extract from the historical and cultural study of the "heart of the city" project areas

Kaliningrad 2014

Volume II. Attachment 4. Extract from the historical and cultural study of the “Heart of the City” project areas

International competition for the elaboration of a concept for the architectural and urban planning development of the historical centre of Kaliningrad

Korolevskaya Gora and its surroundings

Competition documents

International competition for the elaboration of a concept for the architectural and urban planning development of the historical centre of Kaliningrad

Korolevskaya Gora and its surroundings

Volume II. Attachment 4. Extract from the historical and cultural study of the “Heart of the City” project areas

Competition documents

Kaliningrad Oblast GovernmentAdministration of the Urban District “City of Kaliningrad” NP “Urban planning bureau “Heart of the City”30 Leninsky Prospect, build. A, office 501, Kaliningrad 236006 [email protected]

www.tuwangste.ru

ContentsExtract from the historical and cultural study of the “Heart of the City” project areas*

* This study contains detailed materials on research and analysis of the historical part of Kaliningrad City (former Königsberg), being directly or indirectly tendered for the elaboration of the development con-cept for this area. The materials are divided into three sections where the first one is a historical sur-vey of the areas and facilities included in the scope of the competition. The second section comprises an analytical part. The third section presents expert proposals for how historical and cultural resources could be used in the development of this area. These expert proposals should be taken into account by tenderers but it is not obligatory to use them. All materials of this study can be found in Russian under the following link: www.tuwangste.ru/research/. Graphics and drawings to the historical and cultural study in Russian and English language (16 boards) can be found under the link: www.drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3qX6jJX9Fkdbkd2UV9NZGN1U2c&usp=sharing. The team of contributors to the study are: Oleg Vasiutin (architect), Alexander Popadin (culture expert), Maria Sizikova (architect-restorer), Danila Kotov (architect) and Anna Barsuk (architect).

Introduction 7Section 1. Historical backgrounds to areas and sites 11

1.1. Medieval core 11Three medieval towns of Königsberg 13Urban planning stages of the city’s development: STAGE II (late 13th – late 14th Century) 14Façade and typology of a residential house 14

1.2. Altstadt 18Altstadt Market and Fish Market 19

1.3. Kneiphof 19Bridges and Kneiphof 20

1.4. Löbenicht 201.5. Lastadie 211.6. Vorder Steindamm and Nikolsky pocket park 221.7. Paradeplatz 231.8. Nizhneye Lake. The Order’s possessions near the Castle and Zamkovy Pond 251.9. Rossgarten 261.10. Korolevskaya Gora and castle, adjacent areas and the Order’s estates 26

Section 2. Analytical conclusions by sites and territories 302.1 Medieval core 302.2 Altstadt 322.3 Kneiphof 362.4 Löbenicht 38

2.5 Lastadie 412.6 Front Steindamm 422.7 Paradeplatz 44 2.8 Nizhneye Lake 462.9 Korolevskaya Gora and the House of Soviets 48

Section 3. Expert proposals 573.1. Medieval core 573.2 Altstadt 59

Altstadt as a fragment of the “Medieval core” 603.3. Kneiphof 633.4. Löbenicht 643.5. Lastadie 663.6. Front Steindamm and Nikolsky pocket park 673.7. Paradeplatz (Parade Square)\Universitetskaya (University) Square 693.8. Nizhneye Lake 70

Sites of separate archaeological interest for potential museumification or reconstruction 73Interzonal and intrazonal linkages 74

6 7Volume II. Attachment 4. Extract from the historical and cultural study of the “Heart of the City” project areas

The period when the urban planning of Soviet and Russian Kaliningrad (includ-ing its historical centre) was at its height was from the end of the 1960s to the mid-1970s. During this time, the main foundations and principles were laid for the development of postwar Kaliningrad, which was largely the devastated shell of defeated Königsberg. The strategic perspectives and large-scale site develop-ment plans, principles and methods for the city’s development were devised and drawn up in master plans. From the macro perspective, the principles were few:

• Typical residential areas were to be built in the style of the Soviet microdis-trict planning pattern in place of the demolished postwar ruins of block site development.

• Over the historical core of the city a “Soviet Cross”, i.e. Moskovsky Prospect and the overhead road, was laid and thereby destroyed a capillary residen-tial area of small and medium-sized side streets, turning the city centre into a place of continuous transit from some former outskirts to other ones. Politicians stated that “the new Soviet city shall have broad streets and bou-levards”; ideologically, a city in the Soviet tradition was thought to be a tool for supporting industrial processes, while, aesthetically, the focus was on “a large-scale landscape composition in the city centre”, an example of which was the Brasilia city project. A “House of Soviets” was to have been at the head of this composition.

• Thus, the historical city centre was left empty for several reasons: both as a landscape in the city centre (“park area”) and as an “ideological ambigui-ty” — there was neither clarity nor professional certainty about how exactly “the most central and historical” areas should be redeveloped, and, there-fore, the task was passed on to “future generations”.

Today, the Soviet urban planning drive has been exhausted. All the mac-ro-blocks within the historical walls have been built up. The stalemate between Korolevskaya Gora (the King’s Mountain) and the House of Soviets (which of them is to be preserved or destroyed) and the emptiness of the former historical centre led to “the second urban planning drive”, as evidenced by the Interna-tional Symposium “Kaliningrad: Visions of the Future. Urban Development of the City Centre” 2005, the International Design Workshop (WORKSHOP) — “Perspectives of Development of the Central Part of the City of Kaliningrad — “Internal city” 2007 and the present work.

