Former Konigsberg, and now Kaliningrad - history, legends, interesting places of the ancient city. History of Königsberg - German online - Start Deutsch Die hard surrendered without a fight
There was a Prussian fortress Tuvangste (Twangste, Twangeste). History has not left reliable information about the foundation of Twangste and descriptions of the fortress itself. According to legend, the fortress Tvangste was founded by Prince Zamo in the middle of the 6th century. There is information about an attempt to found 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 Sineguby. The German chronicles for 1242 contain information about the negotiations between the deputies of the city of Lübeck and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Gerhard von Malberg on the founding of a free trade city on a mountain on the banks of the Pregel.
In the middle of the 13th century, the toponym Twangste extended to the Prussian fortified settlement, the mountain on which it was located, and the surrounding forest area.
Fortress Twangste 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 Osternne to build an order fortress on the site of Twangste. The foundation stone of the Konigsberg fortress took place in early September 1255. The first commander of Konigsberg was Burkhard von Hornhausen.
There are several versions of the origin of the name Konigsberg. The most common version connects the name of the Konigsberg fortress, King's Mountain, with King Otakar II. According to her, the fortress and the future city were named in honor of the king of Bohemia. Other versions of the origin of the toponym associate it with the Vikings or Prussians. Perhaps "Konigsberg" is a form from "Konungoberg", where "konung", "kunnigs" - "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 place name Korolevets was used instead of the name Konigsberg.
The first two wooden blockhouses were built on the mountain on the right bank of the Pregel in 1255. Konigsberg was first mentioned in a document dated June 29, 1256. In 1257, to the west of the blockhouses, the construction of stone fortifications began. In 1260, 1263 and 1273, the castle was besieged by the rebellious Prussians, but was not taken. Since 1309, Konigsberg Castle has been the seat of the Marshal of the Teutonic Order.
On February 28, 1286, the Landmaster of Prussia, Konrad von Thierberg, granted the settlement, which arose at the castle walls, the status of a city on the basis of the Kulm law. Most likely, the settlement was originally named after the castle - Konigsberg. However, later, with the emergence of neighboring settlements, it received the name Altstadt, translated from German means “ Old city". The settlement that arose east of the castle was named Neustadt (New Town). Later, Neustadt was renamed Löbenicht, and on May 27, 1300, Löbenicht received city rights from the commander of Königsberg, Berthold von Bruchaven. On an island south of Altstadt, a settlement was formed, originally called Vogtswerder. In 1327, the settlement on the island received city rights. In the charter on the granting of 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 was fixed in a Germanized form - Kneiphof.
The cities of Altstadt, Löbenicht and Kneiphof had their own coats of arms, city councils, burgomasters, and from the 14th century they were members of the Hanseatic Trade Union.
In 1325, under the leadership of Bishop Johannes Claret, the 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 Braunschweig, agreed to continue the construction of the cathedral, this date is considered the official date for the start 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 of Lancaster, stayed in Konigsberg.
After the loss of Marienburg (Malbork, Poland) during the Thirteen Years War in 1457, Grand Master Ludwig von Erlichshausen moved the capital of the Teutonic Order to Konigsberg. 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 King Sigismund I of Poland, as a result of which the Teutonic Order was secularized and the Duchy of Prussia was formed. Konigsberg became the capital of Prussia. In 1544, a university was opened in Konigsberg, which later received the name Albertina in honor of Duke Albrecht. In 1660, a city newspaper began to be published in Konigsberg. In May 1697, as part of the Great Embassy, Konigsberg was visited by the Russian Tsar Peter I under the name of the nobleman Peter Mikhailov, having lived in the city for about a month. Later, Peter I visited the city in November 1711, in June 1712, in February and April 1716.
On January 27, 1744, Sophia Augusta Frederick von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg, the future Russian Empress Catherine II, traveled from Stettin to St. Petersburg through Konigsberg. On January 11, 1758, during the Seven Years War, Russian troops entered Konigsberg, after which, on January 24, in the Cathedral, representatives of all urban estates took an oath of allegiance to the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. Until 1762, the city was part of Russian Empire... In 1782 the population of the city was 31,368 people. In 1793, the first obstetric and gynecological institution was opened in the city. On August 8, 1803, an earthquake struck Königsberg.
After the battles of Preussisch-Eylau in January and Friedland in June, on June 15, 1807, Königsberg was occupied by the French army. On July 10-13, 1807 and June 12-16, 1812, Napoleon Bonaparte stayed in the city. On the night of January 4-5, 1813, the French army left Konigsberg, and at about noon on January 5, the troops of the Russian corps under the command of Peter Christianovich Wittgenstein entered the city.
In 1813, an astronomical observatory was opened in Konigsberg, 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, Moritz Hermann Jacobi demonstrated the world's first electric motor at the Königsberg laboratory. On July 28, 1851, the astronomer of the Königsberg Observatory, August Ludwig Busch, took a photographic picture for the first time in history solar eclipse... On October 18, 1861, Wilhelm I, the future Kaiser of Germany, was crowned in Konigsberg. In 1872-1874, the first city water supply network was built, in 1880, work began on laying the city sewage system. In May 1881, the first horse trail route was 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 around its perimeter by the mid-1880s. In May 1895, the first trams traveled along the streets of Königsberg. In 1896, the Koenigsberg Zoo was opened, and Hermann Klaas (1841-1914) became its director.
The population of Koenigsberg 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 Konigsberg, located on the territory of the zoo, and later in special pavilions. In 1939, there were 373,464 inhabitants in the city.
During the Second World War, Koenigsberg was repeatedly bombed from the air. The first raid on the city was carried out by Soviet aviation on September 1, 1941. Eleven Pe-8 bombers took part in the raid, of which none were shot down. The bombardment had a certain psychological effect, but no significant casualties or destruction was caused. On April 29, 1943, a Pe-8 bomber from the USSR Long-Range Aviation dropped a 5-ton bomb on Konigsberg for the first time. On the night of August 27, 1944, the 5th group of the Royal Air Force of Great Britain, consisting of 174 bombers of Lancaster, raided the city, during which the eastern outskirts were bombed, and the RAF lost 4 aircraft. The most massive and terrible raid on Königsberg was carried out by the British Air Force on the night of August 30, 1944. 189 Lancaster dropped 480 tons of bombs, resulting in 4.2 thousand deaths, 20% of industrial facilities and 41% of all buildings in the city were destroyed, the historic center of the city was razed to the ground. During the raid, bombs filled with napalm were used for the first time. The losses of the RAF were 15 bombers.
