Розенберг)
• Скульптурная группа «Молодёжный порыв» (Х. Альбрехт) у Высшей торговой школы (ныне Калининградский технический колледж).
• Бюст королевы Пруссии Луизы (1874, Христиан Раух) у кирхи её имени

Примечания

См. также

• Форты Кёнигсберга
• Закхаймские ворота
• Замок Кёнигсберг
• Кёнигсбергские клопсы (знаменитная разновидность клопсов из этого города)
• Кёнигсбергская академия художеств
• Восточная ярмарка

Ссылки

• Кёнигсберг
• Основные даты истории города
• Архив фотографий Восточной Пруссии
• Кёнигсберг. Сегодняшний Калининград. Архитектура немецкого времени. Балдур Кёстер.
• Калининград или Кёнигсберг? Полемика со сторонниками переименования города Игнатьев А.
• Отто фон Ляш. Так пал Кёнигсберг
• В. И. Кулаков История Кенигсберга в отечественной историографии с 1945 года
• Интерактивная карта со старыми и новыми фотографиями Кенигсберга и Калининграда в настоящее время

Подробная информация о фамилии Кенигсберг, а именно ее происхождение, история образования, суть фамилии, значение, перевод и склонение. Какая история происхождения фамилии Кенигсберг? Откуда родом фамилия Кенигсберг? Какой национальности человек с фамилией Кенигсберг? Как правильно пишется фамилия Кенигсберг? Верный перевод фамилии Кенигсберг на английский язык и склонение по падежам. Полную характеристику фамилии Кенигсберг и ее суть вы можете прочитать онлайн в этой статье совершенно бесплатно без регистрации.

Происхождение фамилии Кенигсберг

Большинство фамилий, в том числе и фамилия Кенигсберг, произошло от отчеств (по крестильному или мирскому имени одного из предков), прозвищ (по роду деятельности, месту происхождения или какой-то другой особенности предка) или других родовых имён.

История фамилии Кенигсберг

В различных общественных слоях фамилии появились в разное время. Первое упоминание фамилии Кенигсберг встречается в XIX веке. Большинство крестьян центра России было официально наделено фамилией Кенигсберг, после отмены крепостного права в 1861 году. Фамилия Кенигсберг по происхождению является семейным прозвищем. Которое, в свою очередь происходили от «уличного» прозвища того или иного члена семьи. Эти самые семейные прозвища, иногда уходившие своими корнями, в глубь многих поколений, фактически выполняли роль фамилий ещё до поголовного их закрепления. Именно они в первую очередь попадали в переписные листы, и на самом деле, офамиливание являлось просто записыванием этих прозвищ в документы. Таким образом, наделение крестьянина фамилией часто сводилось просто к официальному признанию, узакониванию, закреплению семейных или личных прозвищ за их носителями. Фамилия Кенигсберг наследуется из поколения в поколение по мужской линии (или по женской).

Суть фамилии Кенигсберг по буквам

Фамилия Кенигсберг состоит из 10 букв. Фамилии, которые содержат десять букв – показатель натуры яркой, артистичной. Такие люди превращают свою жизнь в оригинальную роль соответствующей продолжительности. И нужно им то, чего жаждет любой актер – восхищение, поклонение, цветы и – овации. Проанализировав значение каждой буквы в фамилии Кенигсберг можно понять ее суть и скрытое значение.

К — характеризует личностей выносливых, принципиальных. Легкость, способность быстро браться за любые дела и получать новые знания. Люди с этой буквой в имени умеют хранить чужие тайны. Девиз по жизни: все или ничего. Выносливость и твердость духа. Излишняя конкретика и отсутствие полутонов.

Е — самовыражение, стремление к обмену опытом. Выступают в роли посредника в конфликтах. Проницательны, понимают мир тайн. Болтливы. Сильная любовь к путешествиям, в жизни такие могут часто менять место жительства, непоседливы.

Н — знак неприятия действительности такой, какая она есть; желание достичь духовного и физического здоровья. В работе проявляется усердие. Нелюбовь к труду, не вызывающего интереса. Наличие критического ума и категорическое неприятие рутинной работы. Неумение расслабляться в обществе, постоянная напряженность и сомнения.

И — романтичные, утончённые и чувственные натуры. Добрые, мечтают о гармонии с окружающим миром. В сложной ситуации проявляют практичность. Иногда склонны к одиночеству и аскетизму. Неумение подчиняться кому-либо, в то же время указывает на равнодушие к власти.

Г — жажда знаний, интерес ко всему таинственному, способность устанавливать взаимосвязь между жизненными событиями. Добросовестность, умение уделять внимание мелочам. Необходимость в острых ощущениях, нередко такие люди сами находятся в их поиске.

С — стремятся достичь материальной устойчивости, обладают здравым смыслом; раздражительны, властолюбивы, могут быть капризными. Познавательность, желание доводить любое дело до конца, умение докопаться до истины. Понимают своё жизненное предназначение. Умение приспосабливаться к обстоятельствам.

Б — признак душевного романтизма, постоянные и надёжные люди. Способность изъявлять инициативу, легко преодолевать трудности. Желание достичь материального благополучия.