Introduction


The 300th anniversary of Immanuel Kant’s birth in 2024 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup pose new challenges and present a new agenda for the regional and city authorities. Three sets of objectives need to be addressed simultaneously:

1. to prepare the strategic infrastructure for FWC 2018 in such a manner that after the championship it could be fully integrated in the life of the city and the region;

2. to improve the tourist attractiveness of the region, the “inactive” historical areas of Kaliningrad centre need to be returned back to the appropriate stages of the city’s evolution and should be subject to regeneration, revital-ization (reanimation) or renovation; those of them, that were redeveloped without sensitivity to their historical contexts during the Soviet era, shall be restored to their historical context;

3. Korolevskaya Gora (as the historical heart of this area), which still remains in suspended animation, will be revitalized by a new building, which will become a symbol embodying the new stage of development for Kaliningrad and the oblast as well as the new historical relationship “Kaliningrad-Rus-sia-Europe” as a whole.

A significant nuance of the present moment is the inconsistency between the planning time-frame of municipal decision-making systems (and relevant structures for making decisions) and the magnitude of the tasks, implying the cumulative investment of resources into the future strategic infrastructure of the city: first into its design, then into its construction.

An important factor is the integration of “the new urban planning unit” (the “Heart of the City” areas to be regenerated) into the urban fabric of the Inner city, including this project to be taken into account when developing a new Masterplan for the city.

On a macro scale, when rethinking the “Heart of the City” project area in terms of urban planning, we propose the following important town-planning assets to be preserved in the new urban fabric:

• Division of the city areas into historical and urban planning units (zones) with their individual historical contours — territorial, toponymic, stylistic and others. After our analysis we identified twelve such territorial units (zones): Korolevskaya Gora plus the Order’s lands (the Order’s possessions; these are different “zones” but their evolution should be seen in combi-nation); Altstadt, Kneiphof, Löbenicht, Front Lomse, Front Forstadt, Left Bank of Pregolya and Right Bank of Pregolya (both of them as far as the Double-deck Bridge), Lastadie, Front (Vorder) Steindamm, Paradeplatz, Schlossteich (Zamkovy Pond) .

• The town planning ensembles and architectural themes that emerged his-torically or were conceived and implemented (at least partially) in the speci-fied areas. These are: Paradeplatz, Stock Exchange ensemble, Monetnaya Square, Cathedral Square of Kneiphof and two compositional pairs “South-

ern terrace of the castle and Market Square of Altstadt” and “Wilhelm Square together with the south-western corner of the castle”. We propose that these areas (against the general background of “Heart of the City”) should be considered as territories requiring a particular regulation.

A separate subject for design shall be the “buffer” territories that emerged either historically or as a result of the contact with landscape features or neighboring zones. These are either sub-zones or squares or other “transitional” territorial sites.


Metaelements of the genetic code of the ”Heart of the City” areas:

• Korolevskaya Gora;

• The three towns;

• “Hippodamus” plan and radial structure;

• Medieval core;

• Upper and Lower city;

• Ensembles and dominants;

• Euler’s formula;

• University;

• Historical zoning.

These system-based meta-elements lay the foundation for the historical and cultural as well as town planning identity of the “Heart of the City” areas.

Competition site area. Based on this historical and cultural study, the historical border for the mountain area and for the direct as well as the indirect impact of Korolevskaya Gora on the Upper City have been estimated and determined. This border is to be used in the design specification as an area for direct design efforts, in addition to the area of Korolevskaya Gora.

The area of the competition territory of Korolevskaya Gora and its surround-ings covers 44,4 ha. The updated borders of the competition area are defined in the Terms of Reference of the international competition for the elaboration of a concept for the architectural and urban planning development of the areas of the historic centre of Kaliningrad “Korolevskaya Gora and its surroundings” (Volume I).

Section 1. Historical backgrounds to areas and sites

1.1. Medieval core

Königsberg (Latin: Regiomontum, German: Königsberg, Prus-sian: Kunnegsgarbs, Knigsberg; full name Königsberg-in-Preu-sen, German: Königsberg in Preußen — Königsberg in Prus-sia) is the name Kaliningrad had before 1946. In the period from 1773 to 1945, the city was the capital of East Prussia.

The city core from and around which the city started to take shape was the Teutonic Castle which was founded and named “King’s Mountain” (Korolevskaya Gora) in 1255 (in Latin Regi-omontum, later on Regiomonti, in German Königsberg). Until 1721, only the castle was officially called Königsberg though long before that the three neighboring towns had also been informally known by citizens under this name.

The city was founded as a castle on the hill of the elevated right bank on the lower reach of the River Pregel on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement Twangste in January 1255 by the knights of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Poppo von Osterna, and the Czech king, the Duke of Austria Przemy-sl Ottokar II.

On 28 February 1286, the settlement that arose near the castle walls was award-ed town status by Landmeister of Prussia Konrad von Tierberg (Kulm “stan-dard charter”). As the town’s growth was limited by the walls, other settlements started springing up because the proximity of the town and the castle brought about many advantages. In 1300, the settlement Löbenicht was also granted town status. In order to avoid confusion the original settlement was renamed Altstadt, i.e. “old city”. Kneiphof became the third Königsberg settlement that received its town status in 1327. It was separated from Altstadt by an arm of the River Pregolya (German Pregel).

