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| Kaliningrad | ||
| Oblast | Kaliningrad | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | 475.056 (2018) | |
| height | 5 m | |
no tourist info on Wikidata:  | ||
| location | ||
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Kaliningrad is a russian City on the Baltic Sea. As part of the exclave of the same name, it has no direct land connection to the motherland.
background
Until the end of World War II, Kaliningrad was the German city of Königsberg (Prussia). The former East Prussia has belonged to the Soviet Union since the end of World War II and is now part of the Russian Federation. The Kaliningrad Oblast (area around Kaliningrad) is an exclave in the north and east with Lithuania and in the south with Poland. The area is bordered to the west by the Baltic Sea coast. In August 1944, the inner city of Königsberg was almost completely destroyed, so that today Kaliningrad is a mixture of German buildings, some of which have not yet been renovated, especially in the outskirts, but also Soviet prefabricated and modern buildings Representing functional buildings from the post-Soviet era in the city center.
Surname
After the takeover of the Soviet Union in 1945, the city of Königsberg was named after Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin (1875–1946), a Soviet politician and former head of state. As a representative of the Stalinist reprisals, Kalinin was no longer very popular in the Soviet Union, especially from 1990 onwards. Initiatives of the residents, the city after the native Königsberg Immanuel Kant in Edging degree renaming have not yet been implemented. The local population often colloquially refer to Kaliningrad as Kenig based on the old name before 1945.
getting there
To enter Kaliningrad you need a visa and a passport that is valid for at least six months beyond the return date. If you want to go on a trip to the countries of the Baltic States from Kaliningrad, you need a multiple-entry visa. The visa is issued by the Russian Embassy in Berlin, [1] in Vienna or the consulates general in several German cities, depending on the applicant's place of residence.
After arrival, registration at the immigration office is required. This is usually done by the hotel or, in the case of private invitations, by the inviting person. It is essential to ensure that the "Migrationaya Karta" that you receive upon entry is not lost. Good tip: take a picture of them with your cell phone.
By plane
The Chrabrovo Airport is out of town. Since June 2017 the Polish LOT has been flying from Warsaw to Kaliningrad and back every day except Saturdays. This means that Kaliningrad can again be reached from all major Western European cities without the detour via Moscow and also comparatively inexpensively by air. Another, cheaper alternative is to travel with a low-cost airline (Wizzair, Ryanair) to Gdansk (Poland). From the Gdańsk bus station there are regular buses to Kaliningrad several times a day - see "By bus". You can also have a Russian taxi pick you up from the airport.
By train
The Kaliningrad main train station -Yushniy vokzal- is located in the south of the city. Kaliningrad can be reached by train via Vilnius, Lithuania, where the long-distance train to and from Moscow stops daily. You can go further up Danzig drive and from there by coach to Kaliningrad. Departures 4-5 times a day from the long-distance bus station, which is located directly behind the main train station.
By bus
- The bus station is right next to the main train station. There are regular long-distance bus connections to Germany, Poland (Danzig) and Lithuania (including to Vilnius, Kaunas or Klaipeda).
- For long-distance transport, you can also be transported by Russian minibuses. The slightly higher costs are offset by the advantage of not needing a transfer at either the start or destination. However, the disadvantage is that if you are the last one on the bus, you first have to make the round with 6 or 7 passengers to their destination. These tours are booked through minibus agencies in Kaliningrad. Departures daily around noon. Book 3-4 days in advance. Lockers are available.
- Eurolines offers long-distance bus connections from many German cities.
The airport security checks are annoying with both, even if you only want a timetable information.
In the street
Out Poland The easiest way to get to the Kaliningrad Oblast is via the Mamonowo II / Grzechotki (Heiligenbeil / Rehfeld) border crossing. This lies on the section Elblag–Königsberg of the former Reichsautobahn Berlin – Königsberg. When driving this route, you can experience a piece of German autobahn history up close, especially on the Russian side. Another option is the Braunsberg / Heilgenbeil border crossing (Braniewo/ Mamonovo). This is located on the former Reichsstrasse 1. It is also possible to cross at the Preussisch-Eylau (Bagratiowsk) border crossing further to the east. To cross the border you should plan a few hours of waiting time on the weekends, otherwise the clearance is usually quick, especially at night.