Е — самовыражение, стремление к обмену опытом. Выступают в роли посредника в конфликтах. Проницательны, понимают мир тайн. Болтливы. Сильная любовь к путешествиям, в жизни такие могут часто менять место жительства, непоседливы.

Р — противостоят воздействию извне, уверены в себе, храбрые, увлечённые личности. Способны к неоправданному риску, авантюрные натуры склонны к непререкаемым суждениям. Умение рисковать ради цели. Желание и потенциал для лидерства.

Г — жажда знаний, интерес ко всему таинственному, способность устанавливать взаимосвязь между жизненными событиями. Добросовестность, умение уделять внимание мелочам. Необходимость в острых ощущениях, нередко такие люди сами находятся в их поиске.

Значение фамилии Кенигсберг

Фамилия является основным элементом, связывающим человека со вселенной и окружающим миром. Она определяет его судьбу, основные черты характера и наиболее значимые события. Внутри фамилии Кенигсберг скрывается опыт, накопленный предыдущими поколениями и предками. По нумерологии фамилии Кенигсберг можно определить жизненный путь рода, семейное благополучие, достоинства, недостатки и характер носителя фамилии. Число фамилии Кенигсберг в нумерологии — 6. Представители фамилии Кенигсберг жизнерадостные люди, способные достичь успеха в различных сферах. Судьба благосклонна к ним и обеспечивает свое покровительство на протяжении всего жизненного пути. Это оптимисты, проигрывающие состояние с улыбкой на лице и зарабатывающие большие деньги без особых усилий. Да, да – все эти слова относятся к людям с цифрой 6 в фамилии. Влияние удачи прослеживается во всех ключевых моментах: такие люди рождаются в бедной семье, но при этом выбиваются в высшее общество, они прогуливают пары в университете, и выбирают на экзамене единственную изученную тему. Именно эти ребята срывают джекпот в казино и проворачивают немыслимые по своей сложности операции.

Жизненный путь рода и фамилии Кенигсберг.
Влияние удачи прослеживается с ранних лет. У таких людей все получается само собой: они получают лучшие подарки, завоевывают сердца первых красавиц в классе, обыгрывают своих одноклассников в азартных играх. Удачливость способствует популярности и увеличению количества врагов. Им открыто завидуют, ними восхищаются и ненавидят одновременно. Носители фамилии Кенигсберг словно сошли со страниц глянцевых журналов: их одежда соответствует последним модным тенденциям, а в кармане лежит мобильный телефон последней модели. Эти люди с легкостью поддерживают светские беседы, одаряют прекрасных дам комплиментами и умело флиртуют с противоположным полом. Но это – всего лишь красивая вывеска и предвзятое мнение окружающих людей. За фамилией Кенигсберг закрепляется определенный образ, которому приходится соответствовать на протяжении всей жизни.

Семейная жизнь с фамилией Кенигсберг.
В строительстве семейной жизни людям с фамилией Кенигсберг помогают родители. Они дарят новенькую квартиру, уютный дом или небольшой коттедж за городом. Такие дорогие подарки накладывают на носителей фамилии Кенигсберг определенные обязательства, которые их со временем начинают тяготить. К своей семейной жизни они относятся прохладно, но при этом безумно любят детей. Основная проблема семейной жизни – отсутствие налаженного быта. Люди с фамилией Кенигсберг плохо переносят затяжные ремонты, необходимость самостоятельно строить жилье или выполнять работу на приусадебном участке. Несмотря на внешнюю любвеобильность, к изменам относятся с презрением и хранят верность одному человеку. Они не любят готовить еду, а потому с радостью перекладывают эту обязанность на свою половинку.

Рекомендуемые профессии для фамилии Кенигсберг.
Носителям фамилии Кенигсберг рекомендованы творческие профессии без четких сроков и явных дедлайнов. Они самостоятельно формируют свой рабочий график и не терпят делового стиля. Это франты, способные прийти в офис под конец рабочего дня и покинуть его ранним утром. Оптимальные профессии – дизайнер, стилист, художник, журналист, писатель. Возможен успех в деловой сфере: но он чаще всего носит временный характер. Если носителям фамилии Кенигсберг удалось заработать первый капитал, то он быстро исчезнет вследствие неправильно выбранной стратегии развития. А потому оптимальный вариант – заработать денег и выйти из бизнеса.

Достоинства характера человека с фамилией Кенигсберг.
Веселый нрав, отзывчивость, жизнелюбие и оптимизм. Способность видеть позитивные стороны даже в самых плачевных ситуациях, умение очаровывать людей и прирожденное обаяние.

Как правильно пишется фамилия Кенигсберг

В русском языке грамотным написанием этой фамилии является — Кенигсберг. В английском языке фамилия Кенигсберг может иметь следующий вариант написания — Kenigsberg.

Склонение фамилии Кенигсберг по падежам

Падеж	Вопрос	Фамилия
Именительный	Кто?	Кенигсберг
Родительный	Нет Кого?	Кенигсберг
Дательный	Рад Кому?	Кенигсберг
Винительный	Вижу Кого?	Кенигсберг
Творительный	Доволен Кем?	Кенигсберг
Предложный	Думаю О ком?	Кенигсберг

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