Former city of Koenigsberg. "Historically, these are primordially Slavic lands"

There was a Prussian fortress Tuvangste (Tvangste, Tvangeste). History has not left reliable information about the founding of Tvangste and descriptions of the fortress itself. According to legend, the Tvangste fortress was founded by Prince Zamo in the middle of the 6th century. There is information about an attempt to establish a settlement near the mouth of the Pregel, undertaken at the end of the 10th century by Khovkin, the son of the Danish king Harald I Blue-lipped. German chronicles for 1242 contain information about negotiations between the deputies of the city of Lübeck and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Gerhard von Malberg, about the founding of a free trading city on a mountain on the banks of the Pregel.

In the mid-13th century, the toponym Twangste extended to the Prussian fortified settlement, the mountain on which it was located, and the surrounding forest.

The Tvangste fortress was taken and burned at the beginning of 1255 during the campaign of the united army of the knights of the Order and the Bohemian king Přemysl Otakar II. There is a legend according to which King Otakar II advised the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Poppo von Osterne, to build an order fortress on the site of Tvangste. The foundation of the Koenigsberg fortress took place in early September 1255. The first commander of Königsberg was Burkhard von Hornhausen.

There are several versions of the origin of the name Königsberg. The most common version associates the name of the Königsberg fortress, Royal Mountain, with King Otakar II. According to her, the fortress and future city were named after the King of Bohemia. Other versions of the origin of the toponym associate it with the Vikings or Prussians. Perhaps “Konigsberg” is a form of “Konungoberg”, where “konung”, “kunnigs” are “prince”, “leader”, “head of the clan”, and the word “berg” can mean both “mountain” and “steep, Highland". In Russian chronicles and maps until the end of the 17th century, the toponym Korolevets was used instead of the name Koenigsberg.

The first two wooden blockhouses were built on the mountain on the right bank of the Pregel in 1255. Koenigsberg was first mentioned in a document dated June 29, 1256. In 1257, construction of stone fortifications began to the west of the blockhouses. In 1260, 1263 and 1273, the castle was besieged by the rebel Prussians, but was not taken. Since 1309, Königsberg Castle has been the residence of the Marshal of the Teutonic Order.

On February 28, 1286, the Landmaster of Prussia, Konrad von Thirberg, granted the settlement that arose near the castle walls the status of a city based on the Kulm Law. Most likely, the settlement was originally named after the castle - Koenigsberg. However, later, with the emergence of neighboring settlements, it received the name Altstadt, translated from German as “old town”. The settlement that arose east of the castle was named Neustadt (New Town). Neustadt was later renamed Löbenicht, and on May 27, 1300, Löbenicht received city rights from the commander of Königsberg, Berthold von Brühaven. On an island located south of Altstadt, a settlement was formed, originally called Vogtswerder. In 1327, the settlement on the island received city rights. In the deed of granting city rights it is called Knipav, which most likely corresponds to the original Prussian toponym. Since 1333, the city was called Pregelmünde, but gradually the original name in the Germanized form – Kneiphof – was established.

The cities of Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof had their own coats of arms, city councils, burgomasters, and were members of the Hanseatic Trade Union from the 14th century.

In 1325, under the leadership of Bishop Johannes Claret, construction of the Cathedral began on the island of Kneiphof. In a document dated September 13, 1333, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Luther von Brunswick, agreed to continue construction of the cathedral; this date is considered the official start date of construction. The construction of the Cathedral was completed in 1380. In the winter of 1390-1391, an English detachment under the command of the Earl of Derby, the future King of England Henry IV Lancaster, stayed in Konigsberg.

After the loss of Marienburg (Malbork, Poland) in the Thirteen Years' War in 1457, Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen moved the capital of the Teutonic Order to Königsberg. In 1523, Hans Weinreich, with the assistance of Grand Master Albrecht, opened the first printing house in Königsberg in Löbenicht, in which the first book was printed in 1524. On April 8, 1525, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach concluded the Peace of Krakow with the King of Poland Sigismund I, as a result of which the Teutonic Order was secularized and the Duchy of Prussia was formed. Königsberg became the capital of Prussia. In 1544, a university was opened in Königsberg, which later received the name Albertina in honor of Duke Albrecht. Since 1660, a city newspaper began to be published in Königsberg. In May 1697, as part of the Great Embassy, ​​Russian Tsar Peter I visited Koenigsberg under the name of nobleman Peter Mikhailov, having lived in the city for about a month. Later, Peter I visited the city in November 1711, June 1712, February and April 1716.

On January 27, 1744, Sophia Augusta Frederica von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, the future Russian Empress Catherine II, passed through Königsberg from Stettin to St. Petersburg. On January 11, 1758, during the Seven Years' War, Russian troops entered Königsberg, after which, on January 24, in the Cathedral, representatives of all city classes took the oath of allegiance to the Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Until 1762, the city was part of the Russian Empire. In 1782, the city's population was 31,368. In 1793, the first obstetrics and gynecology institution opened in the city. On August 8, 1803, an earthquake occurred in Königsberg.

After the battles of Preussisch-Eylau in January and Friedland in June, Königsberg was occupied by the French army on June 15, 1807. On July 10-13, 1807 and June 12-16, 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in the city. On the night of January 4-5, 1813 french army left Koenigsberg, and around noon on January 5, troops of the Russian corps under the command of Pyotr Christianovich Wittgenstein entered the city.

In 1813, an astronomical observatory was opened in Königsberg, the director of which was the outstanding mathematician and astronomer Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel. In 1830, the first (local) water supply system appeared in the city. In 1834, in the Königsberg laboratory, Moritz Hermann Jacobi demonstrated the world's first electric motor. On July 28, 1851, the Königsberg Observatory astronomer August Ludwig Busch took the first photograph in history. solar eclipse. On October 18, 1861, Wilhelm I, the future Kaiser of Germany, was crowned in Königsberg. In 1872-1874, the first city water supply network was built, and in 1880 work began on laying the city sewerage system. In May 1881, the first horse-drawn route opened in Königsberg; in 1888, the city’s population was 140.9 thousand people; in December 1890, 161.7 thousand people. To protect the city, a defensive ring of 15 forts was built along its perimeter by the mid-1880s. In May 1895, the first trams ran along the streets of Königsberg. In 1896, the Königsberg Zoo was opened, with Hermann Klaas (1841-1914) becoming its director.

The population of Königsberg in 1910 was 249.6 thousand inhabitants. In 1919, Germany's first airport, Devau Airport, was opened in Königsberg. On September 28, 1920, German President Friedrich Ebert opened the first East Prussian fair in Königsberg, located on the territory of the zoo, and later in special pavilions. In 1939, the city had 373,464 inhabitants.

During World War II, Koenigsberg was repeatedly bombed from the air. The first raid on the city was carried out by Soviet aviation on September 1, 1941. 11 Pe-8 bombers took part in the raid, none of which were shot down. The bombing had a certain psychological effect, but did not cause any significant casualties or destruction. On April 29, 1943, a Pe-8 bomber from the USSR Long-Range Aviation dropped a bomb weighing 5 tons on Koenigsberg for the first time. On the night of August 27, 1944, the 5th Group of the British Royal Air Force, consisting of 174 Lancaster bombers, carried out a raid on the city, during which the eastern outskirts were bombed, and the Royal Air Force lost 4 aircraft. The most massive and terrible raid on Koenigsberg was carried out by the British Air Force on the night of August 30, 1944. 189 Lancasters dropped 480 tons of bombs, killing 4.2 thousand people and destroying 20% industrial facilities and 41% of all buildings in the city, the historic center of the city was razed to the ground. During the raid, napalm bombs were used for the first time. RAF losses amounted to 15 bombers.

As a result of the East Prussian offensive operation of the Red Army, by January 26, 1945, Koenigsberg found itself under siege. However, already on January 30, the Greater Germany tank division and one infantry division from Brandenburg (now the village of Ushakovo) and the 5th tank division and one infantry division from Königsberg pushed back the troops of the 11th Guards Army 5 kilometers from Frisches Huff Bay , releasing Koenigsberg from the southwest. On February 19, counter attacks along the northern shore of the Frisches Huff Bay from Fischhausen (now the city of Primorsk) and Koenigsberg broke through the defenses of the 39th Army and restored communication between Koenigsberg and the Zemland Peninsula.

From April 2 to April 5, 1945, Koenigsberg was subjected to massive artillery strikes and air raids. On April 6, troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front began an assault on the fortress city. The bad weather did not allow the full use of aviation; by the end of the day, assault troops and groups had reached the outskirts of the city. On April 7, the weather improved and Koenigsberg was subjected to massive bombardment. On April 8, the Red Army troops advancing from the north and south split the enemy group into two parts. The 4th German Army of General Müller tried to assist the Koenigsberg garrison with a strike from the Zemland Peninsula, but these attempts were stopped by Soviet aviation. By evening, the defending Wehrmacht units found themselves sandwiched in the city center under continuous attacks from Soviet artillery. On April 9, 1945, the commandant of the city and fortress of Königsberg, General Otto von Lyasch, ordered the garrison to lay down their arms, for which Hitler was sentenced to death in absentia. The last pockets of resistance were eliminated on April 10, and the Red Banner was hoisted on the Don tower. More than 93 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured, about 42 thousand died during the assault. The irretrievable losses of the Red Army directly during the assault on Koenigsberg amounted to 3.7 thousand people.

The capture of Koenigsberg was marked in Moscow by 24 artillery salvoes from 324 guns, and the medal “For the Capture of Koenigsberg” was established - the only Soviet medal established for the capture of a city that was not the capital of the state. After the end of World War II, according to the decisions of the Potsdam Conference, the city of Königsberg was transferred to the Soviet Union.

On June 27, 1945, the Königsberg Zoo, in which after the April assault only five animals remained: a badger, a donkey, a fallow deer, a calf elephant and the wounded hippopotamus Hans, received its first post-war visitors.

By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on July 4, 1946, Koenigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad. The city was populated by settlers from other regions Soviet Union, the German population was deported to Germany by 1948. Due to its important strategic location and large concentration of troops, Kaliningrad was closed to visits by foreign citizens. In the post-war years, special attention was paid to the restoration of production; issues of preserving historical and cultural values ​​were of secondary importance, and were often completely ignored. In 1967, by the decision of the first secretary of the Kaliningrad regional committee of the CPSU N.S. Konovalov Konigsberg Castle, seriously damaged during the British air raid in August 1944 and the assault on the city in April 1945, was blown up. The demolition of ruins and a significant part of the surviving buildings continued until the mid-1970s, which caused irreparable damage to the architectural appearance of the city.

Since 1991, Kaliningrad has been open to international cooperation.

Koenigsberg, now the well-known city of Kaliningrad, is an enclave washed by the cold and noisy Baltic Sea.