As a result of the East Prussian offensive operation By January 26, 1945, the Red Army was in a blockade. However, already on January 30, the Panzer Division "Great Germany" and one infantry division from Brandenburg (now the village of Ushakovo) and the 5th Panzer Division and one infantry division from the Königsberg side pushed the troops of the 11th Guards Army 5 kilometers away from the Frisches Huff Bay , having unblocked Königsberg from the south-west. On February 19, counterstrikes along the northern coast of the Frisches-Huff Bay from Fischhausen (now the city of Primorsk) and Konigsberg broke through the defense of the 39th Army and restored communication between Konigsberg and the Zemland Peninsula.
From 2 to 5 April 1945, Konigsberg was subjected to massive artillery strikes and air raids. On April 6, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front began an assault on the fortified city. Non-flying weather did not allow the full use of aviation; by the end of the day, assault detachments and groups reached the outskirts of the city. On April 7, the weather improved, and Konigsberg was subjected to massive bombardment. On April 8, the troops of the Red Army, advancing from the north and south, dismembered the enemy grouping into two parts. The 4th German army of General Müller tried to strike from the Zemland peninsula to help the Koenigsberg garrison, but these attempts were thwarted by Soviet aviation. By evening, the defending units of the Wehrmacht were trapped in the center of the city under continuous attacks of Soviet artillery. On April 9, 1945, the commandant of the city and fortress of Konigsberg, General Otto von Läsch, 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 erected on the Dona tower. More than 93 thousand German soldiers and officers were captured, about 42 thousand were killed during the assault. Irrecoverable losses of the Red Army directly during the assault on Konigsberg amounted to 3.7 thousand people.
The capture of Konigsberg was noted in Moscow with 24 artillery salvos from 324 guns, the medal "For the capture of Koenigsberg" was instituted - 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 Konigsberg was transferred to the Soviet Union.
On June 27, 1945, the Koenigsberg Zoo, in which only five animals remained after the April assault: a badger, a donkey, a fallow deer, a baby elephant and the wounded hippopotamus Hans, received the first post-war visitors.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated July 4, 1946, Konigsberg was renamed Kaliningrad. The city was inhabited by immigrants from other regions Soviet Union, the German population was deported to Germany by 1948. Due to an important strategic position and a large concentration of troops, Kaliningrad was closed for visits by foreign citizens. V post-war years special attention was paid to the restoration of production, the issues of preserving historical and cultural values were of secondary importance, and 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 raid British aviation in August 1944 and the storming of the city in April 1945, was blown up. The demolition of the 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 for international cooperation.
I found on my computer an old file with the chronology of the history of Koenigsberg-Kaliningrad, which was about 10 years ago. Corrected a few things, but there are still many gaps. So I would be grateful for any clarifications and additions.
Then I'll add hyperlinks to make it clear what this is about.
1255 - foundation of Königsberg castle
1256 - Steindamm Pickaxe founded, Castle Pond appeared
1263-68 - the old Altstadt church was built
1270 - a dam was built on the Katzbach brook (Cat Brook) on the site of the future Wrangelstrasse (Chernyakhovsky) street. So in Konigsberg, after the Castle Pond (1256), a second pond appeared - the Upper
1278-1292 - built the northern stone wing of the fortress
1286 - Altstadt received city rights from the order
1288 - Juditten Church, the oldest building in Kaliningrad, was built
1297-1302 - construction in the Konigsberg Altstadt of the first building of the Cathedral with dedication to St. Adalbert (soon after construction it was dismantled)
1300 - Lebenicht received city rights
1300 - Kremerbrücke (Lavochny Bridge) was built, the first bridge in Königsberg (according to other sources - in 1286)
1748-1753 - Haberberg Church built
1753 - a pedestrian bridge was built on the Castle Pond by the royal order
1756 - a synagogue was erected in Vorstadt, rebuilt in 1815
1757 - the building of the Altstadt Town Hall was rebuilt for the last time (in the Renaissance style)
1758-1762 - Konigsberg as part of Russia
1764 - Löbenicht was destroyed by fire
1767-77 - Catholic Church built
1769 - the new town hall of Löbenicht was built
1776 - The new Lebenikht church was consecrated
1782 - the city has 31 368 inhabitants
1784 - New Tragheim Church consecrated
1798 - a new exchange building was built on the same site (Kneiphof), after 2 years it burned down
1799 - opening of a brewery in the castle, later called "Blütgericht" (according to other sources - in 1737);
1800 - city population 55 thousand
1800-1801 - the exchange was overhauled after a fire
1803 - created by Altstädtischer Kirchplatz (from 1897 - Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz)
1804 - Kant died
1806-1808 - the city theater was built on Paradenplatz
1807 - A square, later known as Gesekus, appeared on the map of the city. It was named so in 1882 in honor of the Commissioner of Justice Gesekus Johan Heinrich, who left the city by his will 74 thousand thalers
1807 - Konigsberg is taken by Napoleon
1808 - city reform. All the most important city affairs were transferred to the hands of elected bodies. A city council and a magistrate were created.
1810 - monument to Albrecht of Brandenburg
1810 - The building of the Supreme Land Court was built on the foundations of the demolished north-eastern wing according to the project of engineer Simon.
1811 - “street reform” took place in Königsberg. Street names and house numbering have been streamlined and officially recognized
1811 - Bessel Observatory established
1812 - Napoleon's troops left the city
1815 - New synagogue in Vorstadt opened
1826 - the old Altstadt church was demolished
1830 - the first water supply system appeared in Königsberg
1833 - The cathedral was first restored
1838-1845 - the new Altstadt church was built
1840 - 70.6 thousand inhabitants
1843 - the oldest known photograph of the city is taken
1843 - King's Gate laid
1843-49 - the "Kronprinz" barracks was built
1844 - the Academy of Arts founded
1847-1949 - the building of the Central Post Office was built
1851 - Monument to King Frederick Wilhelm III on Paradeplatz was opened (August Kiss, Rudolf von Printz)
1851 - the "Grolman" bastion was built
1852-1855 - Rossgarten Gate built
1853 - built:
1) the building of the East Station
2) Don tower
1855-59 - the brick building of the Realny School (later Realgymnasium) was built on Münchenhofplatz
1855-1860 - built the Zakheim Gate
1858-1859 - the New University was built (architect A. Shtuhler)
1864-1874 - the castle observation tower was rebuilt in the Gothic style.