After the Thirteen Year War of 1454–1466, the Teutonic Order declared itself a Polish vassal and moved its capital from Marienburg (present Malbork in Po-land) to Königsberg. In 1525, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Albrecht converted a theocratic state into the secular Prussian Duchy subject to Poland and became the Duke himself. Königsberg became the capital of the new state. The university that was later named Albertina after Duke Albrecht was opened in the city in 1544.


Such a “triple” city, that was in appearance a single entity but actually consisted of three administratively autonomous parts (each of the three Königsberg towns had its own town hall, a burgomaster, a court, etc.), continued in this state until 1724 when the three towns, numerous villages, trade quarters and outskirts as well as the castle (which was not a part of any town but had a special status as the government residence), merged into one city of Königsberg. In the 19th Century the city grew considerably. In 1782, the city had 31,368 inhabitants, in 1888 140,909, in 1910 249,600, in 1939 373,464.

In the 20th Century, the city expanded significantly and moved beyond the borders of the defensive ring.

Before the end of the Second World War, in August 1944, the city of Kalinin-grad was severely damaged by British bombers during the Operation “Ven-geance”. The target of the bombing raids was mostly the city centre where there were almost no military facilities. Lots of civilians died, the old city and many ancient monuments burned down, and the castle suffered heavy damage. Later on the city was taken by storm by Soviet troops.

On 4 July 1946, after the death of Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad.

Three medieval towns of Konigsberg

After the foundation stone for the castle of Königsberg was laid by the Teutonic Order three medieval towns arose. The first realistic depiction of Königsberg dates back to 1557 (Kneiphof view from Lomse):

The development of the three medieval towns of Alstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht took place along the historical routes leading from Lithuania to Zam-land and from Sambia to Natangia. These routes have partially survived till the 13th Century and became the main elements of the urban fabric. The construc-tion of the Order’s castle was followed by the development of the urban infra-structure of the European medieval settlements (each of them had its own town hall, markets, churches, ramparts, moats, gates, bridges and suburbs). The castle existed as a defensive and dominant basis with the parterre of the nearby dense-ly built-up urban development. The creation of the main architectural and town planning tandem during this period — the Castle and Cathedral — shaped the specific panorama of Königsberg.

The layout of shapes, dimensions and proportions of the residential blocks proceeded based on the then prevailing ”experimental” templates of medieval towns and construction traditions in colonies. In the subsequent periods of development Königsberg retained its common planning framework and land-mark sites with the stepwise enrichment of planning and architectural shapes. The construction of ramparts determined and fixed for a long time the spatial dimensions of the three medieval towns that continued their existence in un-changed form until unification in 1724 when the neighboring outskirts (sub-urbs) were simultaneously attached.

This was the date of the de facto end of the Middle Ages (life styles and con-struction concepts) in Königsberg.

Königsberg Plan. Published by George Brown, 1581.

Königsberg in the likeness of Jerusalem (1557). The fragment of Hans Nimpch’s (1476–1556) epitaph, that was kept in the northern nave of Königsberg Cathedral.


Urban planning stages of the city’s development: STAGE II (late 13th — late 14th Century)*

The key event of this stage is the formation of three self-sufficient urban plan-ning units and three subjects of the medieval town law — the towns of Altstadt (1286), Löbenicht (1300) and Kneiphof (1327), and, in 1340, their accession to the then system of European integration — the Hanseatic League.

The common urban planning culture (archetype) of the three towns genetically corresponds to the urban planning typology of Roman military towns of the 2nd Century AD (Lambesis, Timgad, Gerasa) that were based on the regular plan after Hippodamus.

The comparative analysis of the planning of Königsberg and the elements of Ro-man military towns reveals numerous similarities: the long street of Altstadt (А-А) Langgasse (Moskovsky Prospect) — decumanus maximus; the long street of Kneiphof (В-В) Kneiphoffische Langgasse (Leninskiy Prospect) — a cardo; the point of their intersection (the tower of Altstadt church, the gates Steintor) — a tetrapyle with a temple.

As a result of the Christian reconsideration of the regular grid plan, it is reinter-preted as a multiple repetition of the Latin cross. The use of this phenomenon in town planning made it possible to pursue missionary, protective, ritual and sacral purposes.

At this stage, the first scale of the city, equal to approximately 500 meters in diameter, was determined, and the dimension of each town was proportional to spatial landscape unit of the Kneiphof Island.

The structural element of the masterplan of the medieval town was a residential block called ”inheritance” and consisting of two rows of plots built up along the red line of separating streets. There were full and half full “inheritances” and the so-called “Buden”, or tents, shacks. Different plots were intended for inhabitants with a different level of prosperity.

In terms of style, the second stage includes Gothic and early Renaissance and its genetic code is imperial Ancient Roman regularity.

Facade and typology of a residential house*

The most ancient structures in Königsberg were timber-frame constructions but from the beginning of the 14th–15th Centuries the more prosperous citizens started to build their houses of brick, covering roofed with tiles. From the late 14th Century each of the three towns comprising the city of Königsberg had its own building regulations covering construction of the residential houses of timber and brick. The regulations strictly specified the length, the depth and the height of a building as well as neighbors’ mutual liabilities in the construc-tion process, for example, erection of obligatory partition walls of brick — the firewalls.

* Vasjutin O. “Historical and development stages of Königsberg/Kaliningrad (report 3.1.4, page 38–51). Documentation of the International Symposium 15–17 June 2005,” Kaliningrad: Visions of the Future. Urban Development of the City Centre

* I.Belintseva, “Stylistic peculiarities of architecture in Königsberg in the 13th–20th Century” (report 3.1.6, page 58–72). Documentation of the International Symposium 15–17 June 2005,” Kaliningrad: Visions of the Future. Urban Development of the City Centre”.