The history of the city is majestic and multifaceted, dating back more than 700 years - seven centuries of rapid growth, rapid seizures and frequent changes of heads of government.

The westernmost city of Russia is shrouded in ancient legends and surrounded by interesting historical sights.

Basic information

Story

It was founded on September 1, 1255. The beginning modern city became a castle erected on the site of the Prussian fortification of Twangste in the lower reaches of the Pregel River. The founders are considered to be the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Poppo von Osterna and the King of the Czech Republic Přemysl Otakar II.

Tvangste was besieged by knights, but after help arrived from the king of the Czech Republic, the settlement fell. The first structure was made of wood, and in 1257 the construction of brick walls began.

The castle was named Königsberg, he was besieged by Prussian tribes three times (in 1260, 1263 and 1273), but survived. In subsequent years, German colonists began to arrive to develop Prussian lands. The indigenous people were assimilated and XVI century only 20% of the total population remained.

On February 28, 1286, the settlement near the castle walls, bearing the same name, was awarded city rights. Others were rapidly growing around settlements. In 1300, another city began to be called Löbenicht, where the first printing house was opened in 1523, and the first book was printed in 1524.

From an administrative point of view, both cities were independent, but in fact they formed a single whole. The united cities were named Königsberg, and the first and oldest part of it was renamed Altstadt (“old city”).

The third settlement to receive official status was Kneiphof and it also formed part of Königsberg.

In 1466, as a result of the Thirteen Years' War, the capital of the Teutonic Order was moved from Marienburg to Königsberg.

In 1525 theocratic state became known as the Duchy of Prussia, and Grand Master Albrecht proclaimed himself duke. Since the 16th century, the city became a cultural center, important figures lived there and the first books were published in the Lithuanian language.

In 1660, the publication of its own newspaper began, its copies were regularly sent to Russia to compile reviews intended for the Boyar Duma and Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Territorially unified, but consisting of administratively independent districts, the city existed until 1724, then the official unification of the three cities, their surrounding suburbs, villages and the castle took place. The name remains the same - Koenigsberg.

As a result of the seven-year war, the city belonged to Russia from 1758 to 1762, until Empress Elizabeth gave it back as a sign of reconciliation. In the 19th century, Königsberg grew and modernized rapidly, with countless ravelins, bastions and defensive ramparts built (many of the buildings still exist).

In 1857, a railway appeared in Königsberg, and in 1862 a railway connection with Russia was built. In May 1881, a new type of transport appeared - horse-drawn (horse-drawn - city railway), and exactly 14 years later (in 1895) - the first trams. In 1901, the electrification of public transport began.

In 1919, the first airport in Germany and one of the first in the world, Devau, was built and put into operation. Regular flights Konigsberg - Riga - Moscow were organized in 1922. In the 20th century, the city expanded significantly; the following were built:

• train stations;
• residential buildings;
• commercial buildings.

The greatest contributions to the architecture of the city were made by Hans Hopp and Friedrich Heitmann. A large place was devoted to monuments and sculptures; they were created by both graduates and teachers of the Königsberg Academy of Arts. At the same time, research and reconstruction were carried out in the old castle.

In August 1944, during the bombing by Britain, the city was heavily damaged and the entire old center of Königsberg was destroyed.

That same year, it was stormed by Soviet soldiers.

Assault and capture in 1945

The siege of the city began in December 1944, and assault troops were sent on April 5, 1945. On April 10, over the Der Dona tower ( modern museum amber) a flag was raised to signify the end of German rule. During the fierce battles, both sides suffered losses of 50 thousand people.

We invite you to watch a video about the assault on Koenigsberg.

Who was given a medal for taking it?

On June 9, 1945, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces ordered the establishment of a medal for the capture of the fortress city of Koenigsberg.

This The medal was awarded to military personnel of the army, navy and NKVD troops who took personal part in the battle for the city, as well as the organizers and leaders of military operations in the period from January 23 to April 10, 1945.

This medal is the only one established in the USSR for the capture of a fortress; all the others were for the liberation and capture of capitals.

The Legend of Underground Kaliningrad

The essence of the legend is that under the city there is an underground city - a backup, built during German rule. It has power plants, numerous warehouses for food and household goods, and tank and aircraft factories.

The underground city is also a repository for many valuables, including the Amber Room. There are two versions of the ending of the legend:

1. During the assault on the city by Soviet soldiers, the Germans collapsed and partially flooded several passages.
2. After the war, an expedition was sent to the dungeon, but it was not able to fully explore all the passages. It was decided to wall up the unexplored tunnels.

Some residents claim that all systems in the lower city are working properly and sometimes someone turns them on to check, then a rumble is heard from the basements and a glow appears.

According to some versions, people still live underground.

The legend originated back in the 1950s; its appearance was provoked by numerous artistic and documentary works of those times.

Where is it located on the map?

The city is located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. On the southern side it borders with Poland, and on the eastern and northern side – with Lithuania. It has no land borders with Russia.

What does this name mean in German?

• The center of the city was the castle, which at its foundation was called “Royal Mountain” (translated from German Königsberg), in honor of the Czech King Přemysl Otakar II, who was one of the founders.
• According to another version, the word “Königsberg” is of Gothic origin: kuniggs is the head of the clan, and berg is the shore.

Which country does it belong to?

In 1945, the Potsdam Conference was held, by its decision the German province, along with its capital, was annexed to the Soviet Union. After the death of the Chairman of the Supreme Council M.I. Kalinin On July 4, 1946, the city received a new name - Kaliningrad, and his region became Kaliningrad.

Coat of arms

The modern coat of arms was approved on July 17, 1996 and finalized on April 28, 1999. The authors of the project are Ernest Grigo and Sergei Kolevatov. The ancient coat of arms of Königsberg was taken as a basis.

On a blue background there is a silver ship with one sail and a silver two-pointed pennant with the St. Andrew's Cross. The mast goes down with three green leaves. Under the ship are 12 gold bezants arranged in a wave shape.

In the center of the mast there is a shield crossed with silver and scarlet, in the upper part there is a crown, in the lower part there is an equal-ended Greek cross (both figures of variable colors). Around the shield is a ribbon of the medal for the capture of Konigsberg.

the Royal Castle

Story

Founded in 1255 on former Prussian territory. Initially, the structure was defensive in nature and was built of wood; later it was strengthened stone walls. IN early period the appearance of the castle was dominated by Gothic style, but over time the purpose of the building itself changed and its architectural appearance changed.

With the rise to power of Duke Albrecht in 1525 the castle became a secular palace. Coronations and receptions were held in its halls. In the 18th century, in the basement of the northern wing there was a wine restaurant “Blütgericht”, translated as “Bloody Judgment”. Previously, the restaurant premises were a prison, and there was a trial over it.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the castle served as a museum; rare collections were located within its walls:

1. books;
2. paintings;
3. weapons.

The castle was captured by the Germans during the Second World War, it held meetings and stored valuables from plundered countries. One of these loots was the famous Amber Room, transported by the Germans from Pushkin. Its current location is unknown.

The castle was heavily damaged during the war, but the final “collapse” occurred in 1968 - by order of the Soviet authorities, the building was blown up, and the remaining stones were used for new buildings. Several attempts were made to begin the restoration of the castle. Excavations on its territory are periodically resumed, the last ones dating back to 2016.

Where can you find ruins?

The ruins of the castle are located at: st. Shevchenko 2, public transport stop "Hotel Kaliningrad". Landmark – House of Soviets, built on the territory of a former castle. The visit is paid and possible any day from 10 to 18.

What other attractions are there?

• Fishing village. An ethnographic, craft and shopping complex on the banks of the Pregel River, stylized as old Prussia. It was built in 2006.
• Kant Island(Kneiphof). Located in the middle of the Pregel River, in the 14th century there was an entire city with its own coat of arms. In 1944, the island had 28 streets, 304 houses, public transport ran, and during the bombing in August of the same year, the city was completely destroyed. Now the only building is the Cathedral, surrounded by alleys and sculptures.
• Museum of the World Ocean. Opened in 1990 with the aim of preserving and popularizing Russia's maritime heritage. The museum presents the history of shipbuilding and exhibitions dedicated to marine flora and fauna, as well as the study of the seabed.
• Holy Cross Cathedral. Located on Oktyabrsky Island. Until 1945, there was a Lutheran-Evangelical shrine here, bearing the name of the Church of the Cross. Currently it is an Orthodox church. The central element in the external decoration is a mosaic Protestant cross on the facade, framed by an ornament with lilies and wind roses. The inside of the church is decorated in accordance with Orthodox traditions.

Forts

Beginning in the 19th century, instead of a continuous wall, a network of forts (earthen fortifications with stone buildings that could accommodate 300 soldiers and a supply of ammunition) was built around the city. The territory between them was shelled by artillery, and in more late time machine guns.

The defensive ring around Koenigsberg consisted of 12 large and 5 small forts and was called the “night feather bed”.

This defense system was tested in April 1945, coming under fire from the Soviet Army.

Most of the forts were destroyed, and the few that remained were abandoned until recently. Monuments of fortification art are gradually being restored. Two forts are available in excursion mode:

• No. 5 King Frederick William III;
• No. 11 Dönhoff.

Below is a video about the forts of Koenegsberg.

Photo

In the photo below you can see the main historical attractions of the city:

When and how did the deportation of Germans take place?

In 1946, Stalin signed a decree on voluntary resettlement to Kaliningrad 12 thousand Russian families from 27 different regions. From 1945 to 1948, several dozen Germans coexisted with Russians in the city, German schools, churches and public organizations operated.

But this neighborhood cannot be called peaceful - the Germans were regularly subjected to violence and looting by the Soviet population. The government tried in every possible way to eliminate hostility between peoples:

1. a newspaper was published;
2. training was conducted in German;
3. Working Germans were given food cards.

Due to the impossibility of peaceful coexistence and increasing incidents of violence, in 1947 a decision was made to forcibly deport the German population.

Between 1947 and 1948, about 100 thousand German citizens and Prussian Lithuanians were resettled.

The deportation took place peacefully and in an orderly manner, former residents of East Prussia were allowed to transport any amount of cargo with them, they were also given dry rations and conscientious assistance was provided during the movement.

Receipts were taken from all those leaving that they had no claims against the Soviet Government.. Some German specialists were left to restore agriculture and production, but they also did not receive citizenship and eventually left the country.

The history of Koenigsberg as the Russian city of Kaliningrad is just beginning. Its cultural image has undergone significant changes over the past 15 years:

• new museums appeared;
• forts were restored;
• The first Orthodox church was built.

For a long time, the architectural heritage of the Prussian lands fell into decay, but modern society took up the task of restoring them.

How German Prussia became Soviet

On April 9, 1945, the Red Army took the German city of Königsberg, which later became the center of the westernmost region of Russia. How Koenigsberg became Kaliningrad not only in name, but also in essence, and what problems accompanied the integration process, read in the material “Yoda”.