1864 (?) - The gate with the tower at Grünebrücke was demolished
1864 - the new building of the University was opened on the Parade Square
1865 - a monument to Kant was opened at the new building of the University
1865 - the first train went on the Königsberg - Pillau line
1865 - the Albertinum and part of the Old College were demolished and the Kneiphof Gymnasium was built in their place
1866 - The brick Gothic Ausphalian gate was built on the site of the gate from 1626 (preserved)
1872-1881 - Royal Government building completed East Prussia in Tragheim
1875 - the construction of the new building of the Neo-Renaissance trade exchange was completed, which was moved from Knaphof to the other bank of the Pregel
1879-1882 - the Honey Bridge was rebuilt, which was made a drawbridge
1880 - Steindamm Church transferred to the German community due to a sharp decrease in the number of Polish-speaking parishioners
1881 - the first tram line was opened
1883 - High bridge built
1885 - the monument to Kant was moved to Paradeplatz
1886 - Köttelbrücke (Gutt Bridge) rebuilt in stone and metal
1888 - 140,909 inhabitants
1888-89 - the building of the commandant's office of the Königsberg garrison was built (preserved)
1891, May 19 - the monument to Duke Albrecht, created by the sculptor Roisch, was unveiled at the Oat Tower of the Castle
1892 - the Walter-Simon-Platz stadium was built (now the "Baltika" stadium)
1892 - Friedrichs Collegium built
1893 - Kant's house demolished
1894 - a monument to Kaiser Wilhelm was erected by the sculptor Professor Roisch
1894 - a house for swans was built on the Castle Pond
1894-1896 - the University sports complex was erected - Palestra Albertina (architect F. Heitmann)
1894-1896 - Lomza synagogue was built
1895 - the first electric tram was launched in Königsberg
1895 - the building of the Realgymnasium is expanded (a gymnasium is added)
1896 - Königsberg Zoo opened
1897 - A 4-storey gymnasium building was added to the Kneiphof gymnasium on the right, while the Bishop's courtyard was demolished in 1542.
1900 - Kremerbrücke (Bench Bridge) rebuilt in stone and metal
1900 - Gebr department store is built on the west side of Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz. Barrasch
1900 - there are 189,483 inhabitants in Königsberg. The whole city was located within the defensive ring
1901 - a monument to Bismarck was opened
1901 - Royal University Library built in Mitteltragheim
1901-1907 - the restoration of the Cathedral was carried out, the building was freed from plaster, the western (main) facade was returned to the features of the XIV century, which by that time had already been noticeably changed by various reconstructions.
1902 - the building of the General Post Office was expanded and a telegraph building was built in the neo-Gothic style (on the north side of Gezekus Square)
1903-1904 - Holzbrücke (Wood Bridge) rebuilt in stone
1905 - the Imperial Bridge was built
1905 - the systematic annexation of the suburbs and the nearest settlements to the city began. As a result, its area has increased from 20 sq. km in 1900 to 192 sq. km in 1939 The population increased to 372164 people.
1906 - a beautiful promenade, gardens and lighting in the form of tracery gas lanterns were erected at the Castle Pond
1906 - Rosenau is included in Konigsberg
1907 - Grünbrücke (Green Bridge) rebuilt in stone and metal
1907 - the Church of the Sagrada Familia was built
1907-1910 - built by Kirch Luther
1908 - The Archer (Fritz Heinemann) sculpture was installed at the Castle Pond
1910 - 1) the Traghayim Gate was demolished; 2) sculptor Stanislaus Kauer completed work on the monument to Friedrich Schiller
1910 or 1911 - in Altstadt, the last medieval residential building on ul. Höckergasse
1911-1913 - built by the Church of the Duke Albrecht in Maraunenhof
1911-1914 - The new Realgymnasium building was built in Löbenicht
1912 - built:
1) Queen Louise theater designed by the architect Walter Kukkuk
2) Stadthalle (city concert hall) on the banks of the Lower Pond
3) the building of the Police Department (now the FSB)
1912 - the sculpture "Fighting Bison" was installed at the Land Court and the Path fountain on the Castle Square
1912 - the Steindamm gate is demolished
1913-1919 - the building of the Academy of Arts was built
1915 (?) - the Gothic pediment of the southern facade of the Castle was converted into a baroque one
1916 - new building of the Academy of Arts
1918 - the building of the postal directorate (now the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet) was built on Ganzaring
1919 - the airport in Devau is opened
1920 - the first German Oriental Fair opens in Königsberg, which is located on the territory of the zoo
1923 - the building of the Trade Yard (since 1927 it has housed the City Hall) (architect Hans Gopp)
1924 - Königsberg Castle declared a museum
1924 - the Hall of Fame of the Prussia Museum is located in the Moscow Hall
1924 - New decoration of Kant's grave (architect Lars)
1924 - a sculpture by Friedrich Roysch "German Michel" (donated to the city in 1904) was installed at the Wrangel tower
1925 - the House of Technology was built (manufactured goods market)
1925 - the 8-storey Kive trading house was built in the Altstadt market. Then Max Wilfang and Company became the owners, which gave rise to the abbreviated form "Wilco".