By boat
There is a ferry connection from St. Petersburg to Baltisk (formerly Pillau), which mainly transports goods. The ferry from Mukran (Rügen) has been discontinued (as of August 2018).
mobility
- Public buses in Kaliningrad usually have a route number and a route description. The network is very dense, so that you can actually get to all points of the city and the area. You get on the bus and pay the conductor at the seat, the fare in town is RUB 20 (approx. € 0.30) for one way without changing. The buses are now mostly modern, but there are still retired vehicles from transport companies mainly from Germany and Western Europe. If you have fun, you will experience a piece of local transport history here.
- Trolleybuses (trolleybuses)
- Minibuses are regular buses that travel less frequented routes. In urban areas, the trip costs 22 RUB each way. (August 2018).
- Taxi - there are usually taxi stands with German-speaking drivers at the hotels. If you can speak a little Russian, you can use the "Yandex-Taxi" mobile phone app to book inexpensive taxi rides, even to the seaside resorts on the coast or to the airport.
tram
There was once a dense tram network. Since the substructure is poor, several lines were shut down. The only thing left is tram line no. 5, which runs from the north-west to the south-east of the city. Fare as for the buses.
Tourist Attractions
Churches
- 2 Christ the Savior Cathedral (Храм Христа Спасителя (Калининград), orthodox cathedral).
at the victory square.
- Juditten Church. Orthodox today.
- Luisenkirche. Today used as a puppet theater.
- To the Holy Family. Today the Philharmonic.
- 3 Church of the Resurrection (Церковь Воскресения, Protestant, new building)
Castles, chateaux and palaces
- Foundation walls of the castle that was destroyed in the war
Buildings
The remains of the old city fortifications with the numerous, meanwhile renovated city gates are worth seeing
- 5 Brandenburg Gate (Бранденбургские ворота)
- 6 Dohna Tower (Башня Дона)
- 7 Sackheimer Tor (Закхаймские ворота)
- 8 King's Gate (Королевские ворота)
- 9 Wrangelturm (Башня Врангеля)
- 10 Roßgärter Gate (Росгартенские ворота)
- 11 Friedland Gate (Фридландские ворота)
- 12 Groß Friedrichsburg fortress (Крепость Фридрихсбург)
- Former amber factory, Sattlergasse.
- Former Prussian Regional Court
- Central Station. Südbahnhof.
- Former north station. At Hansaplatz (now Siegesplatz).
- Former stock exchange. Not far from the cathedral, with a forecourt that was redesigned in 2018.
Monuments
- Immanuel Kant monument, in front of the university. By Christian Daniel Rauch (copy).
- Schiller monument by Stanislaus Cauer, Close to the city theater.
- Monument to Albrecht of Brandenburg, on the Kneiphof island directly at the cathedral.
- mother Russia, next to the "Europa" shopping center.
- Monument in front of the former stock exchange
- various war memorials and memorials from the Soviet era.
Museums
- Amber Museum, in the Dohna tower.
- Immanuel Kant Museum, in the cathedral and in the university.
- City history museum, in the former town hall on the castle pond.
- Museum with exhibits from the wartime, in the Friedländer Tor.
- 13 Maritime Museum (Музей Мирового океана), Nab. Petra Velikovo 1. Tel.: 7 4012 53 89 15. The ship also belongs to the museum Vityaz and the fishing boat SRT-129.
Streets and squares
- Victory place
- Leninski prospectus. With houses renovated in the old style.
- Handelstrasse. One of the few almost completely preserved streets.
- Koenigstrasse. Now Frunze, with a lot of old buildings.
- Ul. Kutusova. And the areas north of Prospekt Mira (Hufenallee) with a lot of old buildings.
- Ul. Telmana
Parks
- Kneiphof Island
- city Park, around the Friedländer Tor.
- Parks, around Schlossteich and Oberteich.
- Max-Aschmann-Park. Maraunenhof. Rothenstein settlement.
- Botanical Garden
- Sculpture park. (Kneiphof / Cathedral Island).
various
activities
The newly built 1 Kaliningrad Stadium
holds approx. 35,000 spectators. Games of the Football World Cup 2018 carried out.
shop
- In Kaliningrad there are now numerous large shopping malls in western style near the main train station, opposite the Hotel Kaliningrad, around Victory Square, at the Central Market, etc.