Occupation of East Prussia

The current Kaliningrad region joined our country historically quite recently. Less than 70 years ago. The history of the entry of Prussian territory was tragic. This was Germany's price for defeat in World War II. In just a few decades of the 20th century, the region of the former Königsberg has seriously changed - the composition of the population has almost completely changed and the appearance of the cities has changed. The initial goals of the accession were purely rational.

Proposals to annex East Prussia, a region of Germany, to the USSR were made back in 1941. In December, at a meeting between Stalin and Molotov with British Foreign Minister Eden, the Soviet side spoke about the possibility of annexing part of East Prussia to the USSR and Poland for 20 years as compensation for losses from the war. The next notable step was the statement of the Soviet delegation at the Tehran Conference in 1943. In the capital of Iran, Stalin called East Prussia “original Slavic lands” and declared the need for the “Russians” to take possession of ice-free ports on the Baltic Sea. The following July, 1944, with the consent of its allies, the USSR signed a border agreement with the Polish émigré government: the situation that arose in 1939 was preserved, and East Prussia was divided along the “Curzon Line” (a direct continuation of the border between Poland and the USSR to the west). The Polish government in London, having learned a few months earlier about Stalin's plans, according to Churchill, received a moral blow, but the British government took the Soviet side.

The operation to eliminate a group of Nazi troops in East Prussia began on January 13, 1945, after the liberation of the Baltic republics, by the forces of the 3rd Belorussian and 1st Baltic fronts. From the sea ground forces supported the Baltic Fleet. By the end of January, German troops located in East Prussia were cut off by land from the main army formations. The approaches to Königsberg were seriously fortified with three lines of defense, the city was called a first-class fortress, which made further defeat difficult. In early April, the city's defenses were bombed by Soviet aircraft for four days, allowing civilians to escape the encirclement earlier. The assault on Königsberg began on April 6 and ended four days later. The encircled German command did not surrender immediately - the proposal of front commander Vasilevsky to surrender on April 8 was rejected, but already on the 9th, “Akhtung!” was heard on the city radio in German and Russian. Achtung! Attention attention! The city and fortress of Königsberg capitulates! The garrison capitulated on the square, now called Victory Square. For another week, those hiding in basements and ruins surrendered. But these were not all the remnants of the German army - on April 17, Soviet troops occupied the city of Fischhausen (modern Primorsk), and on April 25 - the port of Pillau (Baltiysk), which is located west of Königsberg and has strong fortifications. The Baltic bridgehead was neutralized.

Until the decision of the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, East Prussia was considered an occupied territory, which was planned to be included in the USSR and Poland. Potsdam confirmed the decision - two thirds of the territory went to Poland, one third to the Soviet Union with inclusion in the RSFSR.

Technician of the Nevsky Plant named after Lenin Ilyin, "PRAVDA", AUGUST 7, 1945:

Koenigsberg has long been the main center of Prussian militarism and a springboard for attacks on our country. The decision of the conference to transfer the Königsberg region to the Soviet Union significantly strengthens international security. The three powers are united in their desire to severely punish those responsible for the disasters and suffering of the peoples of Europe.

The Klaipeda region, annexed by Germany from Lithuania in 1939, will be transferred to the Lithuanian SSR. Formally, this happened in 1950, when the region was separated from the RSFSR, but legally the action was not carried out impeccably. The final question of the borders of the region was resolved only in 1997. Lithuanians in Soviet time More districts of the Kaliningrad region could have moved, but the leadership of the republic repeatedly refused. The renaming of the city of Königsberg and the region of the same name took place in the summer of 1946. Initially it was supposed to call them “Baltiysk” and “Baltiyskaya”. The draft of such a decree was already ready, but these days the former chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Council and the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, Mikhail Kalinin, died. He was connected with the Baltic states only by the fact that for several years in exile, back at the beginning of the century, he worked at an Estonian factory and was married to an Estonian. The date of death and the decision to rename coincided - so the city became Kaliningrad, although by that time the current city of Korolev, located near Moscow, already had the same name. In the same year, other cities in the region received their new names. Renaming streets took longer. Thus, in 1950, a number of names of German artists were replaced by Russian ones: Goethe Street in Kaliningrad became Pushkin Street, Mozart Street became Repin Street, and Strauss Street became Rimsky-Korsakov Street. The names of villages and streets were not specified “from above”. “As a rule, they asked the residents themselves,” recalled settler Nikolai Chudinov. “They say: “In our homeland there was such and such a district, name the village the same.” Or the driver was driving, he said, passing by some village, there were tall ferns. Well, let’s call it “Fern”... Dobrovolsk was called that because volunteers were coming here to the region. The commission sent new names to the region, and from there to the Supreme Council. And there they already issued a decree on renaming.”

German population

The war unwittingly helped displace much of the German population from East Prussia. If in 1939 just over a million people lived in the part that was annexed to the USSR after the war, then by mid-1946 there were only 170 thousand. At the same time, the city of Königsberg accounted for 61 thousand. In the year since September 1945, the German population decreased by 30%; it accounted for 2/3 of the total number of residents of the region. The shortage of labor provoked a struggle for the Germans among military and civilian institutions. For a short time, competition arose between them - workers were bought up and hired to work without civil department orders. Hiring rules were violated by the military command. It was necessary to introduce measures: obligations of the military to transfer unregistered German workers and fines for civilian institutions (100 marks per working day) and the Germans themselves (100 marks for unauthorized departure).

The repatriation (or deportation, opinions differ) of the German population began only in 1947. Previously, permission to leave was received by representatives of the anti-fascist movement and those with relatives in the Soviet zone of occupation. About 4 thousand people left under these pretexts. Mass repatriation began in the fall, for good reason.

May Day demonstration. 1947 Photo: State Archives of the Kaliningrad Region

According to data for May 1947, among the German population of 110 thousand people, 36.6 thousand worked. The rest had plight, since they did not receive food (social support from the new government concerned the disabled and children from orphanages). Soviet citizens often had to feed starving Germans. Lack of food sometimes forced people to feed on the bodies of fallen animals. According to one eyewitness, one day “a German found a dead stork, sat and plucked it, dead.” Crime grew: robberies, food theft, arson, livestock poisoning. Sometimes the Germans set fire to their own houses, not wanting to give them up to the needs of the new government and settlers. Although, in general, according to eyewitnesses, there was little resistance and aggression from them, rumors about German avengers circulated. There were attacks on settlers, but they were not systematic. Let us note that trains with new settlers were attacked, but not by the Germans, but by the Lithuanians.

In addition, as noted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which became the main initiator of the speedy repatriation, the Germans had Negative influence on Soviet citizens and military personnel, contributed to “the emergence of unwanted connections.” This could be due to a discrepancy between the new residents’ ideas about the Germans and the discovered reality. It was difficult for the settlers to communicate with the Germans - the language barrier was a hindrance. Violence against the Germans was punished and manifested itself mainly after the end of hostilities, as in other occupied territories. East Prussia was considered a region with a long military tradition ("Prussian military"), which in recent competitive German elections gave the NSDAP the majority of votes. Several dozen Germans were convicted under the article about anti-Soviet agitation. The Germans prevented the necessary cultural changes. Unlike the Japanese on Sakhalin, who even participated in festive rallies after the war, the Germans had no time for political life.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was responsible for organizing the mass move. Since January 1945, the territory was controlled by military commandant's offices. Civil administrations were created in October 1945. Party bodies appeared in 1947. In the fall of 1947, 30.3 thousand people officially left the region for the occupation zone. Next year - another 63 thousand. Composition of the deportees: 50% women, 17% men and 33% children. No more than a thousand Germans survived in the Kaliningrad region until the 1950s. Basically they were irreplaceable specialists. A small part of the “Germans” were able to register as Lithuanians.

The migrants were allowed to take with them up to 300 kilograms of property per family that met customs requirements. But these rules were not always observed in practice. Transportation was carried out by rail and sea, taking into account weather conditions. According to reports from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, during the entire period of mass deportation, 48 people died on the road. At the place of arrival, rations for 15 days were issued according to workers' standards. The rules of deportation were strict - Germans from mixed unofficial marriages could not remain in the USSR. In this regard, the settlers recalled stories with opposite endings. In one case, an officer bought his beloved a certificate of Lithuanian nationality and knocked on the doorsteps of his superiors - five days later an order came from Moscow to issue her a Soviet passport. In another, the lieutenant committed suicide after the deportation of his partner (marriages with German women were not registered) with their three children.

I. Kim (“Development of territories annexed to the USSR after the Second World War”)

New residents

Soviet settlers came to the new territory in several ways. Some were repatriates - Soviet citizens who worked at German enterprises during the war and ended up in Königsberg distribution camps. The other part is demobilized or active military personnel. It was possible to come from the territory of the Soviet Union voluntarily or, in fact, forcibly (by party ticket, by distribution).

Arrival of a train with displaced people. 1947 Photo: State Archives of the Kaliningrad Region

Volunteers were lured with benefits. They were similar to those that would later be provided to settlers to another territory annexed to the USSR - South Sakhalin. At first, they didn’t take everyone: because of the border region, it was necessary to select the most reliable: the best in production, those who had been demobilized. The first official civilian migrants from " big land"There were fishermen. They were given not only housing with a plot of land (with payment in installments and the obligation to work for 10 years), but also clothing. It was allowed to bring up to 50 kg of luggage per family member. Livestock could be transported in trains. The allowance was given: 2 thousand rubles per employee and 250 rubles for other family members (the average salary in the country in those years was 442 rubles, in the agricultural sector - half that). There were also those who independently tried to settle in the region, but they were not entitled to benefits. Mass resettlement began in the second half of 1946. The migrants were paid a one-time allowance, the amount of which depended on their salary. Depending on the employee’s specialty and other conditions, the size of the loan for housing (with a land plot of up to 0.6 hectares) for settlers ranged from 10 to 20 thousand rubles (military personnel paid only half). But the same as for fishermen who arrived in 1945, subject to work for 10 years. Not everyone complied with it. In the first five years after the annexation of the region, the share of “departed” residents was 35%. In 1950, for every person leaving, two were arriving.

Source: Yu. Kostyashov ("Brotherhood in the process of settling the Kaliningrad region in the post-war years"). Absolute figures taking into account intra-regional movement

Since cities and villages were seriously damaged, visitors often lacked housing. They were crowded into houses with Germans, whom they tried to evict as quickly as possible. Entire buildings were enough only for the first settlers. Those who arrived a year or two after the end of the war had less chance of getting comfortable housing by the standards of that time. At first, cities and villages experienced serious problems with electricity and water. During the retreat, the German army tried to disable strategic objects. It was difficult to heat buildings (especially in the cold winter of 1946/47); everything that could burn was used. There was a case where a street toilet built by the Germans was dismantled into planks. Unofficial trade flourished (note that nationalization ended in the summer of 1946). The poor Germans were ready to sell their property or exchange it for food.