1925, November 15 - the first Königsberg bus route opened (closed already on December 7, 1927)
1926 - The stables / cavalry barracks, located on the site of the old castle, are demolished. Soon on this site will be built the building of the Reichsbank, and now there is the House of Soviets
1926 - the park in the courtyard of the Castle was destroyed
1927 - the city magistrate was housed in the building of the Trade Yard
1928 - the Financial Administration of the province of East Prussia was built, now the building of the regional administration
1928 - the Parkhotel was built (architect Hans Hopp)
1928 - Polska Street was renamed "Steinhaupt Strabe" - in honor of Georg Steinhaupt, who died of plague in 1465
1928 - restoration work is carried out in the castle, on the site of the cuirassier barracks, a building for the Reichsbank was built in the new classical style
1929 - opening of the main train station in Königsberg
1930 - the construction of the building of the North Station was completed (architect M. Stallman)
1930 - built a vocational school for girls (House of Officers)
1930 - the construction of the building was completed, which housed the Konigsberg State Archives (architect R. Libenthal)
1930-33 - built by Kreuzkirch
1933-34 - the building of the Konigsberg radio (a branch of the Shirshov Institute)
1935 - the monument to Duke Albrecht was moved from the Oat Tower to the northwest tower of the Castle
1938 - the synagogue was burned down
1942 - the Amber Room, taken from the city of Pushkin, is assembled in the castle
1943-1945 - Konigsberg trolleybus
April 7, 1946 - The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a decree on the formation of the Konigsberg region as part of the RSFSR
August 1, 1946 - according to the order of the city administration for civil affairs, Steindamm street received a new name - "Zhitomirskaya". By the same order, several small streets leading in the direction of the main railway station - Kneipchefische and Forntledtische Langasse, Kantstrasse, Posenerstrasse - were united into a single street called “st. Mayakovsky "(now Leninsky Prospect)
1947, June - the population of Kaliningrad was 211,000 people, including 37,000 Germans
1947 - Pedagogical Institute was founded, the first higher educational institution in the region
1948 - the deportation of the German population ended
August 3, 1950 - the executive committee of the Kaliningrad City Council adopted decision No. 407 "On the protection of the bronze monument that stood on the University Square of the Leningradsky District" (after which the monument disappeared without a trace)
1953 - the General plan of the city development was approved
1953 - a monument to Stalin was erected on pl. Victory
1956 - Lars's book "Königsberg Castle" was published
1957 (?) - Altstadt church was demolished
1958, November - the monument to Stalin was moved from the square. Victory in the square on Teatralnaya street, instead of a monument to Lenin
1960 - The cathedral received the status of a cultural monument of republican significance, but no measures were taken to preserve the building
1961, August 14 - Lebenikht Catholic Church was excluded from the list of "monuments of architecture of national importance."
1962 - the monument to Stalin was dismantled
1963 - Leninsky Prospect appeared on the map as a result of the merger of Zhitomirskaya and Mayakovsky streets
1963-64 - the remains of the central telegraph building are demolished
1967 - the building of the Stock Exchange was restored as the House of Culture of Seamen, the Kaliningrad State was created. un-t
1968, September - the city authorities turned to the command of the higher engineering school with a request “to perform drilling and blasting operations to destroy the remains of the Castle and large-sized blocks”.
1970 - the final destruction of the Lebenikht Catholic Church
1970 - Kirch of Duke Albrecht's memory is blown up in Maraunenhof
1972, November 5 - the flyover bridge across the island was opened. Kneiphof (Kant Island), while Kremerbrücke (Lavochny Bridge) and Grünbrücke (Green Bridge) were demolished
1972 - the restoration of the former Exchange is completed (as a recreation center of seamen)
1973 - the former German town hall on the square. Victory became the House of Soviets (city executive committee, now the mayor's office)
1974 - the southern part of the basement of the Castle is hidden by cladding with gray tuff, the hotel "Kaliningrad" was built
1974 - the sculpture "Mother Russia" was placed on the pedestal of the former monument to Stalin
1975 - the Kaliningrad trolleybus was launched
There may be not an ounce of truth in this legend, but I really like it. Do not shed and read it to the end.
In the spring of 1255, after a successful winter campaign against Prussia by the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order (Its full and official name is Ordo Domus Sanctae Mariae Teutonicorum "Order of the House of St. Mary of Germany"). Popo von Ostern, Margrave of Brandenburg Otto III, Prince of Elbing Heinrich von Meissen and Bohemian King Ottokar II Přemysl, on the advice of the latter, on the banks of the Pregel River, not far from its confluence with the Frischeshaf Bay, a castle was laid.
This was not the first fortification built by the German knights on the land of the Prussians. By 1240, they had already erected twenty-one fortified points, and each stood either on the site of the captured Prussian fortresses - such, for example, were the castles of Balga, Lenzenburg, Kreuzburg - or on a strategically advantageous site that confirms the military positions of the Teutonic Order on this land.
But the castle built on the banks of the Pregel was special. 
After the uprising of the Prussians in 1242 - 1249, when many of the order's fortifications were destroyed, the cities located next to them were burned, and the German colonists inhabiting them were massacred, it became clear that the final and real assertion of the power of Christianity over the pagan Prussians on these lands would not give just a military victory. This power needed to be backed up by a special magical act that would change the most ideological foundations of this entire territory, would leave the Prussian gods without their sacred power and thus weaken the Prussian tribes, deprive them of the military spirit known to the whole region.
It was this function that the castle on the banks of the Pregel had to fulfill. It was decided to put it on a hill overgrown with sacred oaks, which the Prussians called Tuvangste and which they worshiped, considering the habitat of their gods.
In the early morning of April 7, 1255, a detachment of ten knights led by Burchard von Hornhausen, who later became the castle commander, left Balga through the last spring snow and headed to the site of the planned construction.
We drove slowly, enjoying the first spring sun. In the middle of the day, we stopped for a rest in an old Prussian fortress, captured by the order fifteen years ago and named Lenzenburg (to date, this fortress has not survived).
In the morning of the next day, we went on, knowing that they would only get to the place in the evening. Crossing the Frisching River at noon (now it is the Prokhladnaya River), they noted to themselves that the castle planned at the place of its confluence with the Frischeshaf Bay was really needed, and hoped for its speedy construction: it was said that it was entrusted to the Master of the Order, Margrave of Brandenburg Otto III. ... (In 1266, Otto III actually built a castle in this place and named it Brandenburg "for eternal memory in honor of his Margrave"). In 1267 the castle was captured and burned by the Prussians, but in the same year it was restored by the knights of the order. They also made a rest here during the day. Everyone was in high spirits: everyone knew that it was up to him to decide special task Order and the Holy Church of Christ, and this uplifted, gave a feeling of exclusivity and even the chosenness.
No one suspected that he would become a participant in important, mystical events that would determine the fate of this entire region for centuries to come.
Towards evening they came to Pregel, or, as the Prussians themselves called this river, Lipce. Along the loose ice, carefully escorting the horses between the dark gullies, we went first to a wooded island, from which Tuvangste was already quite a stone's throw, and then to the other side, right to the hill on which, in fact, the castle was supposed to stand.
