Goodness knows where Igor Yakimov found this old footage. The voice over says: ‘Ost Preussen ist das Deutsche Pferdeland‘ . . .  For 200 years indeed it was. King Friedrich Wilhelm 1 had a stud here and bred the famous ‘Trakhener‘ horse.  At one time it employed over 3,000 people.

When the Red Army advanced, the [...]]]>

Goodness knows where Igor Yakimov found this old footage. The voice over says: ‘Ost Preussen ist das Deutsche Pferdeland‘ . . .  For 200 years indeed it was. King Friedrich Wilhelm 1 had a stud here and bred the famous ‘Trakhener‘ horse.  At one time it employed over 3,000 people.

When the Red Army advanced, the horses were moved out with Prussians fleeing west, though few survived the winter and the trek.  The stables fell into ruins. They were still ruined when Joost Lemmens photographed them in 2000. Today the local town, Gusev, struggles to employ anyone.

This kind of rural decay characterises much of the Kaliningrad Oblast and explains why people are so unhappy with Moscow. Besides a couple of showpieces in the city, very little has been restored since the war, over sixty years ago.

Here’s 500 years of history in about four minutes. Technology is so cool. Although it’s fun to watch the shaded areas, one tends to forget that these represent people. Thanks to Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt, almost 17 million people were dispossessed when the map of Europe was redrawn at the Potsdam conference. Not only Germans, [...]]]>

Here’s 500 years of history in about four minutes. Technology is so cool. Although it’s fun to watch the shaded areas, one tends to forget that these represent people. Thanks to Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt, almost 17 million people were dispossessed when the map of Europe was redrawn at the Potsdam conference. Not only Germans, but Silesians, Pomeranians, Poles, Lithuanians . . .

The way history is rewritten is always fascinating. Here’s a contemporary cartoon of Russia ‘stealing Kaliningrad (Konigsberg) from Poland‘. No such thing of course, the carve up of Prussia between the ‘Great Powers’ happened simultaneously.

I’m finally getting out of kiosks and into restaurants, so watch this category. Lately my favoured eaterie in Kaliningrad has become the Razgulai. It’s easy to find, just across from Ceverny Voksal (North Station) on Sovietsky Prospekt.

It’s a stone-tiled floor, refectory tabled, sleeves up sort of place which makes for an easy atmosphere. The Razgulai [...]]]>

I’m finally getting out of kiosks and into restaurants, so watch this category. Lately my favoured eaterie in Kaliningrad has become the Razgulai. It’s easy to find, just across from Ceverny Voksal (North Station) on Sovietsky Prospekt.

It’s a stone-tiled floor, refectory tabled, sleeves up sort of place which makes for an easy atmosphere. The Razgulai specialises in traditional Russian food – like Zharkoye. As with all stews, recipes vary, but here it’s served with a pastry-bread hat (rather like Indian nan bread) and loads of garlic-laced mushrooms in sour cream.

Since I forgot to take a picture with the hat on my first visit I had to eat this twice and it wasn’t a hardship.

I’m also getting into Tabasco, which has a multinational menu of mini-platters. Affordable lunchtime choice. Tabasco is actually underneath the Moskva hotel, in fact underneath its own cafe. La Place seems alright too, fairly central on Leninsky Prospekt.  Hmmm . . . may take a few more mouthfuls for feedback on these.

Kaliningrad has many old forts and ramparts. Konigsberg was a fortress city. But only a couple have been restored so far.

Some of the old gates, like the Sackheim gate above, don’t really lend themselves to happy snaps or history rambles. Which is a pity, since the whole of the Litovsky Val – formerly Litauer Valstraat [...]]]>

Kaliningrad has many old forts and ramparts. Konigsberg was a fortress city. But only a couple have been restored so far.

Some of the old gates, like the Sackheim gate above, don’t really lend themselves to happy snaps or history rambles. Which is a pity, since the whole of the Litovsky Val – formerly Litauer Valstraat – has many fine examples of the fortifications constructed in 1850.

Surviving sections of the ramparts have been variously converted into things like petrol stations, garages and night clubs, so it simply isn’t possible to wander round the back – or moat and drawbridge side – of many. The courtyard of the Fortress Caserne Kroonprins – largely intact – is a hang out for junkies and alkies.

