Kaliningrad

Kaliningrad (Russian: Калининград, former German name: Königsberg) is a city in Russia, the capital of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania.

History

The first settlement on the site of the current city was the Prussian village Twangste. During the conquest of Prussia by Teutonic knights in 1255, a castle was founded there and named Königsberg (King’s mountain) in honour of the Czech king Ottokar II, who was an ally of the Teutonic knights.

Latter several settlemets populated by German colonists emerged in the proximity of the castle, Altstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht. Although they were independent, all together they made one city, that was known as Königsberg, after the castle.

In 1340 Königsberg became member of Hansaetic League. The university was founded 1544. Later this university became famous because of Immanuel Kant, who studied and worked there.

In 1724 the three towns were amalgamated into one, so Königsberg became an administrative entiety.

The city was heavily damaged during the World War 2. After the war, it became the part of the Russian republic of Soviet Union, together with the northern part of East Prussia. The German population was replaced by Soviet citizens. In 1946 the name was changed into Kaliningrad, after Soviet politition Mikhail Kalinin. Kaliningrad became the capital of Kaliningrad Oblast.

After the disintegration of Soviet Union Kaliningrad Oblast became a Russian exclave, separated from the rest of Russia.

Economy

The main branches of industry in Kaliningrad are fishery, heavy industry (shipbuilding yards, railway equipment), food industry.

Transportation

The city is transportation hub. It has big ice-free harbour. The Khrabrovo international airport is located ca 20 km outside the city. Kaliningrad is connected to both Russian (broad gauge) and European (standard gauge) rail networks.

The public transport within the city consists of bus, trolleybus and tramway networks.

Culture and education

The city has numerous museums, including:

• Museum of history and art
• Amber museum
• Maritime museum
• Art gallery

There are 21 higher education institutions, the most important are Kant Russian State University (humanities, social sciences, languages, economics), Kaliningrad State Engineering University (technology and engineering) and Baltic State Academy (maritime sciences)