Greetings, friends.
Last spring, my wife and I decided to go to Kaliningrad. I even bought 2 round-trip plane tickets. When did my wife and I go somewhere far from home for a few days together? It seems to me that it was more than 10 years ago. So this trip did not take place either. Something went wrong. A week after buying the tickets, my wife said she was afraid to fly.
I made a refund and began planning a trip to Kaliningrad alone. But in the winter, I talked to the older children and we planned a trip together. We just need to figure out the time of the trip. It turned out well - my son was given a vacation in mid-May and we decided to meet in Königsberg-Kaliningrad on May 18.
And so on May 18, 2025, I stand at the grave of Immanuel Kant. Who is it? Do any of my readers not know Kant's philosophy? It seemed to me that this was practically a meme.
Or maybe someone doesn't know about the history of Kaliningrad? Even locals often refer to this city as Konigsberg, as it has been called since its foundation. It means "Royal Mountain" in German.
In 1946, East Prussia became part of the USSR and was renamed the Kaliningrad Region; the city was subsequently renamed Kaliningrad. Settlements and other geographical names of locations have also been renamed.
If someone is interested in learning more about the city's history, they can find it on the Internet.
The Cathedral or the Konisberg Cathedral, now called the Immanuel Kant Museum. There are many names, but everyone understands what they are talking about. This Cathedral is located on the island of Kanta, which was formerly called Kneiphof and had a dense urban area. It was the heart of Konisberg. It is currently the only large stationary building on the island. The city was completely destroyed after two massive carpet bombing raids in late August 1944. It was a senseless, ruthless action. At the Yalta Conference in 1943, it was decided that East Prussia would go to the USSR after World War II, so the British did not spare the city, and the USSR did not rebuild the buildings on the island, but all the ruins were dismantled and bricks were sent to rebuild Stalingrad and Leningrad.
The cathedral stood destroyed until 1992. It is strange that it was not completely dismantled, and the bricks were not sent to other Soviet cities. But the fact remains that in 1992 the Cathedral began to be restored, and 13 years later it opened its doors to visitors as a museum. It is a pity that the roof of the Cathedral is not covered with tiles, as it was in the original.
It was Sunday, May 18th. It turned out that Kaliningrad residents celebrated the "Bread and Milk Holiday" on the island on May 17 and 18, and my son, granddaughter, and I managed to become participants in this holiday. But the daughter, son-in-law, and grandson didn't see it anymore.
Street food was absolutely necessary for us in order to feel like vacationers. There was a restaurant waiting for us in the evening, my daughter is very practical in this matter; she plans restaurant visits and studies reviews about such places on the Internet.
My son and I look at it a little differently.
When I visit a city, I begin to study the history of that place in more detail. Now I know what Kant's Island is. I didn't know that before Soviet times it was a very densely populated city with multi-storey buildings. In Soviet times, the island was turned into a recreation park and an open-air exhibition of figures and statues. All the trees on the island are about the same age. At the moment, there are large banners in the park-photos of the old streets and houses. But it took me 2 days to figure this out, but on the first day, I didn't understand the meaning of these photos and was surprised that they were set on an island.
There is history at every turn on the island. Monument to the founder of the first University of Konigsberg, Duke Albrecht Hohenzollern.
Oh, what is it? A knight's tent city with a blacksmith shop, a shooting range, a kitchen, and a fortune teller.
Well, the acquaintance with the city has begun. We have 6 more days ahead, and other cities in the region.
By the way, the location of the city can be seen by clicking on the link to the map in the comments to the article by @travelfeed and @worldmappin
Thanks for reading...
Text & Photography by @apnigrich
With love @apnigrich
Good luck and have fun