It was already getting dark. On the hillock to the left, separated from Tuwangste by a small stream, was a large Prussian settlement. The brothers sent their horses to him, hoping to find a lodging and supper there.
Six years ago, the order was at war with all the Prussian tribes. But everyone was tired of blood: both the Prussians and the order brothers - and a truce was concluded. It was beneficial primarily to the order. But the Prussians were also satisfied: everyone who was captured and converted to Christianity was released on condition not to return to paganism. However, many did not keep their promises. Attending church services, they then secretly came to the temples in the sacred groves and there they ate boiled meat and drank beer - so, according to them, they made sacrifices to their gods.
The order behaved more insidiously. Having restored his fortifications and increased the garrisons - including at the expense of the Prussians, who remain faithful to Christianity - he set about further development of the Prussian lands. So a few months ago, a great campaign was made against Sambia, which made the influence of the order even wider.
With all this, the outside peace between the order and the Prussians was still respected. If necessary, in the Prussian settlements, the brothers could find shelter and food for themselves and for their horses, but the main and paradoxical one is the help needed in the construction of fortresses.
Burchard von Hornhausen knew all this and therefore led his detachment to the Prussian village with a light heart. Tomorrow, April 9, 1255, in the morning he will gather all the healthy men to work on the foundation of the castle, and at noon the felling of oaks at the top of Tuwangste will begin. Everything went as well as possible. The work will take place very close to the village of the Prussians, and the brothers will be able to live in it until winter. And there the premises of the fortress will be ready. The cut oaks will be used right there - they will go to the construction of the first walls and towers.
From the village to which Burchard von Hornhausen had sent his detachment, inhabited human habitation stretched far in the cold evening air. It smelled deliciously of smoke, fresh bread, roasted pork, and cow dung, which still retained the aromas of dry summer herbs. Somewhere children laughed loudly, and a dull male voice gently soothed them. In the high-rise windows of wooden log cabins, under the most reed roofs, the reflections of the fire that burned in the hearths quivered. And above the rooftops, the first evening stars lit up.
“This is how peaceful and simple the life of every Christian should be,” thought Burchard von Hornhausen, as he drove into the village gate, “and the brothers of our order will not regret themselves that this is always the case.”
Nobody expected a warm welcome, but for some reason it turned out to be even colder than expected. The men gloomily accepted the horses from the brothers, the women, without raising their eyes and without a word, put a dish of bread, large earthenware bowls with cheese, mugs and jugs of milk on the table. And everyone dispersed, leaving the brothers alone in this strong, but suddenly uncomfortable house with a hearth burning in the corner, with a laid table, to which no one had ever invited them. And it was not clear what to do next: whether to start eating without waiting for the owners, or to wait for their return, fighting hunger and humbly accepting their rare impoliteness.
All were silent. Sparks flashed and went out on the coals of the hearth. A warm weight slowly, gradually spread over the body, making the thought of food distant and unimportant. I remembered the recent trip to Sambia, a few weeks' respite at Balga Castle. For many, this land has already become their own - this is how the brothers thought about it and said so. It was only necessary for the holy faith of Christ to spread to all its corners, and it was they, the brothers of the Teutonic Order, who tempered their weapons and faith in Jerusalem itself, who had a high mission to accomplish this. It was worth living and dying for!
Someone touched Burchard von Hornhausen on the shoulder. He looked around and saw an old man standing beside him in a light woolen shirt to the heels, with a simple rope belt, in a strange felt cap. In his hand he held a tall staff - a long trunk of a young tree, turned upside down. Clear, penetrating - his gaze was not at all senile, but deep pain shone through in this gaze.
“This is Krive Krivaitis, the high priest of the Prussians,” Burchard von Hornhausen suddenly realized. And with this understanding, in some strange way, came the knowing knowledge of what he was going to say now.
Looking intently into the eyes of Burchard von Hornhausen, Krive suddenly began to speak in the Rhine dialect, but his lips only barely quivered at the same time:
“It's not too late,” Burchard von Hornhausen heard inside himself. - Stop. The path that your mage-king Ottokar has shown you will lead to trouble. Your foot should not step on Tuwangste's ground. Fear the trampling of our gods - no one can humiliate the sun and sky, youth and maturity, sea and earth. And their revenge is not inexorable. You cannot go into battle with what is life itself and go unpunished. Tell your mage king about all this. And tomorrow, go back to your castle to do what you did before and what is destined for you.
Krive Krivaitis fell silent. The fire in the hearth suddenly flared up brightly, illuminating the bundles of onions hanging in the corners, bunches of herbs, skins on the walls, wide benches under them, brothers sitting at the table, who, already falling asleep on the go, wearily ate what the owners had put on the table. It was all strange. As if time had changed its course for Burchard von Hornhausen.
He looked back again to object to Kriva Krivaitis or, perhaps, to agree with him, having said something very important. But he was not there. Only the big black raven under the thatched roof, who had come out of nowhere, roused itself and, shifting from foot to foot, flapped its wings.
The next day, waking up before sunrise, the brothers ate what was left after yesterday's supper and went out of the house to the street. The men of the settlement were already standing in a group, waiting for the brothers and discussing something with concerned faces. When Burchard von Hornhausen approached them, they all fell silent, turned to him, and one of them, apparently the most important one, stepped forward and spoke in Prussian, choosing his words so that he could be easily understood:
“Knight, you don’t have to go to Tuwangsta. We were told that it would be very bad. There are many other places. We will help you build. But there is no need to go to Tuvangsta. Stop, knight.
Burchard von Hornhausen himself began to feel a kind of uneasiness at heart. There was no joy in the consciousness of the mission entrusted to him and his comrades. But could he disobey the Grand Master of the Order of Popo von Ostern and not obey his order?
He made an effort on himself, and a familiar excitement, the same as before the fight, began to cover him, blocking both worry and doubt. Removing the sword from its scabbard and taking it by the blade, he raised the resulting cross high above his head.
“The Lord God and the power of the cross are with us,” he exclaimed, inspiring himself and trying to convey this feeling to all those who had to go to the construction site. - Faith will be our banner. Our Lord Jesus said: if you have faith the size of a mustard seed and say to grief: "go from here to there," and it will pass, and nothing will be impossible for you. Let us go with faith, and become stronger, and glorify our Lord and the holy church!
Burchard von Hornhausen's inspiration really passed on to those around him. The Prussians, though reluctantly, nevertheless headed out of the settlement in the direction of Tuvangste.