- Central Market (near the former East Fair), the large markets in the new Selma district and in the Moskovskij district near the main train station
- You shouldn't miss out on shopping in the small "mom and pop shops", which are often open at night and where you can buy everything.
- The stores of the large supermarket chains SPAR and VIKTORIA are open 7 days a week, usually from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., but some are open around the clock. The "mom and pop shops" are mostly open daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., sometimes until 11 p.m.
kitchen
Kaliningrad cuisine is just as diverse as the population. Russian cuisine is rich in soups and salads (usually dressed with sour cream or mayonnaise). Borscht (beetroot stew), pelmeni (homemade noodle bags with meat filling) and mushroom soup are not to be missed. Fish and game dishes are also recommended.
There are also numerous restaurants with Central Asian cuisine, mainly from Uzbekistan (highly recommended!), Lithuanian, Ukrainian and even Bavarian restaurants, as well as many sushi bars and pizzerias.
Cheap
- "Business lunch" from 12 noon to 2 pm in almost all restaurants, consisting of salad, soup, main course, drink, costs approx. 300 RUB (prices August 2018)
- The many cookshops with predominantly Central Asian cuisine. A widely famous one is on the highway to Moscow in the direction of Chernyakhovsk. Not to be missed if you are headed in this direction!
- "Stolowaja" canteen, e.g. in the university on Victory Square, in the regional administration, in the "Clover" shopping center on ul. Baranova.
medium
- Restaurant "Khmel", in the "Clover" shopping center on Victory Square. "Hops" - Russian cuisine.
- "Borschtsch i Sala" restaurant, also in the "Clover". Ukrainian cuisine.
- Restaurant "Zötler", on Leninskiy Prospect No. 3 near Victory Square (across from the Europacenter). Bavarian cuisine with really good veal sausages! Every Wednesday at 7 p.m. there is a meeting table for Germans and German speakers in Kaliningrad, to which visitors are also very welcome.
Upscale
- Restaurant "Zum Sonnenstein", in the Roßgärter gate. Specialized in fish dishes and home-style cuisine. Great ambience.
- Restaurant "Veres en Vers", in the Radisson hotel behind the Clover shopping center on ul. Chernyakhovskogo.
nightlife
There are now a lot of cafes, restaurants, pubs, bars and discos for every taste and in all price ranges. At the hotel reception or in the tourist office (in the city administration on Victory Square, entrance on Gvardeyskij Prospect) you can get information about what's hot.
In summer there is some kind of street festival almost every week - jazz days, city festivals, cinema festivals, etc.
Cheap
medium
Upscale
accommodation
The tap water in Kaliningrad is heavily chlorinated, especially in dry summers, and its taste is unsuitable for drinking. In every shop there is mineral water or, for around 50 rubles, 5 liter bottles with very good drinking water.
The electrical voltage is 230 V, the sockets are suitable for Euro plugs.
WLAN connection in the room is standard.
The larger hotels correspond to Western European standards. It takes getting used to: Since energy is cheap, hotel rooms are often overheated in the cold season, and in many cases the windows cannot be opened for safety reasons.
Cheap
- Numerous hostels.
- IBIS Hotel, at the high bridge over the Pregel.
medium
- Golden Bay. Mainly sailors frequent here. Attention, no credit card payments!
- Hotel Moskva, opposite the zoo on Prospekt Mira in the building of the former Nordstern insurance.
- Hotel Kaliningrad. State-owned large hotel, renovated house from the 1970s, ATM, restaurant, bar, Russian / Western European breakfast not included in the price but available in the house, credit card payment, as the house is located at one of the main street crossings in the city, the rooms are for Street very noisy even at night.
Upscale
- Hotel Radisson, at the victory square. Excellent standard, won first prize in 2016 as the best hotel in the Radisson chain worldwide.
- Hotel Marton Palace. Most expensive house on the square, new building, restaurant, bar, ATM, LAN in all rooms, credit card payment, is located near the main train station in a quiet side street.