Probably the best way to see Konigsberg’s ‘Monuments Of Defensive Architecture’ is to buy in advance the beautifully produced book (in English) of the same name by Veniamin Eremeev.

I’ll be documenting all the forts and gates of the city in upcoming posts. Meanwhile this is a wonderful book for armchair historians. ISBN number is 5-902949-07-6

The rear of the Sackheim is accessible, but the drawbridge is long gone

Before the war, East Prussia was home to over two million people. The last of the few thousand survivors were all expelled by 1948.

The first Russian settlers of the new Kaliningrad Oblast arrived to eerie, half-empty houses in an alien landscape. Among the tiled German villas with steep gables, the Baltic sand and pines, there [...]]]>

Before the war, East Prussia was home to over two million people. The last of the few thousand survivors were all expelled by 1948.

The first Russian settlers of the new Kaliningrad Oblast arrived to eerie, half-empty houses in an alien landscape. Among the tiled German villas with steep gables, the Baltic sand and pines, there was nothing to remind them of Tver or Pskov. Only some makeshift signs in Russian identified their new location.

were ill-at-ease in their allotted, unfamiliar dwellings, as if half-expecting the rightful owners to return at any moment.

Under Stalin, many Russians were ‘re-assigned’ to Kaliningrad province – such as Irina, the military prosecutor, whose husband had been denounced as an enemy of the people. Hurriedly divorcing him had not been enough to save her job or herself from relocation.

The name of her new town was printed on her ticket as Wehlau. But she arrived just as workmen were knocking its German name from the Station’s facade. She had arrived at a town without a name. She had arrived at No Such Place.

Growing up in the early settlement of Kaliningrad inspired Yuri Buida to write his stories: ‘Tales From Nowhere’ published in English as, ‘The Prussian Bride‘. He depicts a colony of rootless people, randomly resettled, who kept within themselves ’suitcase syndrome’ and only ever referred to where they had come from as home.

In a place from which culture and history had been expelled, so had humanity. The random settlers were incapable of any kinship or connect. At school, Yuri’s teachers could tell him nothing about the origins of his birthplace beyond the fact that Kant once lived in Kaliningrad. If the settlers were connected by anything, it was only the intolerance, scapegoating and xenophobia driven by Stalin.

His story about Rita Schmidt, for example, begins in 1948. A Prussian mother facing deportation asks two newly-arrived Russian sisters to take her infant daughter. She persuades them with a clock and some silver spoons. The sisters, Maria and Martha, bring up the child in an atmosphere of physical and sexual abuse and hard labour. Although unable to speak a word of German and Russianised from infancy, Rita is nonetheless never allowed to forget her hated origins. Even when grown, Rita is cruelly abused by the whole town as a ‘fascist slut’.

Yuri’s work is often described as fiction from invented memories. But in No Such Place the past had been wiped in any case.

‘The Prussian Bride’ is an interesting read and very relevant to Kaliningrad. You might say that the town only developed a soul once it began to reconnect with its past. Below is a picture of Kaliningrad in 1968 – an artificial, Russian replica city bearing no relation its geography, history or, by now, a second generation of estranged European settlers.

I’m updating any posts that appeared earlier to keep the information current.

The former East Prussia is a rather unique corner of Europe, with some very picturesque castles, waterways and architecture [...]]]> Here you’ll find a collection of impressions of travelling around Kaliningrad and the North East of Poland.

I’m updating any posts that appeared earlier to keep the information current.

The former East Prussia is a rather unique corner of Europe, with some very picturesque castles, waterways and architecture dating back to the various Kaisers, Napoleon and the Teutonic Knights.

The exclave of Kaliningrad is not so easily accessible since the expansion of EU borders, but it rewards a crossing with a rich history and a Baltic coast unspoiled by armies of tourists or bland Eurostyle fare.

The excellent ‘In Your Pocket’ guide wrote of Svetlogorsk: ‘The whole experience is still decidedly Russian. Savour it before it becomes another generic seaside resort.’