One of the motivations for moving to a new area was rumors about rich life Germans, often brought by war participants returning from Europe.

There was a lot of destruction in the cities. Königsberg was subjected to massive bombing several times during the war. But they could not hide the fact that the standard of living in these territories was higher than the Soviet one, and the cities were well-kept. For example, washing machines could be found in rich houses. Adding to the impressions was the neatness of the Germans, who cared about cleanliness even amid the destruction around them. “Even from the remains of the buildings, one could see how beautiful the city was before the war,” recalled resettled Anna Kopylova. - The streets are paved with cobblestones, green with trees. And, despite the ruins, I was overcome with a feeling of awe. It was clear that people who valued nature, beauty and their comfort used to live here.”

Opening of the first post-war cinema "Pobeda". 1946 Photo: State Archive of the Kaliningrad Region

The Germans had a different attitude towards everyday life: more practicality and order. In the abandoned houses one could find expensive furniture (much of it had to be used for firewood), in the courtyards - well maintained land. This was especially noticeable in rural areas, where abandoned farms were occupied by arriving collective farmers. They say that before the war, Kaliningrad land was more fertile due to differences in soil cultivation technologies and inept management of the land reclamation system. Restored Agriculture collective farmers were ineffective: reports noted a lack of tools, irrational use of buildings and low interest in work.

At the castle. Circa 1949 Photo: State Archive of the Kaliningrad Region

The settlers were impressed by the quality of the roads, which was very different from what it was, for example, in the outbacks of central Russia. Some visitors were curious about the asphalt and the order of planting trees along the roads for the first time in their lives. “On the streets of Königsberg and near the houses there were many bicycles of the most different models and views,” recalled assistant district military commandant Pyotr Chagin about entering the city in April 1945. “True, in the first days there were unpleasant surprises when bicycles piled up turned out to be mined. There were special bicycle paths on some streets.” Many Western concepts, such as bicycle paths, were new to people. One of the managers who restored the green economy of Kaliningrad, Alexey Talyzin, recalled his surprise at the sight of a German landfill where the garbage was sorted, most of it was taken for recycling, and the less was thrown into a swamp designated for this purpose.

Ruins of the Royal Castle, 1949 Photo: still from the film “Meeting on the Elbe”

Until 1947, there was no large-scale plan for the development of the Kaliningrad region. System errors occurred that disrupted the pace of recovery. The military authorities did not want to transfer the infrastructure to civilians, maintaining and expanding production was not always the goal - often resources were taken out as if from the occupied territory.

At the end of May 1947, recently arrived from Moscow, acting. The first head of the regional organization of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Pyotr Andreevich Ivanov, in a secret letter to Stalin, complained about the appalling situation in the regional economy. The leader listened to the report and sent a commission to Kaliningrad approving Ivanov for the position of first leader. But he did not live to see the commission arrive. According to his wife Maria, Ivanov spoke on the phone one evening, saying: “Yes, Comrade Stalin. It will be done, Comrade Stalin...”, lay down in the bath and shot himself. A plan to develop the region and restore industry for the next three to four years was then adopted without him.

Film about Kaliningrad, 1949. Director G. Levkoev

Peter Ivanov, AND ABOUT. HEAD OF THE AUCP(B) OF THE KALININGRAD REGION. FROM A LETTER TO STALIN, MAY 28, 1947:

The accounting and security of the trophy property premises were not truly organized. Valuables were taken away, housing stock and premises were destroyed... Representatives of various ministries and departments who were in the region considered East Prussia as an occupied territory, dismantled equipment, removed materials from enterprises... The Germans, numbering 25 percent of the population, represent more than 100 thousand people of extremely embittered people , ready to do anything to undermine, weaken security, and delay the economic development and development of the region.

The question of what to do with the ruins of buildings and cultural sites took a long time to resolve. There were proposals to break everything so that there would be no traces of the Germans’ past stay. This is partly what happened, but not for ideological reasons, but for economic ones. Huge volumes of bricks were obtained by dismantling houses and rubble. It was proposed to create a republican trust for the dismantling of buildings in the Kaliningrad region, but the idea did not find support.

P.V. Timokhin,CHIEF ARCHITECT OF KALININGRAD:

Here on the spot the issue is not given the respect it deserves. Please give instructions to create a republican center for dismantling buildings in Kaliningrad, which could centrally supply building materials, obtained from dismantling... any construction site in the country in Kaliningrad alone can receive about two billion pieces of brick from dismantling destroyed buildings, thanks to which it is possible to save the main capital investment for the construction of 20-25 brick factories.

(Note addressed to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, Malenkov, 1952)

The destroyed houses and areas were dismantled by prisoners, Germans and Soviet workers. “Sundays” (“subbotniks” on Sundays) were held. This was often a dangerous business: there was a real chance of getting hit by a falling beam or brick from above. Large-scale reconstruction of the city began in the 1950s. The general plan intended to make Kaliningrad more of a typical regional center, preserving the radial-ring structure of the city. Whenever possible, we tried to complete the houses by adding floors. Other cities were more fortunate in preserving German architecture. You can see what old German buildings looked like not only in photographs. In 1949, Alexandrov’s film “Meeting on the Elbe” was released, which was filmed in Kaliningrad and other areas of the region.

“Meeting on the Elbe”, 1949:

At first they tried to blow up the remains of the Royal Castle, which stood in the center of the city, and partially dismantled it into bricks. There was a rumor that the final point on the castle issue was put by Prime Minister Alexei Kosygin, who visited the city - so that there would be no museum of “Prussian militarism.” The castle was blown up in 1967. Now in its place stands the unfinished House of Soviets. Much earlier, monuments to Germans were removed or destroyed. statesmen(Emperors Wilhelm I, Chancellor Bismarck), soldiers of the First World War and, for example, the composer Schubert. After the war, a displaced slab and inscriptions were discovered at Kant’s grave. One of them read: “Now do you understand that the world is material?” In April 1947, the party city committee ordered the grave to be put in order within a week. Churches were very rarely restored; rather, on the contrary, they were destroyed. But the large Cathedral, which burned out during the war, has been preserved and stands in the city center to this day, but without the original interior decoration.

In Königsberg, many art objects taken by the Germans from the territory of the Soviet Union were found. The first information about the possible location of the famous amber room appeared in 1945. Then local art historian Alfred Rohde pointed out that the room burned down in the Royal Castle. After 20 years, a special government commission will be created, the investigation of which will not lead to the discovery of a work of art. Industry and, most importantly, ice-free ports, which were the original purpose of the annexation, were brought into working order within a few years. Many enterprises had to be built, essentially, from scratch. In decades, the Kaliningrad region will become the leader of the fishing industry and the stronghold of the Baltic Fleet.

Film about Kaliningrad (1949, directed by G. Levkoev):

The Kaliningrad region still remains a special economic zone. More recently, programs for the resettlement of Russians have been active. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region became an enclave, but retained its geopolitical significance. Residents and authorities of Kaliningrad love to look into the German past. But the city did not become a new “window to Europe”.

Alexander Uspensky

City, time, power

Three cities of Königsberg

It is known that in the winter of 1255 a detachment of crusaders invaded the northern part of Prussia and the Samland Peninsula. The most senior “in rank” in the detachment was the Czech king Otakar II Přemysl. The knights captured and destroyed the Prussian fortress of Twangste, and in its place they erected a new fortification. The fortress was named Koenigsberg, which means: Royal Mountain. Gradually, settlements arose near the fortress, which became cities.

The settlement between the fortress and the Pregel River was named Altstadt. On February 28, 1286, according to the charter of the Prussian landmaster Konrad von Thierenberg, Altstadt began to officially be called a city.

On May 27, 1300, the Königsberg commander Bruhaven granted city rights to the second settlement. At first it was called Neustadt, but then another name took root - Löbenicht. This city is located east of the fortress.

In April 1327, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Werner von Orseln, announced the granting of city rights to Kneiphof, which was located on an island formed by branches of the Pregel River.

Over time, nearby craft settlements, villages and settlements began to merge into the Königsberg cities. Thus, a kind of urbanized conglomerate was formed at the mouth of the Pregel. It was dominated by a fortress-castle on the mountain, which, in fact, was called Koenigsberg. Adjoining it was a small territory to the north and northwest, which was the property of the Teutonic Order.

Near the castle, as already mentioned, three medieval cities nestled: Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof. They had a fairly wide range of privileges included in the concept of Kulm (Helm) law. A system of sovereign city rights developed in Germany back in the 13th century under the name “Magdeburg Law”. Its Prussian version focused on the highest courts of appeal in the city of Kulm (Helm), and then in the city of Thorn (Toruń). City rights, guaranteeing relative independence from feudal authorities, remained in gradually decreasing importance until the 19th century.

It should be noted here that, in addition to Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof, medieval village-communities located outside the boundaries of the Königsberg cities also had fairly broad powers. Some of them had their own office work, seal and coat of arms. These included the Königsberg suburbs: Burgfreiheit, Tragheim, Hinter-Rossgarten, Vorder-Rossgarten, Neue-Sorge; related to Altstadt: Steindamm, Neu-Rossgarten, Laak, Lastadi, Lomse; related to Löbenicht: Anger, Sackheim; related to Kneiphof: Vorder-Forstadt, Hinter-Forstadt, Haberberg, Alter-Garten. Expanding, the fortress and cities absorbed new territories.

How did administrative services work in the Königsberg cities? The entire urban population, as a rule, was divided into several classes. The group of large burghers consisted of merchants and brewers. The category of small burghers included artisans and shopkeepers. Separate layers made up other groups of the population. At first, the right to vote belonged only to the city elite; over time, the majority of citizens received the right to vote.

In each city, a city council of just over ten people was elected. The City Council, in turn, elected the burgomaster and vice-burgomaster, and appointed officials responsible for areas of work. It must be said that at first the members of the Council did not receive wages, working, as we would say, on a voluntary basis. It follows from this that city officials were quite wealthy people, they served not for gold, but for conscience, however, then selfless service for the benefit of the citizens became obsolete. IN early XVIII century, the burgomaster of Altstadt, for example, received 300 thalers a year. Let’s compare: Immanuel Kant, working around the same years as an assistant librarian, received 62 thalers per year, the highest government salary that I. Kant received as a professor did not exceed 620 thalers per year, and the philosopher’s house after his death was sold for 130 thalers .

Of course, there was no division into districts in the medieval Königsberg cities. There were communities of citizens, usually coinciding in territory with church communities. At the head of the civil communities were elected elders. The opinion of the elders often played a decisive role when discussing tax policy issues at the City Council. Representatives of the three city halls and all urban and suburban communities gathered together to consider matters concerning the life of the three cities of Königsberg.

