Wikipedia

Cultural heritage of Kaliningrad Oblast

The cultural heritage of Kaliningrad Oblast is a mixture of the prewar German heritage, dating back to the prewar East Prussian period, and the Soviet and Russian designs constructed since then.

The old town of Sovetsk, with German-era buildings

History edit

Many heritage sites in Kaliningrad Oblast were damaged during World War II, or willfully destroyed in the postwar period by Soviet authorities.[1] A number of landmarks did survive, such as the gothic Königsberg Cathedral containing the tomb of Kant, or the Königsberg Stock Exchange building.[2] Already in the 1960s, a group of local architects and intellectuals began to campaign for the preservation of the region's German heritage, albeit unsuccessfully.[3]

The first Soviet housing blocks were built only in 1966.[4] The spread of Soviet-style prefabricated panel buildings eventually changed the appearance of Kaliningrad. The 1970s House of Soviets is another part of the local Soviet architectural period.[2]

Mirroring the rediscovery of pre-revolutionary history in the rest of Russia, since 1991 there have been many efforts to recover the prewar heritage sites of Kaliningrad.[1] Preservation and reconstruction efforts are hampered by a complicated property ownership situation, as during the 1990s the city administration raised cash by selling land for construction without regard for central planning.[5]

Old buildings are being restored, and new ones built in conscious imitation of the old Königsberg architecture.[3] Some local architects are cautious about the reconstruction efforts, worried that the result may end up looking too kitsch and unauthentic.[5]

Königsberg Cathedral was successfully restored from 1992 to 1998, in a joint Russian-German project.[3] The Fischerdorf development, while being a new development, is a city quarter that intentionally mirrors the prewar architectural styles.[3] A project to restore Kant's House in Veselovka was announced in 2013, and should be completed in time for the 2018 World Cup.[6]

The ruins of Königsberg Castle are being excavated, with a plan to preserve them under a transparent enclosure.[7]

Gallery edit

Castles edit

City gates edit

Religious buildings edit

Forts edit

Postwar heritage edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b Myers, Steven Lee (13 August 2002). "Kaliningrad Journal; A Russian City Digs Up Its Past and Finds Germany". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Remaking history: how Kaliningrad's new centre will look both forward and back". The Calvert Journal. 27 January 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d Savinova, Maria (Spring 2015). "KALININGRAD VS. KÖNIGSBERG: The role of the renaming discussion for the formation of the Kaliningrad regional identity" (PDF). University of Tampere. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  4. ^ "Russia: Is Kaliningrad Looking For A New Identity?". Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. 10 September 2002. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  5. ^ a b Beyer, Susanne (25 July 2014). "Resurrecting Königsberg: Russian City Looks to German Roots". Spiegel Online. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  6. ^ "Kant's House near Kaliningrad to welcome first visitors in 2018". welcome2018.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  7. ^ "Ruins of Koenigsberg Castle to open for 2018 World Cup tourists". welcome2018.com. Retrieved 11 May 2018.

External links edit

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