The distinctive feature of building construction in Königsberg is a certain con-servatism manifested in the preservation of the medieval urban fabric of the city centre that remained almost unchanged up to the beginning of the 20th Cen-tury. Moreover, there was a significant time lag in architectural fashions, due to the city’s remoteness from the main artistic centres of Europe.

Except for big public buildings, the greater parts of the residential houses of the medieval trilogy of towns were rows of terraced houses — they stood as a solid line of buildings, about 8,6 m high and about 20 m deep. This traditional — for Baltic cities — medieval structure of residential development was based upon Kulma’s urban law. This means that most of the facades were divisible by Kul-ma’s “measuring cane”: the old one (4.32 m) and the new one (4.707 m). The standard facade fronting onto a street was two measuring canes wide and 8.6 m high (from the ground floor to the gutter). Thus, constrained by this historical rule even the well-off citizens could not flaunt their wealth by the width of their façade; the only thing that could demonstrate their taste and authority was a richly decorated entrance portal or ornamental frontage.

Throughout their evolutionary development, the three medieval towns for a long time retained their initial dimensions and development scale. Only some architectural forms and styles underwent changes. The longest lasting element was an urban planning grid. The buildings of the Middle Ages survived in Königsberg for quite a long time, occupying a major part of the city centre. In the 18th Century, many city mansions were built within the earthern ramparts that had been built with a large dimension to accommodate future expansion.

The architecture of Königsberg developed over the centuries along with the artistic styles characteristic of the southern Baltic coast. The Medieval Brick Gothic style of the 16th Century gave way to the Renaissance in its Northern European version, known historically as Mannerism and observed in the transi-tion from the Middle Ages to Modern Times in the regional schools of tramon-tane countries.

The evolution of the decor of the Baltic Sea town facades from 1400 to the 1800s

Square in front of the Cathedral, 1716. Source: the Museum of Königsberg in Duisburg.


1.2. Altstadt

Altstadt was granted its town status by the Landmeister of the Teutonic Order Konrad von Thierberg on 26 February 1286. Associated with this Altstadt received its coat of arms, a red and white shield depicting a cross and a crown, which derived from those of Königsberg’s founder — King Ottokar II. In 1724, Königsberg’s new coat of arms combined the symbols of Altstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht. Today the coat of arms of Altstadt is the central element in that of Kaliningrad.

As with the geography of present day Kaliningrad, Altstadt was bordered by the Pregolya River, Moskovsky Prospect, the Estacada motorway bridge and Oktyabrskaya Street. In the Middle Ages Altstadt was on three sides surrounded by natural borders: by the Castle hill in the north, Pregel in the south and the stream Löbe (in the headwaters –Koshachiy (Katzbach), presently filled-in) in the east. During 1333–1350, in order to defend the western approaches to the city a wall with six towers was built while the Castle played a defensive role on the north. As of 1815, Altstadt (by that time one of Königsberg’s districts) was extended for 840 m along the northwest-southeast axis and 330 m along the northeast-southwest axis.

Altstadt was considered to be an aristocratic place where mainly noblemen, members of the royal household, well-off property owners and craftsmen settled. In the Middle Ages, apart from residential houses and trading outlets, in this area there was also the St. Nicholas Church, the hospital church of the “Holy Spirit”, a small collegiate church and a chapter house (a place for the college of ministers). In 1339, the town joined the Hanseatic League. Altstadt ceased to be an independent town only in 1724 — by that time the three towns and many of the settlements and communities had effectively grown together into a single city and, to simplify administration, were legally unified into a single Königsberg.

During the Second World War Altstadt suffered heavy damage. The surviving ruins in the area were completely razed to the ground during 1967–1974. With the laying of Moskovsky Prospect the topography of this area also changed. Altstadt turned into a vast park.

Altstadt Market and Fish Market

Altstadt Market stretched from the fountain with the ”Drinking Knight” sculpture by the castle wall nearly to the Pregel River, and was separated from the Fish Market only by one building. Formally the square (more similar to a wide street) was also a place for the town hall: the Altstadt town hall was situated there. Since the 14th Century it had served an important role as Königsberg’s commercial and administrative centre: this is where post coaches departed from as there had been a mail handling terminal here since 1730. A huge three-storey high Christmas tree was placed there every year.

In 1724, the three medieval towns together with their outskirts formed the united Königsberg and this was announced in the solemn atmosphere of Altstadt town hall at a meeting of the representatives of all three towns. After that the city management system underwent significant changes and the town hall building also housed the municipal court that remained there until 1879.

Against the background of growing outskirts to where the commercial and business centre of Königsberg had shifted, Altstadt had gradually become a symbol of the conservative medieval manorial history. Everything that was standing in the way of a “dynamic Century” was moved there: for example, early in the 20th Century the “Eve” fountain by architect Stanislaus Cauer was moved from Steindamm to the Altstadt town hall where it occupied a spot opposite of the Renaissance buildings of the 15th–16th Century.

The Fish Market was situated on the embankment of the Pregel River between Kuznechny (Blacksmith) and Derevyanny (Timber) bridges. Trading activities from kiosks and boats were continuous from early morning till noon. After that, the stone paving was washed with water and trading in the shops located on the ground floors began. Virtually everything was for sale — from bulk quantities of herring to furniture and goods from the craft guilds.