Lack of space does not allow me to describe in detail the administrative structure of each city and community, especially since the system of interactions and relationships between authorities at all levels was quite complex. Democratic freedoms were combined with the dictates of a centralized system. Therefore, I will not delve into the jungle, especially since all this relates to matters of long ago. For interest, I will only note that in 1700 in the City Council of Altstadt, among other elected positions, there was one lifelong position of a clerk, who, although not a member of the Council, nevertheless worked in its composition.

Unification of cities

On June 13, 1724, the Prussian king Frederick William I signed a decree to unite three cities and suburban communities into a single city of Königsberg. At the turn of the 19th and 20th years, a certain management system developed in Koenigsberg.

The city municipality had about one hundred elected deputies elected from three classes for a period of six years. The election procedure was organized in such a way that every two years a third of the members were re-elected. Members of the municipality elected the city council of 21 people. The Chairman of the Council was called the Oberburgomaster, his deputy - the Burgomaster. Councilors in charge of city services were appointed.

There was no regional division, as already mentioned, in our understanding of the word in Konigsberg. In terms of police, Koenigsberg was divided into 12 districts. At some sites there were additional posts and departments. In parallel with the police, seven criminal commissariats and two criminal authorities functioned in the city.

The church divided the territory of the city in its own way. The most significant in terms of influence, the Evangelical Church had more than 30 parishes, the Catholic Church - 6 parishes, the New Apostolic Church - 5 associations, and so on. There was a small Orthodox community in Königsberg. Certain parts of Koenigsberg bore traditional historical names, making it easier to navigate the city.

After all opening remarks You can go directly to the Koenigsberg mayors. It should only be borne in mind that the position of mayor was officially introduced in 1809; before that, the head of the city was called burgomaster. I will tell my story about the mayors from 1724, since I have not studied the personal composition of the burgomasters of the cities of Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to remind you that in 1994 it will be 270 years since the formation of the united city of Königsberg.

Koenigsberg mayors

1. In 1724, Doctor of Law, Mayor of Altstadt 3. Hesse became the first mayor of the newly formed city of Königsberg. 3. Hesse remained in this position for six years until his death in 1730.

It must be assumed that a lot of all sorts of worries related to the establishment of a unified city mechanism fell on his shoulders. The population of Koenigsberg was more than 40,000 people, which was quite large at that time. The consequences of the terrible plague of 1709-1710, when about 18,000 people died from the epidemic, were not completely eliminated in the city.

A few months before the unification, in April 1724, Immanuel Kant was born in the Kneiphof suburb of Forstadt. It is a pity that the burgomaster Z. Hesse was not destined to learn about the great fate of the brilliant peer of the glorious city of Konigsberg.

2. Royal Commissioner I. Fokkeradt replaced the deceased 3. Hesse. He served in office for two years. The residents of Koenigsberg should have been very grateful to him for the fact that during his time oil lamps were installed in the city. After all, before this, late walks around the city at night turned into a complete nightmare. Wealthy people hired torchbearers. And when the use of flammable torches was banned in 1704, they walked around with small lanterns or no lights at all.

3. In 1732, the post of mayor went to J. Grube. During his seven years in office, he had to deal with the troubles associated with the arrival of settlers from distant Salzburg in Konigsberg. Lutheran refugees, unable to bear the oppression from the Catholic environment, were forced to leave their homes and go to the shores of the cold, as it seemed to them, Baltic. Salzburgers played a positive role in the industrial development of Königsberg, as among them there were many business people, skilled artisans and skilled craftsmen.

4. Ernst von Müllenheim did not remain in office for long, only a few months at the turn of 1739 and 1740. He had a very harsh winter. Even the usually ice-free Baltic Sea became covered with ice, and snow fell on May 7. The residents' fuel supplies were quickly dwindling, they were freezing and needed help.

5. In 1740, I. Schroeder was chosen as the head of Koenigsberg, who ruled the city for five years. The beginning of his activities in an honorary post coincided with the beginning of the reign of King Frederick the Great. The Prussian king didn’t really like Koenigsberg. The stingy monarch held the traditional coronation in Königsberg very modestly, although he donated a thousand thalers for the poor. After the coronation, the king ordered the creation of a large park in the city north of the castle on the site of the old royal garden.

6. The next mayor in 1746 was I. Kiesewetter (until 1751). On the one hand, this burgomaster promoted the development of the printed word: under him, the large newspaper and printing business of Hartung was founded in Königsberg. But on the other hand, there was no proper supervision of city bridges. As a result of negligence, the rotten pillars of the Green Bridge collapsed, and it collapsed into the river along with four random passers-by. But this loss did not significantly affect the size of the urban population - it reached 50,000 people.

7. In 1752, Daniel Ginderzin took over as mayor. He served in office for 28 years, breaking the record for the duration of all mayors of Konigsberg and Kaliningrad. But these years were not the calmest in the life of the city.

In 1758-1762, Königsberg, during the unsuccessful Seven Years' War for Prussia, became part of the Russian Empire. German self-government bodies needed to establish contacts with the Russian administration. Although the city privileges of Königsberg remained intact, the Prussian eagles on the coats of arms installed on the facades of some buildings were replaced by the double-headed Russian eagle. Only on the tower of the Orphanage in Sackheim is the Prussian eagle preserved.

On January 24, 1756 - the birthday of the Prussian king Frederick the Great - a ceremony was held in Königsberg to take the oath of allegiance to the Russian Empress Elizabeth. King Frederick did not like this turn of events; he was terribly offended by Konigsberg and never came to East Prussia again.

The Russian governor of Corf, who replaced the governor of Fermor, treated the city favorably and even completed the eastern wing of the Royal Castle. In July 1762, power in the city again passed completely to the German administration and Russian troops began to leave Koenigsberg. The Russian commandants of Koenigsberg during this period were General Rezanov and Brigadier Treiden.

But it was not only the concerns of relations with the Russians that worried the burgomaster. Severe fires in 1756, 1764, 1769, 1775 led to great disasters. The cold winter of 1761 created certain problems. The unfavorable economic situation has led to some decline industrial production Koenigsberg. But in contrast to this, there has been a revival of cultural life in the city.

8. In 1780, Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel was appointed burgomaster of Königsberg. He was born in 1744 in Gerdauen (now the village of Zheleznodorozhny) and made a career as a successful official. His hobby is literature, where he has achieved notable success. A close acquaintance with I. Kant does T. Hippel a great honor. His wonderful collection of paintings later became the property of Königsberg.

Theodor Hippel served as mayor until his death in 1796. His name was given to one of the city streets. Now this street is called Omskaya.

After a series of large fires under the previous mayor, the city gradually restored normal life. Already in 1781, there were 224 breweries in Königsberg with excellently tasty beer. Trouble approached from the other side: overcrowding of the population and insufficient sanitation led to a cholera epidemic in 1794. With the onset of winter, cholera subsided, but very severe cold came again.

The next coronation in Königsberg took place on September 17-23, 1786. The new king Frederick William II, paying great attention to East Prussia, did not bypass Königsberg. True, the city did not receive any special generosity from him. But Koenigsberg very wisely and skillfully began to use the important benefit granted to it by the previous king Frederick II. This is the right of “marriage”, that is, the ability to determine the quality of goods passing through the city, which brought great benefits, given the presence of port facilities and transit transportation of goods in Konigsberg.

9. Bernhard Gervais, who replaced T. Hippel, remained burgomaster until 1808. It is possible that the French sound of his surname had some positive impact on the state of the city during the period of confrontation with the French Emperor Napoleon. After all, it is known that in 1807, after a short battle, French troops entered Konigsberg. Emperor Napoleon himself honored the city with his visit.

Natural disasters were added to the military misfortunes. In the autumn of 1801, severe hurricanes led to flooding that inundated Kneiphof. In 1803 there was a big fire, and in December 1806 a terrible hurricane hit the city again. In 1807, war travelers - epidemics of typhus and dysentery - took the lives of 10,000 people from the city. But still, despite the misfortunes, the population grew steadily and by 1800 it amounted to about 55,000 people.

Royalty often visited Königsberg, although, admittedly, many visits were forced. The coronation of Frederick William III took place at the Royal Castle from 3 to 9 June 1798. And then, from December 1806 to January 1807, the royal couple, forced to leave Berlin, lived in Königsberg. The military situation in the fight against France was clearly not in favor of Prussia. Therefore, Queen Louise, from January 1808 to December 15, 1809, was forced to live most of the time in Königsberg, and here on October 4, 1809, her son Albrecht was born.

10. Martin Deetz, who took office in March 1808, became officially known as Mayor in 1809. But it is not the place that makes the man, but the man the place. M. Deetz saw that, even with a new title, he could not cope with the avalanche of complex cases, and had the courage to resign the following year.

11. August Heidemann took up the management of the city with great energy during the difficult time of the actual French occupation of Königsberg. In the summer of 1812, Napoleon again arrived in Konigsberg and from here he set off on his inglorious Russian campaign.

The defeat of Napoleon in Russia caused a panicky retreat of the French through Konigsberg and brought a lot of trouble to the city. In this difficult situation, A. Heidemann showed patriotism and statesmanship, trying to preserve the city. Fortunately, in January 1813, Russian troops, pursuing the French, entered Konigsberg. Units of the Prussian liberation army also entered Konigsberg.

Military expenses placed a heavy burden on the residents of Königsberg. To pay indemnity to the French conquerors, they transferred 1,784,450 thalers to the city treasury. The Prussian government then paid this huge debt to its people to the citizens of Königsberg until 1901!

Nevertheless public life in Königsberg did not freeze. In 1809, the construction of the city opera house was completed on the territory of the Royal Garden. In 1810, astronomer F. Bessel came to Konigsberg and headed the observatory, built by 1813. In 1811, the University Botanical Garden was created. But the severe fire of 1811 destroyed 144 houses and went down in the history of the city as one of the largest disasters.

In 1811, the streets of Königsberg received official names, and all houses were numbered according to a single system.

August Heidemann died on December 15, 1813. A small street in Sackheim, now Cherepichnaya Street, is named after him.

An interesting message appeared in the press that for a short period from the beginning of 1813, the Russian mayor of Koenigsberg, Major Pyotr Semenovich Stepanov, was appointed. But confirming. no documents have been found yet. But it is absolutely known that the Russian Lieutenant General Karl Karlovich Sivers was appointed commandant of the Königsberg fortress at that time. However, the Russians’ stay in Koenigsberg was short-lived this time.

12. Karl Horn became mayor of Königsberg on March 23, 1814, at the age of 35. He had work experience: for three years he held the position of burgomaster, the second most important. His patriotic sentiments during the period of the French invasion were widely known and earned respect. Karl Horn served as mayor until 1826 and died five years later. His name was given to the street, which is now called Sergeant Koloskov Street.

Mayor Horn paid a lot of attention to the organization of city government and streamlining the work of city services. And of course, it was not his fault that in January 1825 the city experienced severe flooding caused by a hurricane westerly wind.

