Kaliningrad (English) Калининград (Russian) |
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Church of the Holy Family; Königsberg Cathedral; "Fishermen's village" in pseudo-historic style; Brandenburg Gate; King's Gate; Pregolya River |
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Location of Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia |
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Anthem | none |
City Day | July 4; observed on the first Saturday of July |
Administrative status (as of November 2011) | |
Country | Russia |
Federal subject | Kaliningrad Oblast |
Administratively subordinated to | city of oblast significance of Kaliningrad |
Administrative center of | Kaliningrad Oblast, city of oblast significance of Kaliningrad |
Municipal status (as of July 2009) | |
Urban okrug | Kaliningrad Urban Okrug |
Administrative center of | Kaliningrad Urban Okrug |
Head | Alexander Yaroshuk |
Representative body | City Council of Deputies |
Statistics | |
Area (February 2013) | 223.03 km2 (86.11 sq mi) |
Population (2010 Census) | 431,402 inhabitants |
- Rank in 2010 | 40th |
Population (January 2014 est.) | 448,548 inhabitants |
Density (February 2013) | 1,900/km2 (4,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | USZ1 (UTC+02:00) |
Founded | September 1, 1255 |
Previous names | Königsberg (Kyonigsberg) (until 1946) |
Postal code(s) | 236001, 236003–236011, 236013–236017, 236019–236024, 236028, 236029, 236034–236036, 236038–236041, 236043, 236044, 236700, 236880, 236885, 236890, 236899, 236931, 236950, 236960–236962, 236967, 236970, 236980–236983, 236985, 236989, 236999 |
Dialing code(s) | +7 4012 |
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Kaliningrad (Russian: Калининград; IPA: [kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈgrat]) (former German name: Königsberg; Russian: Кёнигсберг, tr. Kyonigsberg; Old Prussian: Twangste, Kunnegsgarbs, Knigsberg; Polish: Królewiec; Lithuanian: Karaliaučius) is a seaport city and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea.
In the Middle Ages, the locality was the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement and fort Twangste. In 1255, during the Northern Crusades, a new fortress was built on the site by the Teutonic Knights and was named Königsberg (König = "king") in honor of King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who led two crusade expeditions against the pagan Old Prussians. The town was successively part of the monastic State of the Teutonic Order, enfeoffed to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, then part of Prussia and Germany (the latter until 1945). The city was heavily damaged during World War II. Its ruins were occupied by the Red Army on 9 April 1945, and what remained of the German population fled or was later removed by force. It was renamed Kaliningrad on July 4, 1946, in honor of Soviet luminary Mikhail Kalinin, who died in the previous month. In 2005 the city marked 750 years of existence as Königsberg/Kaliningrad.