This was written before the Schengen curtain went up around Kaliningrad. These days, Svetlogorsk is in scant danger of euro-isation. The main visitors are Moscow property developers and day trippers from [...]]]>

The excellent ‘In Your Pocket’ guide wrote of Svetlogorsk: ‘The whole experience is still decidedly Russian. Savour it before it becomes another generic seaside resort.’

This was written before the Schengen curtain went up around Kaliningrad. These days, Svetlogorsk is in scant danger of euro-isation. The main visitors are Moscow property developers and day trippers from Kaliningrad. So you’ll still get dill with everything and a strong whiff of barbecues in the Baltic breeze.

A sunny Sunday is normally the cue for Kaliningraders to head for the coast.

Svetlogorsk is actually two places, imaginatively called Svetlogorsk 1 and 2, which roughly equate to ‘ville’ and ‘plage’. Svetlogorsk 1 is the old spa centre, with lakeside sanatoria. The old wooden station (1900) here is the real deal, but in Svetlogorsk 2 you’ll set down from the elektrische at the new, repro-Prussian terminal.

First stop on the promenade is the sundial. It’s said to be the largest in Europe and a Soviet miracle from the 1970s. Originally it was Friedrich-Wilhelm IV who ordered the resort to be prettified, though it’s unlikely he had this in mind. It’s also a least a quarter of an hour out.

There are many stalls in Svetlogorsk but only really two kinds of souvenirs. The majority are trinkets from the local amber mines. Other stalls sell pottery with both German and Russian motifs: Konigsberg and Kaliningrad, or Rauschen and Svetlogorsk. They appear as if self-twinning towns.

In its heyday, Rauschen had 3,000 closed beach cabins for changing. In Svetlogorsk you just take your underpants and some vodka.

After the beach, it’s a wander around the cafes to Russian romances.

Svetlogorsk has its luxe hotels of course but to enjoy it Russian style you can’t do better than rent a cabin in the old Pioneer camp. (Old Pioneers welcome.) For more about Svetlogorsk, click the ‘Svetlogorsk’ tag.

Some residential districts of Kaliningrad, and almost all the villas in Svetlogorsk, survived the the war untouched. What they survived less well was being untouched by even a lick of paint for next half century.

Under Russian ownership, the plaster peeled, the ornaments [...]]]>
When the Germans were expelled from Kaliningrad, they left behind a wonderful architectural heritage.

Some residential districts of Kaliningrad, and almost all the villas in Svetlogorsk, survived the the war untouched. What they survived less well was being untouched by even a lick of paint for next half century.

Under Russian ownership, the plaster peeled, the ornaments fell off and the handsome tiled roofs gave way to tin. Of course, these high maintenance mansions were never designed for the poor Russians sent by Stalin to populate the new territory.

Konigsberg was one of the most beautiful cities in Prussia and quite deliberately so. The town council had always obsessed about aesthetics and landscaping. Even the barracks and military fortifications had to be beautiful, designed by famous architects such as August Stueller and decorated with bas-relief sculptures. A curiously extravagant protection against incoming cannonballs.

Now that Moscow money is moving into Svetlogorsk, there’s an attempt to recreate the past. But instead of restoration projects, many of the old houses are simply demolished and repro-Prussian mansions rise in their place. It’s partly about money, of course. The old Prussian villas were individually built by craftsmen and can’t be upgraded with standard factory melamine doors and 24-hour double-glazing from the Yellow Pages.

Then there’s the general lack of conservation awareness. Along with a lack of craftsmen who could begin the complex task of restoration. So, Svetlogorsk today is odd coexistence of real estate and fake estate. Right next to Svetlogorsk’s landmark sanatorium, for example, they’ve built an art deco fantasy which has become the new Vika cafe.

Svetlogorsk – Real Estate

Svetlogorsk – Fake Estate

Today, it takes all of 8 hours just to get from Gdansk in Poland, just 125 kilometers away. The miserably slow border isn’t the only problem. In December, Poland cancelled the overnight sleeper to Berlin. It will now [...]]]>
Back in the 1930s, Hitler would catch a train from Berlin to Konigsberg. It took him 8 hours.