13. Under this number in June 1826 as mayor. Johann List became the ruler of Königsberg and ruled the city until 1838. Natural disasters did not leave Koenigsberg. A flood in April 1829 inundated the western part of Kneiphof, and a cholera epidemic in 1831 killed 1,327 people. A cholera riot broke out in the city, resulting in the death of more than 30 people. In July 1832 there was a frost that destroyed part of the crop, but in the summer of 1838 it was so hot that the plants bloomed twice.

Koenigsberg gradually changed its medieval appearance. The first attempts are being made to replace old city wells with water supply. The first steamship sailed along the Pregel River.

14. Rudolf von Auerswald served as mayor of Königsberg for four years (1838-1842). The city continued to grow, incorporating suburbs outside the fortress walls. Its population reached 70,000 people.

But fires continued to plague residents. In 1839 there was a severe fire in Altstadt, which caused great losses.

The coronation of Friedrich Wilhelm IV in Königsberg took place on September 10, 1840 in the usual manner.

15. In March 1843, the Königsberg City Council was headed by August Kra. His concerns for the good of the city extended to the founding of the Urban Resources society, where donations from private individuals were concentrated. He tried to attract citizens to participate in financial support of the city. Unfortunately, A. Kra died of cholera on October 9, 1848, without having time to complete all his plans.

Under him, a new building for the university was laid on Parade-Platz. But the fires continued to rage: in 1845, 14 warehouses burned down. During the reign of A. Kra, construction began on a modernized ring of fortifications around the city with new gates.

16. The work begun by August Kra was continued by Karl Sperling. At first he served as the mayor of the city, and was officially elected on February 7, 1853. He held office until 1864. The city quickly began to join the benefits of civilization. In 1853, the first bright gas lamps were installed, replacing the dim and smoky oil lamps. In August of the same year, under the glare of gas lamps, the first train to Berlin departed from the brand new East Station. Telegraph machines were installed to communicate with the stations.

The winter of 1849 turned out to be cold; on January 11 the temperature dropped to minus 35 degrees. In 1857, cholera again visited Königsberg. To more successfully fight fires, a professional fire brigade was created in the city in 1858.

In 1855, the city authorities intended to magnificently celebrate the 600th anniversary of the founding of the Königsberg fortress. But due to a bad harvest and the king’s illness, he had to limit himself to church liturgy and a festive dinner for a limited circle of invited guests.

The new Prussian constitution did not allow the next Prussian king, William I, to be officially crowned in Königsberg. However, paying tribute to tradition, the royal couple visited the city in October 1861 and held a ceremony at the Royal Castle. Later in 1864, construction began on a new castle tower with a height of 97.87 meters above sea level, which was finally built in 1866.

17. After the death of Karl Sperling, which followed on July 8, 1864, the duties of the head of the city were performed by burgomaster Bigork (until August 8, 1865). Due to the short duration of his tenure, it is difficult to assess the results of his activities. I will only note that in 1865 the railway connection between Koenigsberg and Pillau (Baltiysk) opened.

18. The duties of the mayor were then entrusted to the Landrat Commissioner Ernst von Ernsthausen, who remained in office until June 30, 1866.

19. And this short-term leapfrog of the authorities was completed by E. Retzenstein, who served as mayor until April 1, 1867. During his reign, cholera made itself known again: in 1866, 2,671 people died from it. By this time, the construction of new city gates in Königsberg had been completed.

20. The next mayor was Landrat Commissioner F. Kischke (from 1867 to 1872). The population of Koenigsberg by this time had reached 110,000 people. But the epidemics did not stop: in 1871, 771 people became infected with smallpox, and 1,790 people died from cholera.

In 1869, King Wilhelm honored with a visit to Königsberg. During the high visit, a great misfortune occurred: the railings of the bridge on Castle Pond collapsed, killing 33 people. And that same year there was a significant flood.

Meanwhile, in 1871, the state of Prussia ceased to exist, and Koenigsberg became part of Germany, retaining its significance as the capital of the Prussian province. King Wilhelm received the title of Emperor of Germany.

21. After the voluntary resignation of Friedrich Kischke in February 1872, Karl Szepanski acted as mayor. He was officially elected to the post on November 5, 1872. He headed the City Council for two years and did a lot of good things. Only cholera did not want to retreat and in 1873 it visited Koenigsberg again. And the next year, the first line of water supply networks came into operation, which contributed to a significant improvement in the sanitary situation in the city.

22. After the voluntary resignation of K. Shepanski, from October 1, 1874 to April 6, 1875, the City Council was headed by Brown.

23. In 1875, I. Selke, who had previously been the mayor of Elbląg, was confirmed as the head of Königsberg. He was born in 1836 and served in the war with France in 1870/71. Having become the mayor of Königsberg, Johann Selke actively contributed to the development of the city. During his presence there were held great work for sewerage and gasification.

In 1875, the construction of the trading exchange was completed, and in 1881, horse-drawn carriages opened in Königsberg - transporting passengers on rails in carriages driven by horses. This was the first sign of the beginning of democratic public transport.

Railway construction continued: in 1885, Koenigsberg was connected by a line with Kranz (Zelenogradsk), in 1891 - with Tilsit (Sovetsk). Built in 1892 playground Walter-Simonplatz (now the Baltika stadium) and the first 544 telephone sets were delivered. In 1890, the city's first industrial power plant was built.

The population of Königsberg grew rapidly. If in 1880 there were 140,000 residents in the city, then in 1890 there were 160,000 people.

I. Selke died on June 29, 1893, and a street was named after him in the city, now Maly Lane.

24. Hermann Theodor Hoffmann was born in 1836 into the family of a Königsberg merchant. From the beginning of the seventies he worked as treasurer in the municipality, after 10 years he became burgomaster, and in 1893 - chief burgomaster. He died in 1902 and a small street in Koenigsberg was named after him; now it is part of Epronovskaya and Krasnooktyabrskaya streets.

The activities of this mayor were quite intense, as a simple listing of events can tell: 1895 - a pulp factory was founded in the Liep region and a meat processing plant in the Rosenau region. In the same year, an electric tram route was put into operation. Königsberg became the first city in Germany where the tram was city property. 1896 - opening of the zoo. 1897 - a construction school was opened on Schönstrasse. 1898 - a large student house was built - “Palaestra Albertina”. 1900 - construction of the small building was completed railway Koenigsberg - Neuhausen (Gurieven) - Curonian Lagoon. In the same year, trains began operating on the lines Koenigsberg - Neukuren (Pionersky) - Rauschen (Svetlogorsk). 1902 - a new gas plant is built in Kosei and construction of a modern harbor begins. We still use much of what was built then.

True, the elements did not give up. On February 12, 1894, a strong storm was accompanied by a large surge of water. Then there was a small outbreak of cholera, but it seems that this disease visited Konigsberg for the last time. The heavy snowfall of 1899/1900 put a lot of work into the city's cleanup service.

The population of Königsberg at the beginning of 1900 was 190,000 people, the area of ​​the city was 2,000 hectares.

Koenigsberg becomes a major shopping center. More than 2,100 thousand tons of cargo pass through it annually. The revenue side of the city budget is expressed in the amount of 5,900 thousand marks per year.

25. Hermann Hoffmann died on June 30; from September 5, his deputy Paul Kunkel (1848-1925) began to perform the duties of mayor. When Z.Kerte was elected mayor on February 3, 1903, Paul Kunkel remained his deputy until 1913 and provided great assistance in the improvement of Königsberg. Quite deservedly, in 1933 a street was named after him - Kunkelstrasse, now it is a section of Karl Marx Street from Cosmonaut Leonov Street to Georgiy Dimitrov Street.

26. The fate of Lord Mayor Siegfried Körte was tragic. He was born in 1861 in Berlin in the family of a doctor, studied finance and law, then moved to Königsberg. In 1903 he was elected head of the city.

The beginning of his management was successful. Although strong westerly winds brought floods to the city seven times in 1905, they did not cause significant harm. The snowy winter in 1908 forced the municipality to mobilize all forces to remove snow. A severe winter occurred in 1911/1912, followed by a very hot summer. In 1913, as a result of a storm, the water in Pregel rose to 163 centimeters higher than usual.

Koenigsberg continued to modernize. In 1905, the Kaiser-Brücke Bridge was built across the Pregel arm, connecting the island of Lomse with the densely populated area south of the island of Kneiphof. The following year the bridge on Castle Pond was reconstructed. In 1907, a powerful power plant was put into operation in the Kosee area, which gave a new impetus to the development of the industrial potential of Koenigsberg. Since 1910, the annexation of new suburbs to the city began, which continued until 1939. Therefore, the population of Koenigsberg immediately increased sharply and amounted to about 250,000 people.

The war that began in 1914 disrupted the peaceful course of events. The front approached Koenigsberg. Russian troops approached Tapiau (Gvardeysk). Although they were soon forced to retreat, the battles raged very close to the city.

Then came the days of revolutions. On November 10, 1918, Mayor 3. Körte held the last meeting of the magistrate. After this, power in the city passed into the hands of the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

Removal from work, the ensuing serious operation, and the death of his beloved daughter undermined the strength of 3. Körte. He died on March 4, 1919, the day after the cessation of Soviet power in Konigsberg. In the city, one of the beautiful streets in the Amalinau area, which is now called Kutuzov Street, was named after him.

We owe the abundant green spaces that have remained in our city to this day to Lord Mayor Körtha. It was under him that the urban gardening industry was founded, green areas were created and the landscaping of the fortress ramparts was carried out.

27. Between November 10, 1918 and January 1919, the leadership of the city council was taken over by Albert Borowski (1876-1945), manager of the Königsberg branch of the Social Democratic Party. Albert Borowski was one of the organizers of consumer cooperation in the city and surrounding area, and worked as a city councilor for a long time. In 1934 he retired and lived in Rudau (Melnikov) and, apparently, died during hostilities.

The difficult situation that developed in Koenigsberg during the revolutionary events required the city authorities to exert maximum effort to prevent anarchy. To their credit, it should be noted that relative order and tranquility were ensured in the city; there were no robberies or violence.

28. For some time, from January to October 27, 1919, the post of mayor of Königsberg was filled by Erdmann, the city treasurer. At this time, government troops of General Winning entered the city, and Soviet authority in Koenigsberg was liquidated.

29. In the same 1919, G. Lohmeiter, born in 1881, became the mayor of Königsberg from July 23. This was the last mayor elected democratically in Königsberg. He did everything in his power to not only preserve the appearance and well-being of the city, but also bring it to a higher level of development in the conditions of the severe post-war crisis. Intensive urban construction, which began at the end of the 19th century, continued in Königsberg. The Koenigsberg-Moscow airline opens, the city radio station begins operating, and the East Prussian Fair begins to be held regularly. In 1927, the city magistrate moved to a new building on Hansaplatz (now Victory Square).