And at the very moment when the detachment was leaving the gate, it seemed to Burkhard von Hornhausen that Krive Krivaitis was standing in their shadow and was silently watching him. As he grew cold and again beginning to feel doom, he clearly heard the already familiar: "It's not too late!" But he pulled himself together and saw that in fact there was no one at the gate. And the detachment moved more and more evenly, more organized, and it was already impossible to stop it.
The sun rose over the wooded hills in the direction of Tuwangste, and the brothers, along with the Prussians, walked in the direction of the sun. "This is a good sign. thought Burchard von Hornhausen. - Ex Oriente Lux, Light from the East ”. He tried to feel light and confident in himself. And the strength that seemed to help him overcome any obstacles.
With this confident ease, everyone entered Tuwangsta - and nothing happened. Well, - thought Burchard von Hornhausen - all fears were in vain. The faith of Christ is stronger than paganism. So it was always and everywhere, so it will be now. Or maybe it's even not bad that our castle will stand on the holy place of the Prussians ... "
In the east, the Tuvangste forest ended in a deep ravine, along the bottom of which a rather wide and deep stream flowed. “But this is a pious place,” Burchard von Hornhausen thought again, “pious and a brook. So let it be called from now on - Löbebach ”.
It was decided to build a fortress on the edge of the ravine.
Everyone stood in a circle, prayed briefly before starting work, Burchard von Hornhausen gave the order to start. But then something unexpected and inexplicable happened.
From behind a large old oak tree, near which was the very sanctuary of the Prussians - sacrificial stones, fireplaces, images of the gods carved from wood and dug into the ground, ritual curtains stretched on poles also with their images - Krive Krivaitis emerged, real, alive, made of flesh and blood.
He was silent, but each of those present suddenly lacked the strength to carry out the order of Burchard von Hornhausen. Nobody started to move.
Burchard von Hornhausen, internally praying to the heavenly army, gathered all his will and again, in a broken voice, ordered to begin.
But the Prussians stood in silence, without raising their eyes, listlessly clutching axes in their hands. Krive Krivaitis also stood silently beside the old oak tree, and the wind easily stirred his long gray hair. The sun shone brightly and festively above. It was quiet - so quiet that you could hear the snow melting at the roots of the trees on the south side and how the first spring greens were making their way through it towards the light. And no one raised the ax, swung it first, hit a tree, each of which was sacred for the entire Prussian people.
Then the brothers themselves took up the axes. The first hard blows echoed far away.
And something trembled in the world. A gust of wind, like a groan, swept through the forest. The sky seemed to shrink in fright. The sun became kind of tired and unhappy. The oak trees tensed strangely - a threat emanated from them. And everyone: Burchard von Hornhausen, the order brothers, the Prussians, who were doomedly standing there, Krive Krivaitis himself - felt that something important and irreplaceable was leaving this place and their life. As if the girl loses her innocence in the presence of strangers, evil tormented by someone else's dirty flesh. And it will never be possible to fix it.
From the surprise and from the certainty of what was happening, the brothers stopped again.
Krive Krivaitis, with a white face and a strange fire in his eyes, stepped forward. An unusual power suddenly surged from him. One of his hands flew up, as if he were catching something descending from heaven, the other stretched out to Burchard von Hornhausen and the depressed brothers. Deafly, but at the same time distinctly and distinctly, he uttered the words that fell on the soul of each of them as hard as stones:
- You who think that you have come here forever. You who speak and think of yourself as if you know the truth about the world. You who, by cunning and force, make us renounce our gods and worship the cross and the one who died in torment on it. I am addressing you, Krive Krivaitis, high priest of the Prussians. By the power of Okopirms, Perkuno, Potrimpo and Patollo - the supreme gods who revealed themselves to us and our ancestors and gave irresistible vitality to all that exists, by the power of these gods, overflowing our souls in battle, I am the river to you.
You have defiled our holy place with your feet, and therefore may it be damned to you for centuries. Your days on this earth are already numbered. Only seven times the age of the castle you are building will revolve, and the night fire will fall from heaven to turn it and the city around it into a sea of fire. Others will come, similar to us and worshiping the same gods through the cross, and they will not leave stone after stone from your castle. This land will be dead. Stone ice will bind her, and nothing will grow on her but wild grasses. After that, another castle will be erected, higher than the previous one, but it will remain dead and will begin to collapse, not yet completed. A crafty spirit of huckstering and deceit will hover over this place. And even a man's immersion of his hands in the land of Tuwangste in an effort to return to the past will not remove my curse. It will be so, and my word is firm.
And only after it is fully fulfilled, the curse can be lifted. This will happen if three priests - one in word, one in faith, the third in love and forgiveness - plant a new oak on the land of Tuwangste, worship it with reverence, light a sacred fire and return our gods by offering them a sacrifice. And it will again be me, the high priest of the Prussians Krive Krivaitis, and my priests Hercus and Sikko. But we will have other names and other lives. We will return to accomplish what is written on the tablets of Eternity.
There was another long silence. What were the confused and truly frightened Order brothers thinking? What did the defeated and depressed Prussians feel? Now no one will know about this.
But the Teutons were the first to come to their senses after these words. In the deep silence that overwhelmed the now ordinary oak grove, descending from a high hill down to the waters of the Pregel, there was the uncertain thump of one ax, then another, a third ...
The knocking became more and more frequent, confident.
The clock of fate began a sad countdown to the moments of the life of the castle and city under construction - Konigsberg.
Berestnev Gennady Ivanovich, Doctor of Philosophy, Professor
In general, this legend is called "The beginning of Konigsberg. Hypothetical reconstruction", but I do not like this name.
The Seven Years' War began in 1756 with several battles by the armies of Austria and France against the Prussian troops. The Russian army under the command of Field Marshal Apraksin launched a campaign against Prussia in the spring of 1757 from Riga in two directions: through Memel and Kovno. She entered the territory of Prussia, moved beyond Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk). At the village of Gross-Jegersdorf (now defunct, Chernyakhovsky district) on August 30, in a fierce battle, the Russian army defeated the Prussian troops under the command of Field Marshal Lewald. The way to Konigsberg was open!