- Hotel Mercury
Learn
- public and private schools, the schools have numbers instead of names
- Language schools, also for Russian as a foreign language
- Immanuel Kant University. Most western university in Russia in the tradition of the former German Albertina, offers students from western Europe guest semesters in Kaliningrad.
- Technical University
- Seafaring University "Baltic Fishing Fleet State Academy". The school operates the sailing school ships Kruzenshtern and Sedov.
Work
After Moscow and St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad is the city with the highest economic growth in Russia and a free trade zone. There is a shortage of labor in the city of Kaliningrad, so the government tried at times to recruit repatriates living in Germany and to induce them to settle in Kaliningrad. However, unemployment is still higher in the rural districts of Kaliningrad Oblast than in the city.
There are special visa programs for "guest workers", including highly qualified workers. After submitting an invitation from a Kaliningrad school or university, teachers and lecturers receive a work visa free of charge and problem-free.
security
Kaliningrad is at least as safe as similarly large German cities. Thanks to the now extensive video surveillance and the improved police presence on the streets, there is hardly any street crime. The police are now organized according to the western pattern and are quite helpful, only with the knowledge of foreign languages it is often a problem.
The traffic rules are largely observed because the penalties are high. The 0-alcohol limit for drivers applies! The numerous cyclists are allowed to ride on the sidewalks, which they - with sometimes quite brisk driving style - make full use of.
health
There are several in Kaliningrad Dental clinicswho specialize in high-quality prosthetics (implantology) according to Western European standards at very affordable prices. The Hospitals are not yet fully international, with the exception of the new heart center on the outskirts, but there are numerous privately operated day clinics that are definitely up to western standards.Public toilets in the big shopping centers are clean, well equipped and free of charge.
Practical advice
Younger people understand English, but are often reluctant to speak it. The older population often has a command of German, especially the men, many of whom have spent time in the GDR as seamen or military personnel. The people are very helpful and somehow they always communicate.
Apps like "Google Translate" or "Yandex Translate" are also helpful if you do not speak Russian.
There are numerous ATMs where you can withdraw rubles with Maestro cards and various credit cards (maximum limit per day 200,000 RUB - as of August 2018).
Post and Telecommunications
Telephone code for Russia 7, for Kaliningrad 4012
If you are staying for more than 1 or 2 days, it is worth buying a Russian pre-paid SIM card. The cost per month including 5 GB of mobile internet is around 300 rubles. The cellular network is very good throughout the oblast, as is high-speed internet, with the exception of a few corners of the Rominter Heide.
A post office is on the left at the station forecourt. The bank there does not change currency, you have to go through the park to the other side at the bus stop.
trips
You can take city tours and excursions by taxi, which is offered by numerous German-speaking taxi drivers in front of the hotels. Attention: Agree on the fare beforehand so that there are no nasty surprises afterwards. As a rule, you pay in rubles, some taxi drivers also take euros.
In the tourist office in the city administration building on Victory Square (entrance to the tourist office on Gvardeisky prospect), sightseeing tours and day trips to all sights in the entire Kaliningrad region are offered. The explanations are only in Russian, prices from 500 to 2500 RUB (August 2018).
- Curonian Spit Nature Reserve. A day trip should be planned for the Curonian Spit nature reserve. Worth seeing there: bird observatory, natural history museum, dune Epha - crossing the border to Lithuania makes sense, but requires a so-called double visa if you want to re-enter.
- Svetlogorsk. Former Rauschen, seaside resort with richly preserved historical buildings, Thomas Mann monument.
- Zelenogradsk. Former Cranz, seaside resort.
- Yantarni. Former Palm nods, amber production, memorial for the Jewish victims of the Second World War who perished there.
- Baltiysk. Former Pillau, port city. The port is a restricted military area.
- Mayovka. Former Georgenburg, Trakehner stud.
- Chernyakovsk. Former Insterburg, war cemetery.
- Fort # 5. Strongly contested fortifications (ruins) in World War II, weapons exhibition (tanks, cannons, rocket launchers - so-called Stalin organ).
literature
Web links
- http://www.klgd.ru/ (ru) - Official website of Kaliningrad
- German newspaper in Kaliningrad
- German Consulate General in Kaliningrad
- Link text
- News from Kaliningrad (Russian language)