1.3. Kneiphof

Kneiphof, a town standing on thousands of wooden piles, had Kneiphof Langgasse («Long») as its main street, extending from Zelenyi Most (Green Bridge) to Lavochyi Most (Merchant’s Bridge). It was crossed perpendicularly by a series of transverse streets. Rynochnaya Ploshchad (Market Square) situated next to Brodbenkenshtrasse was small. The Town Hall stood nearby. The main color in the city’s coat of arms was green, hence Grüne Brücke (Green Bridge), Grünes Tor (Green Gate, the most beautiful in the whole city) and Grüner Kran. After unification of the three medieval towns in 1724, the administration of the united city was located in the Kneiphof Town Hall and remained there until 1926, when the municipality moved to Ganzaring (Ploshchad Pobedy). The vacant rooms accommodated the Museum of the City’s History, including the famous Museum of Kant.

Once built, the Cathedral performed multiple functions. It was the town church of Kneiphof, which was more of an exception than a rule. It was a university church of the Albertina University, and it was the largest auditorium of the University during Kant’s lifetime. After the War, when the greater part of the half destroyed Kneiphof was demolished, and basements and ground floors


were backfilled, the Cathedral survived only due to the memorial stoa by Friedrich Lars, inaugurated in 1924 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the philosopher’s birth.

Today, the Cathedral again hosts a range of functions. Its premises accommodate a concert hall with two organs, a small museum of the town Kneiphof and another devoted to Immanuel Kant, as well as two chapels — one Orthodox and the other Lutheran.

Bridges and Kneiphof

Kneiphof Island was formed by branches of the New and the Old Pregolya Rivers. It was connected with Altstadt by Kuznechny (Blacksmith’s) Bridge and Lavochny (Merchant’s) Bridge and with Vorstadt — by Zeleny (Green) Bridge and Potrokhovy (Entrails) Bridge. The Medovy (Honey) Bridge connected Kneiphof with Lomse Island.

In the 1970s, four of these five bridges were demolished; only the Honey Bridge remained intact. The Estacada Bridge was built in place of the Green Bridge and the Merchant’s Bridge. However, it should be mentioned that the Stock Exchange, standing on the area of Vorstadt between two bridges and still intact today, is closely related to Kneiphof, the town of merchants and tradesmen. It was built on the piles at the south-western bank of Kneiphof.

An old anecdote is associated with the bridge connecting Vorstadt with Lomse. Apparently, during some festive ceremonies in 1901 Kaiser Wilhelm was jokingly challenged to solve “Euler’s problem: to cross all seven bridges of Königsberg once and only once”. The Kaiser understood the joke in the question (the problem has no solution) and said that it would take a couple of minutes for him to come up with a solution. He asked for a pen and a sketch map of Königsberg and wrote the following: “I command the eighth bridge to be built on the island of Lomse”. It was inaugurated on the anniversary of the Kaiser House and was named Kaiserbrücke.

After the Second World War, in the Soviet maps, the island was denoted as “Tsentralny Island”, however the name “Kant Island” became rooted in society and was adopted by officialdom.

1.4. Lobenicht

The town of Löbenicht was the second of the three medieval towns to receive its town status in 1300, but always remained in the shadow of its “older brothers”. Its location and the very format of the “town of peasants and craftsmen” ordained its destiny as a younger brother “serving” the first two. This can be seen both from its lack of arable lands that had to be developed and from the fact that all the historically significant events in Königsberg occurred either in Altstadt or in Kneiphof. Furthermore, a strategically significant part of the town to the west was annexed to provide a site for a mill for the Order. This was also reflected in its urban fabric and in the fact that during the growth and development of the city during the Enlightenment the neighboring towns Sackheim and Rossgarten were developing, but Löbenicht stayed in the shadow again. Nevertheless some of the remarkable heritage of this town should be mentioned, such as Lesnaya birzha (Timber stock exchange), the market-

warehouse for commercial timber near Derevyanny Most (Timber Bridge) in the Lomse area (timber was floated down from Lithuania and the headwaters of the rivers), as well as three Protestant churches if taken together with the neighboring Sackheim.

In 1349, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights founded a Benedictine convent which was built under supervision of the Master Winrich von Kniprode. In 1530, the convent was converted into a hospital which was called the Large Hospital (in German — Grosse Hospital) or Löbenicht Hospital (German: Löbenichtsche Hospital). After the fire of 1764, the new hospital building with a Protestant church was built, and later, in 1903, rebuilt in a different place.

1.5. Lastadie

The construction of the inland water network enabling shipping within East Prussia was initiated by the Teutonic Knights in the 13th–14th Centuries. Over seven centuries the water transport network, including rivers, lagoons and a great number of other water-related structures were created. At the same time, at the confluence of the two branches of the River Pregel, a Königsberg port was born. Here, in 1327, the first lastadie (port warehouses) that became one of Königberg’s landmarks, were built in the Laak district. Each of the three medieval towns had its own “warehouse base” but only Altstadt Lastadie grew into a fully-fledged port: they were located downstream on the Pregel River and handled the cargo passing through the customs of Holland from the sea and the Frischen-haff. Each warehouse had a timber-framed structure, a narrow 5–7 storey-high façade, a characteristic extended roof ridge under which a wheel hoist was concealed, and numerous wooden doors on each floor (the height of the inner floor never exceeded 2 meters). Port speicher-warehouses burned down so often that the fire station with a mountainous timber-framed training tower, functioning also as a watch tower, had to be built a short distance away. Despite these measures, the fires still occurred from time to time in Laak and by the 20th Century the oldest port facilities remaining dated only from about the 1740s.