The area of ​​Königsberg in 1927 was 8,474 hectares, the population was about 280,000 people. The revenue side of the city budget in 1925 amounted to 31,560 thousand Reichsmarks.

With the Nazis coming to power, G. Lomeiter was removed from office in 1933. He survived Hitler's regime, the destruction of Königsberg during World War II, and died in Berlin in 1968.

30. Helmut Bill was nominated to the post of Mayor of Königsberg by the Nazi Party in 1933 and remained in office until April 9, 1945, that is, until the city’s surrender to the Red Army. After the surrender, G. Ville was taken into Russian captivity, where he remained for about ten years.

At first, life in the city continued to develop in peacetime conditions. The population of Königsberg in 1939, according to various estimates, ranged from 340,000 to 370,000 people; the latter figure is apparently more accurate. In 1941, the city had a population of about 380,000 people; the area of ​​Königsberg was 193 square kilometers.

In 1939, World War II began. The following January there was a very harsh winter. In June 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union.

Koenigsberg suffered from air raids. At the end of August 1944, two massive air raids on the city turned its central part into ruins. The furious assault on Königsberg in April 1945 added to the destruction. The civilian population experienced enormous upheaval and hardship.

The surrender of the Königsberg garrison opened another page in the history of the city.

Military Administration

After the capture of Koenigsberg by the Red Army in April 1945, the city was smoking with fires and gaping with destruction. All power in Konigsberg was transferred to the military commandant. On April 10, Major General M.V. Smirnov was appointed commandant of the city and fortress of Koenigsberg. In June 1945, he was replaced by Guards Major General M.A. Pronin.

On May 10, 1945, a Provisional City Administration for Civil Affairs was created under the military commandant. It had seven departments. Four days earlier, the German population was allowed to walk the streets from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The Civil Affairs Department was headed by the Deputy Commandant. The city was divided into eight district commandant's offices, and a Temporary Civil Administration was also created at each district commandant's office.

This is the first period from martial law to peaceful life. It was necessary to extinguish fires, clear the streets, register the local population and provide them with food. The supply of water and electricity had to be established. Quite quickly we managed to put a pulp and paper mill into operation, open school No. 1, and create the first city construction organization UNR-230. In September 1945, the grand opening of the monument to fallen soldiers took place on Gvardeysky Prospekt.

On November 12, 1945, the Provisional City Administration for Civil Affairs compiled a certificate on the size of the German population of Königsberg. There were 60,642 Germans in the city, of which 18,515 were men. 29,681 people were registered as able-bodied, 12,276 were children.

On November 19, 1945, a Provisional Civil Administration was created under the Military Council of the Special Military District, commanded by Guard Colonel General K. N. Galitsky. Guard Major General of the Technical Troops V. G. Guziy was appointed head of the Provisional Civil Administration.

Civil administration

On April 7, 1946, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a Decree renaming Koenigsberg to Kaliningrad. At the same time, the Council of Ministers of the USSR creates a Civil Affairs Directorate in Kaliningrad, subordinate to the regional Civil Affairs Directorate.

On May 22, 1946, P.I. Kolosov was appointed head of the Kaliningrad Department of Civil Affairs. Management services were located on Svyazistov Street (now Kommunalnaya Street).

In April 1947, Vladimir Mikhailovich Dolgushin, who had previously been deputy chief, was appointed acting head of the Kaliningrad Department of Civil Affairs.

The city gradually transitioned to peaceful life. In August 1946, the first settlers from Russia and Belarus began to arrive in Kaliningrad in an organized manner. The Pobeda cinema opened, and the Kaliningradskaya Pravda newspaper began publishing. Renamed German names streets. An important stage The life of Kaliningrad was marked by the launch of tram route No. 1.

Kaliningrad mayors

1. May 28, 1947 Supreme Presidium; The Council of the RSFSR abolished the Office of Civil Affairs and appointed the Executive Committee of Kaliningrad. V. M. Dolgushin (born in 1905) became the acting chairman of the city executive committee. He worked in this position until July 1947, and then became head of the public utilities department.

From the certificate compiled by V. Dolgushin, it is clear that the population of Kaliningrad in June 1947 was 211,000 people, including 37,000 Germans, of whom 1,700 were able-bodied. By this time, Kaliningrad was divided into six districts by numbers.

2. On July 26, 1947, Pyotr Kharitonovich Murashko, born in 1899, was approved as chairman of the city executive committee. After elections to local councils were held in December 1947, a session of the city Council of Workers' Deputies confirmed the appointment of P. Murashko as chairman of the city executive committee. He remained in office until December 22, 1949 and was released from work at the proposal of the city committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) for the unsatisfactory state of affairs.

On July 25, 1947, four districts were formed in Kaliningrad: Baltic, Leningradsky, Moscow and Stalingrad. Later, the Central District was created, and the Stalingradsky District was renamed Oktyabrsky.

In 1946-1947, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a number of resolutions on the development of the Kaliningrad region. To implement government resolutions, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers A. N. Kosygin came to Kaliningrad.

Peaceful life was improving in the city. The Kaliningrad theater showed its first performance, Kaliningrad radio started talking. In 1948, a fishing expedition headed to the North Atlantic; Kaliningrad began to acquire the importance of an important fishing supply point. Classes began at the pedagogical institute.

In 1947-1948 The resettlement of Germans from Kaliningrad to Germany was carried out.

The year 1949 was filled with many events, among them: the opening of the Energy College (later the Polytechnic), the commissioning of the restored South Station.

3. In the period from December 22, 1949 to March 1950, the duties of the chairman of the city executive committee were entrusted to N. S. Serov.

4. Sergei Aleksandrovich Veselov, sent to Kaliningrad by decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, was elected as the next mayor in March 1950. He worked in this post until February 1951, after which he was elected chairman of the regional Trade Union Council.

The development of the fishing industry continued in the city. In May 1950, the Vessel Ferry Agency was formed.

5. On February 22, 1951, Vladimir Evgrafovich Pavlov was elected chairman of the Kaliningrad city executive committee (until March 1955).

The population of Kaliningrad stabilized for some time and fluctuated around 200,000 people. This may have been due to some uncertainty about the future of the Baltic city, although the media persistently carried out a campaign to prove that the lands of East Prussia belonged to Slavic territories. In 1953, the first plan for the reconstruction of Kaliningrad was adopted. It should be noted that many central areas of the city were still in ruins, so Kaliningrad in those years made a rather gloomy impression, significantly lagging behind other Russian cities that suffered from the war in the pace of restoration work.

6. Alexander Nikitovich Nekipelov was nominated for the post of mayor on March 11, 1955 and served in office for two years.

In April 1956, on the way to England and upon returning back, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR N.A. Bulganin and Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N.S. Khrushchev visited Kaliningrad. Apparently, this visit served as some impetus to intensify restoration work, although the consequences did not appear immediately.

7. On March 19, 1957, the session of the City Council elected Nikolai Fedorovich Korovkin, who headed the executive committee until 1963, as chairman of the executive committee.

The number of residents of Kaliningrad has finally exceeded the two hundred thousand mark and began to grow steadily. In 1961, 230,000 people lived in the city, in 1963 - about 240,000 people.

Finally, they began systematically clearing the city of war ruins. Under hot hand Unfortunately, buildings suitable for restoration were demolished. But here the directive for the decisive eradication of elements of Gothic architecture in Kaliningrad was steadily in effect.

In September 1960, on his way to New York, Kaliningrad was again visited by the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee N. S. Khrushchev. Leaders of Eastern European countries also visited here: E. Y. Kadar (Hungary), G. Georgiu-Dej (Romania), as well as heads of delegations union republics: K. T. Mazurov (Belarus) and N. P. Podgorny (Ukraine).

8. On May 9, 1963, Nikolai Petrovich Loshkarev became chairman of the Kaliningrad City Executive Committee. On March 2, 1966, he was removed from office for improper distribution of apartments.

N.S. Khrushchev visited Kaliningrad again on his way to Denmark and Norway. During this visit of the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, the city looked incomparably better than during previous visits. The Rossiya cinema was built in the center, and a pavilion for the North Station was built. Destroyed urban areas were intensively built up.

In July 1965, the holiday “Fisherman’s Day” was celebrated for the first time in Kaliningrad. The city was visited by cosmonauts Alexey Leonov and Pavel Blinov, who were awarded the title of honorary citizens of the city.

But the fight against German Gothic architecture spread to urban landscapes. For example, the construction of a large car park was allowed in the green zone behind the Lithuanian Val. Due to the delay in the construction of sewer networks, they gave the go-ahead to discharge feces into city water bodies. Some subsequent mayors can also be blamed for this.

9. Dmitry Vasilyevich Romanin headed the executive committee in March 1966. He was born on June 22, 1929 in the Bryansk region, graduated from a mechanical college and technical institute. Before being elected mayor of the city, he worked as second secretary of the Kaliningrad city committee of the CPSU. Resigned as mayor on August 17, 1972 in connection with his election as first secretary of the Kaliningrad city committee of the CPSU.

In 1967, the General Plan for the reconstruction, construction and development of Kaliningrad was approved. This plan, to some extent, sought to introduce variety into the monotony of block and panel construction. Some of the facilities included in this plan were built, but overall it was not implemented.

In 1968, they began to actively demolish the ruins of the Royal Castle, the next year they blew up the remains of the towers and began to build multi-storey building Soviets, still unfinished.

The population of Kaliningrad was constantly increasing. In 1970 there were 300,000 people in the city, by 1972 there were already about 315,000 people. In 1971, Kaliningrad was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

The elements continued to rage under any government. In 1967, during strong storm, the water in Pregol rose 160 cm above normal. And in the 1970s, the city suffered a planned disaster: all fences and fences near houses, squares and front gardens were removed. As a result, all courtyards turned into walk-through, trampled and littered areas.

10. On August 17, 1972, Viktor Vasilyevich Denisov was elected chairman of the city executive committee. Of the mayors of the Soviet period, he served longest time- 12 years old. Under him, at the end of 1973, the city executive committee moved to a building on Victory Square, the same one where the German municipality was located.

Intensive development continued in the city's microdistricts: along Gorky, Oktyabrskaya, and Batalnaya streets. Large-panel housing construction has acquired a dominant influence.

The improvement of the area around the Lower (Castle) Pond and a number of other measures to improve the appearance of the city made a favorable impression. In some places they began to restore fences near houses and public gardens again, although in general this work has not been completed to this day.

During this period, the construction of a new large overpass bridge was completed, connecting the central areas of Kaliningrad with the main railway and bus stations. The Puppet Theater opened in the restored Queen Louise Church in 1976, and in the former catholic church The city concert hall began operating in 1980.