Today, it takes all of 8 hours just to get from Gdansk in Poland, just 125 kilometers away. The miserably slow border isn’t the only problem. In December, Poland cancelled the overnight sleeper to Berlin. It will now take you 20 hours travel time and four trains minimum to repeat Hitler’s journey.

Last time I looked, a regular daytime journey to Berlin took 35 hours. Er, no, I didn’t book a ticket. So far, Moscow hasn’t cancelled its own Kaliningrad special, the ‘Amber Train‘, but lack of interest might do it. Here’s the schedule:

The progressive isolation of Kaliningrad is why residents call their unfortunate region, ‘The European Prison‘. It’s becoming as closed a closed town as it was in Soviet times. But this time, the EU is the jailer and Poland’s action amounts to throwing away the key.

If you’re looking for someone to name and shame, it is:

Kaliningrad’s ghettoisation falls under the EU’s  ‘Northern Dimension Policy’. Could Hitler have thought up a more sinister sounding name?

Kaliningrad isn’t quite like any other city in Russia. That’s because it isn’t in Russia at all. Until 1945, Kaliningrad was the Prussian port of Konigsberg.

Stalin won the territory in all that crude border shuffling that went on after WW2. Poland was pushed to the left and Konigsberg became the western boundary of the Soviet [...]]]>

Kaliningrad isn’t quite like any other city in Russia. That’s because it isn’t in Russia at all. Until 1945, Kaliningrad was the Prussian port of Konigsberg.

Stalin won the territory in all that crude border shuffling that went on after WW2. Poland was pushed to the left and Konigsberg became the western boundary of the Soviet Empire. But today, the independence of the Baltic States and the expansion of the EU has left Kaliningrad as an ‘exclave’ – a dislocated Russian oblast wedged between Poland and Lithuania. The real Russian border and St. Petersburg is 1000 kilometers up the road.

To say Kaliningrad gets a bad press is an understatement. Being a closed town for 30 years probably aroused suspicions. In fact, Like St Petersburg, Kaliningrad had a complete face-lift recently, while celebrating its 750th anniversary. (No mean achievement for a town which dates from 1945.)

Little remains of the former majesty of Konigsberg, except in old picture postcards. There’s a good collection on the site, Castles of Poland. This is the old Konigsberg Castle, once a seat of Teutonic knights and lavishly enlarged with Gothic spires and great halls in the 18th Century.

Along with the magnificent schloss, Konigsberg boasted landscaped parks and ornate villas in chestnut-lined streets. So when you visit the landscape of Soviet poured concrete that is now Kaliningrad, there is a tendency to assume that it was pretty well vandalised by Russians. These two postcards show a nice contrast between pre and post-war Konigsberg.

Konigsberg – Prussian Town

Kaliningrad – Russian Town

In truth, Konigsberg was already destroyed before the Red Army arrived. The RAF technique of firebombing German cities was perfected over Konigsberg in 1944. What we refer to as ‘carpet bombing’ was then called ‘fan bombing’. The lead plane would drop marker flares and the following bombers would fan out at set degrees from the marker, dropping incendiary bombs at timed intervals. The result was an inextinguishable fire that the city itself would fuel and feed for days.

It wasn’t until 1968 that the Russians decided to do something creative with the ruins of the old castle. Which is how Kaliningrad acquired what is probably the world’s ugliest building: the House Of Soviets.

For some reason, the Russian architect of ‘Dom Sovietov’ overlooked the underground passages of the old castle. The world’s ugliest building cracked, was declared unsafe and has never once been occupied, even though it still dominates the Kaliningrad skyline. Despite numerous surveys, no one is quite sure how to demolish Dom Sovietov, how much it would cost or even where to start.

Although still largely a concrete-lovers paradise, Kaliningrad is seeing a lot of urban renewal. Wealthy Muscovites (read: scary mobsters) are transforming the old villas into private castles, a towering orthodox church adorns the old main parking lot and the cosmonaut monument – a masterpiece of Soviet iconography – has been given fresh flower beds.

The first man who walked in space came from Kaliningrad, but the town is now struggling, stifled and landlocked by Schengen, unable to reach out to anywhere.