Each warehouse had its own distinguishing mark (a label, marking) passed down from the Middle Ages.

In 1890, the construction of the Königsberg Sea Canal began, and in the 1920s the new port of Königsberg was built, one of the most advanced ports in the world at that time. In the meantime the whole railway system of Königsberg was reconstructed and, since then, Lizentskiy Railway Station (Lizentbahnhof) began functioning only as a freight station. Freight management shifted to the Volnaya Harbor of the new port, and the old Lastadie began to play an auxiliary role.

After the Second World War, the burnt-out Lastadie were cleared away; the extension railway passing through the railway station was taken out of operation; the railway station itself ceased to exist. The spans of Zheleznodorozhny (Railway) Bridge have been removed and at present are stored beside the World Ocean Museum.


1.6. Vorder Steindamm and Nikolsky pocket park

Steindamm (“Stone causeway”) has been the main “entry” and “exit” thoroughfare of Königsberg ever since its foundation. It began as the road to Hufen (the area of the present zoo) and to the coast towards Rauschen (Svetlogorsk) and gradually was supplemented with houses. Steindamm began at the Steindamm Gate of Altstadt (in the vicinity of the present building of Rostelekom) and in the 16th Century, led out through the town wall. After the towns were unified and “the walls fell down” the street at the gate became a broadened thoroughfare built up with commercial buildings. At that time, such spaces were usually called “markt”, a market or a market square. They were naturally formed at the “nodal intersections” — Steindamm was one of them on the section from Steindamm Gate to St. Nicholas Church. After unification of the towns the street was extended to new boundaries and the new Steindamm Gate in the area of the present Ploschad Pobedy (Victory Square); however we are interested in “Front/Vorder- Steindamm”.

Historically, it developed in parallel with the foundation of the Castle of Königsberg and received an unofficial status as the “first town settlement”, but after the uprising of the Prussians who had burnt down the “first town” it was decided not to restore the settlement in this area of the Upper town but to lay out the town settlement in the Lower town — and that was done. This settlement became Altstadt in due course.

In Vorder-Steindamm not far away from the castle there was an ancient church of St. Nicholas, which originally gave religious guidance to young Christian Prussians and travellers. Step by step, due to the growing stream of people and goods, this suburb started developing and as it was not connected to the town walls it turned into a prosperous block of “nouveau riche Königsberg citizens” — while the “old” ones were decorously residing in the town councils of the medieval “triple-city”.

Steindamm becameone of the principal streets of Königsberg of the 18th–19th Century. In his book “Königsberg sketches/Königsberger skizzen” (Danzig, 1842) Karl Rosenkranz writes “Steindamm is the brightest street of Königsberg. However its architecture is fairly plain with rare exceptions. For the most part, it is grocers and butchers, tradesmen and public servants who live here. The street is quite wide. It has pavements and serves as a “promenade” street leading to “Hufen” — the place of recreation and entertainment for citizens.... Therefore it is full of many well-dressed passers-by and busily moving polished carriages … Steindamm is a pinnacle of the social life of Königsberg streets”.

In the vicinity of the area of our interest (the area of Zhitomirskaya and Kopernika Street), there was the New Altstadt Church, the St. Nicholas Church, the Central Post Office, Gesekusplatz, the Central Telegraph Office building, many hotels, a cinema, tenement buildings and the most expensive shops of Königsberg of the 19th–20th Centuries. (From this perspective the district has partially repeated its destiny in the 21st Century).

In Soviet times, due to the change in the main line of the thoroughfare through the city (in the Middle Ages this function was served by Landgasse) and the construction of the Estacada Bridge and Moskovsky Prospect, Steindamm

was mainly used as the basis of Leninsky Prospect. However the oldest of its segments, the medieval Vorder-Steindamm was converted into the secondary blind street Zhitomirskaya and built up with typical four-storey apartment buildings from the west, partially using the site development lines of the old Steindamm, which retained some fragments of pavement; the former streets were turned into inner yard passageways in Soviet times; there was a miniature park and a former square near the St. Nicholas Church as well as some buildings near Kopernika Street that was only partially built up with new houses. The retail and office centre “Plaza”, the bank and the House of Communications (“Rostelekom”) built in Soviet times are situated on the east between Zhitomirskaya Street and Leninsky Prospect.

Numerous sources mention that after the War in the area of Vorder-Steindamm, there was a multi-storey secret “Brusov’s bunker” where pictures and museum treasures were hidden. To this day their fate remains unknown.

1.7. Paradeplatz

A garden was established north of Königsberg Castle in 1509 by decree of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Frederick of Saxony. It had many trees and shrubs but it was mostly known for its centuries-old lime tree under the branches of which high ranking public servants and statesmen liked to entertain their guests. During the winter of 1709, this ancient lime tree was killed by the cold. Later on the garden (due to its belonging to the crown) received the name “Korolevskiy” (Royal).

When the three medieval towns (Altstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht) were unified into Königsberg in 1724, the problem of a new main square of the city arose (each medieval town had its own main square). East Prussia became a part of Brandenburg-Prussian kingdom and Königsberg received the status of “royal residence city”. In 1740, Friedrich Wilhelm I died and power was

A sketch of the Royal (Korolevskiy) Garden:


inherited by his son Friedrich II. The new ruler disliked Königsberg and after a modest coronation was held, he ordered a park to be established to the north of the castle in place of the old royal garden and then departed to the capital.