However, the troops unexpectedly turned back and left Prussia through Tilsit. Only the city of Memel remained in the hands of the Russians. The reason for the retreat of the Russian army is still a topic of controversy. But it is believed that the true reasons were the lack of food and the loss of people. That summer, the Russian troops faced two opponents: the Prussian army and the weather.
In the second campaign against Prussia in the fall of 1757, General-in-Chief Willim Willimovich Fermor (1702-1771) became the head of the army. The task was the same - at the first opportunity to occupy Prussia. At three o'clock in the morning on January 22, 1758, the Russian infantry set out from Kaymen and by eleven o'clock occupied the forstadts of Konigsberg, which actually ended up in the hands of the Russians. By four o'clock in the afternoon, Fermor, at the head of the detachment, entered the city. The route of his movement was as follows: from the side of the present Polessk to the city center, Frunze Street leads (formerly Konigstrasse, and during the events described - Breitstrasse, in Russian documents of that time this street was literally translated as "Broad Street"). Along it, Fermor and his retinue, following through the crowd of curious spectators, entered the castle. There he was met by representatives of the Prussian authorities, led by Lesving, and presented with the "keys to the city" (more likely, of course, a symbol marking a historical event).
By the way, in Konigsberg, when the Russian troops entered it, there were eighteen churches, of which 14 were Lutheran, 3 were Calvinist and one was Roman Catholic. There were no Orthodox Christians, which was a problem for the emerging Russian residents. We found a way out. Russian clergy opted for a building later known as the Steindamm Church. It was one of the oldest churches in Koenigsberg, dating back to 1256. Since 1526, Polish and Lithuanian parishioners have used it. And on September 15, 1760, the consecration of the church took place.
It should be noted that the victors behaved peacefully in Prussia. They provided the residents with freedom of belief and trade and opened up access to Russian service. The two-headed eagles have replaced the Prussian ones everywhere. An Orthodox monastery was built in Konigsberg. They began to mint a coin with the image of Elizabeth and the signature: Elisabeth rex Prussiae. The Russians intended to establish themselves firmly in East Prussia.
But in Russia there is a change of power. Empress Elizaveta Petrovna dies and Peter III ascends to the Russian throne, as you know, an ardent supporter of Frederick II. In a treatise dated May 5, 1762, Peter III unconditionally gave Frederick II all the territories previously occupied by the Russians. On July 5, the Konigsberg city newspaper was already published, crowned with the Prussian coat of arms. The transfer of power in the provinces began. On July 9, a coup takes place in Russia and Catherine II ascends to the royal throne, but still the Russian rule in Prussia came to an end. Already on August 5, 1762, the last Russian governor of Prussia Voeikov F.M. (1703-1778) received an order to finally proceed with the transfer of the province, henceforth not to interfere in the internal affairs of Prussia, to allow the Prussian garrisons to occupy the fortresses.
September 3, 1762 - the beginning of the withdrawal of Russian troops from Prussia. And on February 15, 1763, the Seven Years' War ended with the signing of the Hubertusburg Peace. Frederick II died of a cold on August 17, 1786 in Potsdam, leaving no direct heir.
One of the most significant operations carried out by the Red Army in 1945 was the storming of Königsberg and the liberation of East Prussia.
Fortifications of the Grolman Upper Front, Oberteich bastion after surrender /
Fortifications of the Grolman Upper Front, Oberteich Bastion. Courtyard.
Troops of the 10th Panzer Corps of the 5th Guards Tank Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front occupy the city of Mühlhausen (now the Polish city of Mlynary) during the Mlavsko-Elbing operation.
German soldiers and officers taken prisoner during the assault on Konigsberg.
A column of German prisoners is walking along Hindenburg Strasse in the city of Insterburg (East Prussia), towards the Lutheran Church (now the city of Chernyakhovsk, Lenin Street).
Soviet soldiers carry weapons of their dead comrades after a battle in East Prussia.
Soviet soldiers are learning to overcome barbed wire.
Soviet officers inspecting one of the forts in the occupied Konigsberg.
Machine gun crew MG-42 is firing in the area of the railway station in the city of Goldap in battles with Soviet troops. 
Ships in the frozen harbor of Pillau (now Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region of Russia), late January 1945.
Konigsberg, Tragheim district after the assault, damaged building.
German grenadiers move towards the last Soviet positions in the area of the Goldap railway station.
Koenigsberg. Kronprinz barracks, tower.
Konigsberg, one of the fortifications between fortifications.
The Hans Albrecht Wedel air support ship receives refugees in Pillau harbor.
Leading German troops enter the city of Goldap in East Prussia, which was previously occupied by Soviet troops.
Konigsberg, panorama of the city ruins.
The corpse of a German woman killed in an explosion at Metgethen in East Prussia.
Belonging to the 5th tank division tank Pz.Kpfw. V Ausf. G "Panther" on the street of the city of Goldap.
German soldier hanged on the outskirts of Königsberg for looting. The inscription in German "Plündern wird mit-dem Tode bestraft!" translates as "Who will rob - will be executed!"
A Soviet soldier in a German Sdkfz 250 armored personnel carrier on a street in Konigsberg.
Units of the German 5th Panzer Division are moving forward for a counterattack against the Soviet troops. District of Cattenau, East Prussia. Ahead is the Pz.Kpfw. V "Panther".
Königsberg, a barricade on the street.
A battery of 88mm anti-aircraft guns prepares to repel a Soviet tank attack. East Prussia, mid-February 1945.
German positions on the outskirts of Konigsberg. The caption reads: "We will defend Koenigsberg." Propaganda photo.
Soviet self-propelled guns ISU-122S is fighting in Konigsberg. 3rd Belorussian Front, April 1945.
German sentry on the bridge in the center of Konigsberg.
A Soviet motorcyclist drives past German StuG IV self-propelled guns and 105-mm howitzers abandoned on the road.
A German landing craft evacuating troops from the Heiligenbeil boiler enters Pillau harbor.
Konigsberg blown up by the pillbox.
Destroyed German self-propelled gun StuG III Ausf. G in the background of the Kronprinz tower, Königsberg.
Konigsberg, panorama from the Don tower.
Kenisberg, April 1945. View of the Royal Castle
German assault gun StuG III knocked out in Konigsberg. In the foreground, the slain German soldier.
German vehicles on the Mitteltragheim street in Konigsberg after the assault. StuG III assault guns on the right and left, JgdPz IV tank destroyer in the background.