The length of the tram tracks (in single-track terms) was about one hundred kilometers, the number of tram cars was 210. In the same year, a trolleybus was launched in the city.

As for natural disasters, as a result strong hurricane on the night of January 5–6, 1975, water flooded low-lying areas of the city. In January - February 1983, three hurricanes hit Kaliningrad; on January 18, the water in Pregol rose to a record high of 183 cm above normal.

The area of ​​Kaliningrad in 1983 was 198 square kilometers, the population was 374,000 people.

11. Boris Andreevich Fomichev, who worked at the Yantar plant, was elected to the position of mayor on December 26, 1984, worked in this post for four years, after which he returned to the Yantar plant.

By this time, the population of Kaliningrad was approaching 400,000 people, and they had to freeze a little in January 1987, since such a cold winter had not happened in the city for the last forty years.

So, gradually going through the mayors, we came closer to our days. The winds of perestroika blew. Changes took place in the echelons of power: they were divided into legislative and executive. According to the new laws, legislative power in Kaliningrad is concentrated in the City Council, which must elect a chairman by secret ballot. Executive power is vested in the head of the city administration, who must be elected to office through direct universal elections. But at the time of writing, he was appointed by Decree of the President of Russia.

12. On October 14, 1988, Nikolai Grigorievich Khromenko was elected chairman of the Kaliningrad City Executive Committee. At the end of March 1990, when the authorities were divided into two parts, N. Khromenko was elected chairman of the city council, continuing at the same time to serve as head of the city administration until April 1990. In April 1990, Georgy Nikolaevich Isaev was appointed head of the administration.

A year later, on April 5, 1991, N. Khromenko voluntarily left the post of chairman of the City Council.

I won’t talk about the life of Kaliningrad during this time of transition; it is in plain sight for all of us. It seems that the division of powers, at first, did not bring much benefit to the city. Let me just say that the revenue side of the city budget in 1990 was 90,290,000 rubles. But since the division also affected financial bodies, it makes no sense to delve into the area of ​​monetary issues.

13. On April 29, 1991, Vitaly Valentinovich Shipov was elected chairman of the Kaliningrad City Council. On June 6, 1991, in connection with the departure of G. Isaev from work, V. Shipov simultaneously held the position of head of the city administration.

14. In January 1992, the situation with the two authorities became somewhat clearer. Nadezhda Ivanovna Lazareva, who worked as an assistant professor in the Department of Physics at the Technical Institute, was chosen for the position of chairman. And a little earlier, by Decree of the President of Russia of December 24, 1992, Vitaly Valentinovich Shipov, captain of the second rank of the Navy, was appointed head of the administration of Kaliningrad.

So, the city authorities sat down in their chairs. Now we'll wait positive results. The next elections to local government, unless the laws change, should take place in 1995. Time flies inexorably...

The article uses documents from the Kaliningrad Regional Archive of the reference book “Lexicon of Koenigsberg” by Robert Albinus (1988), materials from the author’s archive.

List
mayors of Koenigsberg and Kaliningrad

Koenigsberg 1724-1945

1.	Zacharias Hesse	1724-1730
2.	I. G. Fokkeradt	1730-1732
3.	Jacob Grube	1732-1739
4.	Ernst von Müllenheim	1739-1740
5.	Johann Schröder	1740-1745
6.	Johann Heinrich Kiesewetter	1746-1751
7.	Daniel Friedrich Ginderzin	1752-1780
8.	Theodor Gottlieb von Hippel	1780-1796
9.	Bernhard Conrad Ludwig Gervais	1796-1808
10.	Martin Gottlieb Deetz	1808-1810
11.	August Wilhelm Heidemann	1810-1813
12.	Karl Friedrich Horn	1814-1826
13.	Johann Friedrich List	1826-1838
14.	Rudolf von Auerswald	1838-1842
15.	August Friedrich Kra	1843-1848
16.	Karl Gottfried Sperling	1848-1864
17.	Bigork	1864-1865
18.	Ernst von Ernsthausen	1865-1866
19.	E. von Retzenstein	1866-1867
20.	Friedrich Kischke	1867-1872
21.	Karl Johann Eduard Szepanski	1872-1874
22.	Brown	1874-1875
23.	Johann Karl Adolf Selke	1875-1893
24.	Hermann Theodor Hoffmann	1893-1902
25.	Paul Kunkel	1902-1903
26.	Siegfried Körte	1903-1918
27.	Albert Franz Borowski	1918-1919
28.	Erdmann	5. On October 29, 1993, the Kaliningrad City Council ceased to exist. Thus, civil power in Kaliningrad was concentrated in the office of the head of the city administration, Vitaly Valentinovich Shipov. The structure of local government for the future has not yet been determined.

At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Prussians lived on what is now Kaliningrad land. The culture of this people is similar to the culture of their linguistically related Lettos - Lithuanians and ancient Slavs. The Prussians were engaged in trades, agriculture, fishing, and trade. There was the so-called Amber Route, connecting the land of the Prussians with the Adriatic, the cities of the Roman Empire, where raw materials and numerous amber products from them were delivered.

In the history of European states, the Baltic Sea played an important role. Thanks to him, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Russia and Finland were closely connected. But it was often also the scene of war. Its southern coast was once inhabited by Prussian tribes. For six decades, they, the original owners of these lands, had to withstand the onslaught of the Teutonic conquerors in the 111th century. In 1231, with the blessing of the Pope, the Teutonic Order of Knights undertook a godly undertaking, participation in which contributed to spiritual salvation: a campaign against the lands of the pagans. As a result of the crusade, with the unification of three cities (Alstadt, Lebenicht, Kneiphof), a “city for the glory of Christ and for the protection of those newly converted to Christianity” was founded, which was named Königsberg, which translated means “Royal Mountain”. The crusaders conquered the Prussians with fire and sword, established themselves here and became a constant threat to neighboring peoples. More than one fierce battle scorched this region.

In 1225, the Polish appanage prince, Duke of Mazovia, was forced, under pressure from Prussian raids, to turn to the Teutonic Order for help against the Prussians. This served as a reason for the conquest of the pagans and the seizure of new lands. In the same year, the knights of the Teutonic Order captured the Prussian fortress of Twangste on a high mountain above Pregel. On Mount Twangste, there was probably a Prussian sanctuary and a fortress that guarded the passage to the Prussian lands along the Preygara (Lipce) River. Near Tvangste, the crusaders erected a wooden fortress-castle, named in honor of the Czech king - the Royal Mountain, that is, Königsberg. Then the fortress was moved a little to the west. Over the years, it turned into a formidable castle with a high tower. The walls of the castle have seen a lot in their time: ceremonies for the election of grandmasters and the coronation of kings, overseas princes and tsars, Russian and French soldiers. Three cities emerge under the protection of its walls.

The first coat of arms of Königsberg.

Altstadt, Neustadt, Kneiphof.

In 1270, construction began on the city of Alstadt, the first of three cities that later formed the city of Königsberg, and a wooden cathedral was built there in 1300. It was a fairly large settlement, and it was built in a very favorable location - at the intersection of the borders of river and sea navigation. 1286 February 28

Landmaster Konrad von Thirberg, after twenty years of construction, presented the Altstadts with a charter for the founding of the city, which enshrined the rights of citizens and which was the city Constitution.

Flag of Königsberg from 1380

In 1300, a second city was founded - Löbenicht. Its creation is connected with the activities of the Zemland bishop. The bishop himself was in Alstadt, where the church owned two-thirds of the hill. It was a craft town, whose inhabitants were malt workers, artisans and cultivators. The fortifications were modest, so Löbenicht remained a small town in the shadow of the mighty Allstadt.

In 1327, in the western part of the island of Kneiphof, arose new town, the third city of Koenigsberg, on both sides of the streets of which merchants settled. It began to be called Pregelmünde, or Neustadt, but the old Prussian name Knipaw in its Germanized form Kneiphof prevailed. There was no city church in the city. But soon construction began on the island Cathedral. Its founder was Bishop Johannes Claret. Around 1380, that is, approximately 50 years later, the building was ready. The time is not so long, considering how long it took other, richer and larger cities in the western part of Germany to build their churches. If you do not take into account the reconstruction of the spitz roof after the fire and minor renovation work, the cathedral stood intact and undamaged until the disaster of 1944. It was dedicated to St. Adalbert and the Virgin Mary. A small town of clergy arose around the cathedral: a school, residential buildings the abbots of the cathedral, a house for the bishop, in which he lived during his stay in Konigsberg, in addition, a granary and outbuildings.

Uniting cities. Koenigsberg.

Coat of arms of the city at the beginning of the twentieth century.

For a long time, the three cities developed separately: each of them had its own governing bodies, religious institutions, and trade developed independently, but as time passed, relations between the cities grew stronger and all that remained was to legislate their unification.

1454 February 14. Three days after Danzig and two days after Elbing, the knights of the Order surrendered Königsberg to the rebel “Prussian League” without resistance. The garrison was allowed to retreat to Lochstedt, and the townspeople collected 200 marks for the journey. As in Thorn, Danzig and Elbing, the townspeople began to demolish the castle. The rebel classes wished to have the King of Poland as the new supreme ruler. The king accepted the offer and signed the “Act of Incorporation” on March 6.

1466 The Order lost the territory that was later called West Prussia and Ermland to the Polish-Lithuanian Union. 1657 Prussia gained independence under the Treaty of Wehlau of the Great Elector. His heir, Elector Frederick III., was crowned on January 18, 1701 in Königsberg as “King Frederick I of Prussia” and thus associated the name of Prussia with the Brandenburg state. After the inclusion of Ermland in 1772, the old Prussian land was named the province of East Prussia.

In 1724, all three cities: Alstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof were officially united into one, which was named Königsberg. On this occasion, a bronze medal was issued - on the obverse of the medal are depicted: a young man with a sword in his hands, symbolizing the city of Alstadt with its power, a woman with beads - the city of Kneiphof, speaking about its splendor and luxury, a bearded old man with a carrot - the city of Löbenicht, telling about its beautiful arable lands and a little boy throwing a stone, symbolizing the outskirts of Königsberg - Sackheim, where drunkards and hooligans lived. On the other side of the coin was the following text: “In 1724, all three cities - Alstadt, Kneiphof, Löbenicht were united into the city of Königsberg...”.

The fact that the Königsberg cities were located in the coastal zone and on the banks of the river left an imprint on their development; trade relations with England, the Scandinavian countries and Holland were developing. Prussia exports wood, resin, hops, lard, smoked meats, amber and salt abroad. Animal skins are supplied in large quantities: deer, roe deer, bear and Russian-made goods.

In 1945, the Kaliningrad Castle was significantly damaged, and by 1968 it was completely destroyed. Where the castle stood is now the Central Square of Kaliningrad and it offers a wide panorama of the southern part of the city.

On the shore of the Kaliningrad Bay there is the preserved Balga Castle, founded in 1239.