Almost sixty years later the king, Friedrich Wilhelm III, faced the problem of where to make the main representative square. He chose the Royal Garden. In 1806, a city theatre/Stadttheater (which later on became an opera theatre) was built in the Royal Garden; and in 1809, Friedrich Wilhelm III donated the Royal Garden to the city of Königsberg on the condition that “the layout of the garden should never be changed”. Over time the Royal Garden became the Parade square of the city of Königsberg. In August 1851, the grateful citizens of Königsberg inaugurated an equestrian monument of Friedrich Wilhelm III in the centre of the square.

On the day of the 300th anniversary of the University of Albertina in 1844 the then King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm IV, laid the cornerstone for the new building of “Albertina” on Paradeplatz. The former Royal Garden became gradually built up along the perimeter with the buildings serving the most important functions for the kingdom (there had already been an opera house here and the justice building was planned to be built), and the new university building was expected to determine the style of the whole Paradeplatz (classicism was traditionally a “royal style”). At that moment, the square itself was in fact a vast pocket park that had to be shaped without changing its contours (the perimeter). This was exactly what Friedrich Stüler, one of the best German architects of that time, attempted to accomplish. The building in the neo-Renaissance style with a gallery, sculptures on the roof and bas-reliefs on the façade of yellow clinker brick, was opened 18 years later and was designed for 500 persons. The architect’s conception originated from Italian university galleries: he was going to build up the whole Paradeplatz with roofed-in galleries on all four sides, and if Stüler had managed to do that, the city would have received a unique pearl of urban development…

In the 1920s, it became necessary to expand the building of Albertina. The design of the extension building was done by Robert Liebental; his design considerably increased the useful areas of the university building without diminishing the magnificence of the main façade. A multistoried House of Books stood opposite the university. An expanse of the Nizhny Prud (Lower Pond) was used by the university for festivities and as a “university” lake where students did their training in the rowing club — therefore the connection between the university building and the lake was fairly intensive.

At the end of the Second World War, the university building and the surrounding Paradeplatz buildings burned down and remained in ruins until the 1960s. The remains of the gallery were dismantled and the building was restored in a simplified form: at the beginning, it accommodated a secondary school, then a teaching institute, which in due course was granted the status of university. The geometry of the square was broken by construction of the typical Soviet buildings. A through-passage boulevard was built from the side of Leninsky Prospect, and the square of “classicism” ceased its existence.

1.8. Nizhneye Lake. The Order’s possessions near the Castle and Zamkovy Pond

Zamkovy Pond (Castle Pond) came into existence in the 13th Century after the Teutonic Knights stopped the outflow of the Koshachy stream and constructed their mills at the pond, which were an important part of the economic picture of the Middle Ages. The pond was a part of the complex system of potable water channels and lakes not far away from Königsberg. The southern part of the pond and adjacent territories did not belong to any outskirt and were not regulated by any town constitutions but by possessory acts of the Order and later on, of the duchy and by the crowns. However its shores became gradually developed and the lack of sewage disposal made the pond a hot bed of diseases and pollution. The city was unable to change the situation until 1810 when the pond and a part of the adjacent territories were bought out from the crown.

From then on, the lakeside development was more regular so that the lake itself and its shores would gradually turn into the main promenade area of the city. It acquired such a priority that in the early part of the 20th Century the municipality bought out several buildings to demolish them just in order to complete a pedestrian promenade at Schlossteich. Monetnyi dwor (mint) was bought out and destroyed, and in its place a small but extremely cozy Monetnaya square was built. To undertake these arrangements a city lottery was established; the lottery proceeds were spent on construction of the house for swans, Monetnaya Square, lakeside protection works and a pier for boats. Manufacturers and leading bourgeois took an active part in the decoration of the pearl of Königsberg: one of them donated forged gratings and ornate lampposts; another one — the figure of the Archer; the whole city experienced their spirits rising at the beginning of the new 20th Century. Small restaurants sprang up on the semi-basement floors of the waterside buildings; their summer terraces overlooked the water and on Sunday mornings prompted the ladies to put on their best dresses and bonnets and the men their formal suits and bowlers to come to these terraces for morning coffee, to read the newspapers and exchange opinions.

The greenery of the Castle pond served as a perfect background as much for a quiet and contemplative stroll on weekdays as for numerous festivities and illuminations; it was in its own right considered the heart of the city. The pond was a place for one of the most romantic city holidays: the first May night (also called Walpurgis Night). The shores were decorated with lights. The students of Albertina held their traditional rowing competitions on the lake and in the evening thousands of Königsberg citizens would sit on the slopes of the shores and watch festal illuminations accompanied by the sounds of an orchestra.

By 1930, the waterfall had been built from the Upper to the Lower Pond, which later on inspired the architects of the House of Soviets to make a similar waterfall east of the building.

A bridge over the pond in the area of Stadthalle was built in 1753 but in 1869, during the King Wilhelm I visit to Königsberg, the bridge collapsed; there were human casualties. Forty years later, an architectural competition was held and the assignment envisaged a bridge with two lanes of vehicular traffic as well as a tramway track and pedestrian pavements. Plans for crossing the pond with


vehicular traffic were not implemented. The northern shores were adorned by high trees. In the south, the castle was dominant and on the southwestern shore stood long rows of magnificent five storey-high buildings. In the southeast, a Burgkirchen was dominant among the trees, and another dominant feature of the eastern shore was formed by Stadthalle (Town Hall) and the terrace of the café, located in front of it.