Grolman Upper Front, Grolman Bastion. Before the surrender of the fortress, it housed the headquarters of the 367th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht.
On the street of the port of Pillau. The evacuated German soldiers abandon their weapons and equipment before being loaded onto ships.
The German 88 mm FlaK 36/37 anti-aircraft gun abandoned on the outskirts of Konigsberg.
Konigsberg, panorama. Don Tower, Rossgarten Gate.
Königsberg, German bunker in the Horst Wessel Park area.
An unfinished barricade on the Duke Albrecht Alley in Königsberg (now Thalmann Street).
Königsberg, destroyed by a German artillery battery.
German prisoners of war at the Zakheim gate of Konigsberg.
Königsberg, German trenches.
German machine-gun crew in position in Konigsberg near the Don tower.
German refugees on Pillau Street walk past a column of Soviet self-propelled guns SU-76M.
Konigsberg, Friedrichsburg Gate after the assault.
Konigsberg, Wrangel tower, moat.
View from the Don tower to Oberteich (Upper Pond), Konigsberg.
On Königsberg street after the assault.
Konigsberg, Wrangel tower after surrender.
Corporal I.A. Gureev at the post at the border mark in East Prussia.
Soviet unit in a street fight in Konigsberg.
Regulator sergeant Anya Karavaeva on the way to Konigsberg.
Soviet soldiers in the town of Allenstein (now the town of Olsztyn in Poland) in East Prussia.
Artillerymen of the Guard Lieutenant Sofronov are fighting on the Avaider Alley in Konigsberg (now the Alley of the Courageous).
The result of an air strike on German positions in East Prussia.
Soviet soldiers are fighting a street fight on the outskirts of Konigsberg. 3rd Belorussian Front.
Soviet armored boat No. 214 in the Konigsberg Canal after a battle with a German tank.
A German assembly point for defective captured armored vehicles in the Königsberg area.
Evacuation of the remnants of the "Great Germany" division to the Pillau area.
German equipment abandoned in Königsberg. In the foreground is the sFH 18 150 mm howitzer.
Koenigsberg. Bridge over the moat to the Rossgarten gate. Don tower in the background
An abandoned German 105mm le.F.H.18 / 40 howitzer in position in Königsberg.
A German soldier lights a cigarette at the StuG IV self-propelled gun.
A destroyed German Pz.Kpfw tank is on fire. V Ausf. G "Panther". 3rd Belorussian Front.
Soldiers of the "Great Germany" division are loaded onto makeshift rafts to cross the Frisches Huff Bay (now the Kaliningrad Bay). Balga Peninsula, Cape Kalholz.
Soldiers of the "Great Germany" division in positions on the Balga Peninsula.
Meeting of Soviet fighters on the border with East Prussia. 3rd Belorussian Front.
The bow of a German transport sinking as a result of an attack by Baltic Fleet aircraft off the coast of East Prussia.
Observer pilot of the Henschel Hs.126 reconnaissance aircraft takes pictures of the terrain during a training flight.
Damaged German assault gun StuG IV. East Prussia, February 1945.
Seeing off Soviet soldiers from Konigsberg.
The Germans inspect the damaged Soviet tank T-34-85 in the village of Nemmersdorf.
Tank "Panther" from the 5th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht in Goldap.
German soldiers armed with Panzerfaust grenade launchers next to the MG 151/20 aircraft cannon in the infantry version.
Column German tanks The Panther moves towards the front in East Prussia.
Broken cars on the street of Konigsberg, taken by storm. Soviet soldiers in the background.
Troops of the Soviet 10th Tank Corps and the bodies of German soldiers on Mühlhausen Street.
Soviet sappers are walking along the street of the burning Insterburg in East Prussia.
Column of Soviet tanks IS-2 on the road in East Prussia. 1st Belorussian Front.
A Soviet officer examines the German self-propelled gun "Jagdpanther" shot down in East Prussia.
Soviet soldiers are sleeping, resting after fighting, right on the street of Konigsberg, taken by storm.
Konigsberg, anti-tank obstacles.
German refugees with a baby in Königsberg.
A short meeting in the 8th company after reaching the state border of the USSR.
A group of pilots of the Normandie-Niemen air regiment at the Yak-3 fighter in East Prussia.
A sixteen-year-old Volkssturm soldier armed with an MP 40 submachine gun. East Prussia.
Construction of defensive structures, East Prussia, mid-July 1944.
Refugees from Königsberg move towards Pillau, mid-February 1945.
German soldiers at a halt near Pillau.
German quadruple anti-aircraft gun FlaK 38, mounted on a tractor. Fishhausen (now Primorsk), East Prussia.
Civilians and a captured German soldier on Pillau Street during the garbage collection after the end of the fighting for the city.
Boats of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet being repaired in Pillau (currently the city of Baltiysk in the Kaliningrad region of Russia).
German auxiliary vessel "Franken" after attack by Il-2 attack aircraft of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force.
Explosion of bombs on the German ship "Franken" as a result of an attack by Il-2 attack aircraft of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet Air Force
A break from a heavy shell in the wall of the Oberteich bastion of the fortifications of the Grolman upper front of Konigsberg.
The bodies of two German women and three children, allegedly killed Soviet soldiers in the town of Metgeten in East Prussia in January-February 1945. Propaganda German photo.
Transportation of the Soviet 280-mm mortar Br-5 in East Prussia.
Distribution of food to Soviet soldiers in Pillau after the end of the fighting for the city.
Soviet soldiers pass through a German settlement on the outskirts of Konigsberg.
Broken German assault gun StuG IV on the streets of Allenstein (now Olsztyn, Poland.)
Soviet infantry, supported by ACS SU-76, attacked German positions in the Königsberg area.
ACS SU-85 column on the march in East Prussia.
Signpost "Freeway to Berlin" on one of the roads of East Prussia.
The explosion on the tanker "Sassnitz". The tanker with a cargo of fuel was sunk on March 26, 1945, 30 miles from Liepaja, by aircraft of the 51st mine-torpedo aviation regiment and the 11th assault aviation division of the Baltic Fleet Air Force.
The bombing of German transports and Pillau port facilities by KBF airplanes.
The German ship-floating base of the hydroaviation "Boelcke", attacked by the Il-2 squadron of the 7th Guards Attack Aviation Regiment of the Baltic Fleet Air Force, 7.5 km southeast of Cape Hel.