After the Second World War, the pond was renamed as Nizhneye Lake. In the 1980s, the land around the pond was improved by the time the construction of the major ideological site of the whole region, the House of Soviets, was completed. In 1983, in place of the old bridge destroyed by the war, a new pedestrian bridge was built, and a bit later and further to the north the second one connecting the regional Dom Pionerov (House of the Pioneers) with the “city block of hospitals” was erected. The waterfall connecting two lakes was left abandoned up to 2012, when it underwent some restoration.

1.9. Rossgarten

The district of Rossgarten (and neighboring Neue-Zorge) lying on the right bank of Schloss-teich (if seen from the Castle) began actively developing after the three towns were unified. Here stood villas of the Kaiserlings, von Bulows and other noble families. Here the king shying away from the gloomy castle apartments, built his Letnyi (Summer) royal palace not far away from the ancient gymnasium Friedrichscollegium. And here among the organized greenery of lime and chestnut trees stood the old building of the Academy of Arts.

This district of the city was intersected by three main streets: Königstrasse, Hinter- and Frieder-Rossgarten. The main square of the district was Rossgarten Market. The word “market” should however not be misleading: sales of horses ended here a long time earlier but by the beginning of the 20th Century the name went to a busy square where tramlines intersected with wheeled and pedestrian traffic. The square was also overlooked by Französische strasse (French Street, where Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann once lived).

1.10. Korolevskaya Gora and castle, adjacent areas and the Order’s estates

Castle (1)*

A typology (archetype) of the Order’s castle as a defensive, administrative and household facility (fortification) arouse through the combination of three components:

1. The level of development and experience of the European artistic and architectural culture for that period of time.

2. The character and the techniques of warfare on these territories.

3. The availability of certain kinds of building materials and resources for construction.

Architecture and planning as well as idiosyncrasies of contemporary fortification and the inner design of castles had been developed based on similar examples, current expertise and as a result of specific regional activities. It is worthwhile mentioning a continuity of the distinct traditions in castle construction of the Teutonic Order and the usage and synthesis of the architectural and construction traditions of different countries covered by the German Order activities. By that time the Order had already acquired an extensive experience and diversified knowledge in the areas of administration, management and construction.

The echeloned system of defense was borrowed from the chivalrous fortifications of the Near East. The citadel was a building with an inner courtyard. A donjon could be located in the corner of the fortress citadel or at the outer wall. One more tower (danzker) connected to the citadel by the passage on the second floor, was placed outside the first line of fortification walls. It had sanitary functions. The citadel was protected by several rows of fortification walls and a moat. The access roads to the gates were blocked by one or several frontal fortifications — vorburg (the courtyards enclosed by a defensive wall with service and storage rooms).

The process of construction was based on their own metrological system, so-called Kulma measures of length: one Kulma rute (4.32 m) consisted of 15 Kulma feet (0.288 m).

Castles had a regular as well as irregular layout structure. Distant architectural traditions intertwine in the planning and architectural elements of the buildings of citadel monasteries. A spatial-planning decision is based on the typological layout of the Muslim fort, Ribat, but a rectangular shape of towers is an inheritance of the tradition of Byzantine border fortresses. A roundabout gallery of the inner courtyard of a Christian monastery was converted into the defensive gallery that could be easily dropped in case of danger.

The structural designs of chapels and halls of a chapter house were in line with the Gothic style of their time. In their décor we could see numerous examples of borrowings from Muslim art: encaustic tiles and use of inscriptions in the form of an ornament. These architectural traditions were borrowed from the Middle East, Sicilia or Spain.

In two centuries (1231–1410), the German Order had built about 200 fortresses in Prussia. A recognizable idiosyncratic architectural style pertaining to the north German Gothic architecture of brick was created, based on the interplay of various distant architectural traditions used in construction practice and as a result of the impact of the whole complex of a regional character.

As a rule, the size of the Order’s castle complex corresponded to the size of the settlement (town) that usually sprang up nearby and the dimensions of each settlement were directly related to a spatial and landscape unit of the adjacent area and proportional to it.

During their history of functioning and usage, the castles underwent various stages of construction, restorations and adjustments. By the early 16th Century, in the context of the development of new battle tactics and new defensive initiatives, all of the Order’s castles lost their military strategic significance as

* O. Vasjutin “The Concept of Preservation, Restoration and Usage of the Order’s Castles on the territory of the Kaliningrad Region under INTERREG IIIA/TACIS Programme”

— “Castle heritage in the Baltic Sea Region

— revitalization and promotion of projects” (Analytical material), 2008.


well as their driving force in town development. The result was that territories, settlements and towns situated near a castle continued developing but under different urban planning laws.

Castle courtyard

Since the times when a convent was demolished and the castle courtyard received its present look about 500 years had passed and over these years Königsberg was rebuilt and modified and with it the courtyard was changed as well. The eastern part of the castle at the time under consideration was a “residential and service” area: there were apartments, household and security services; a land tribunal (before moving to Hansa-ring). The western wing was designated for representative and spiritual purposes: there were a Zal Moskovitov (Hall of Moscovites) and a castle church (Schlosskirche); all of this set a seal on the design of the inner courtyard.

There was a well in the middle of the courtyard. At different periods, it was decorated in different ways but, by the 20th Century, it had been closed and a flowerbed was laid out in its place. Later, it was completely removed.

A tall wooden gallery added to the northern wing is also of interest. In the mid-19th Century, during the royal period, all of the Order’s castles in East Prussia including Königsberg underwent reconstruction: Königsberg received a neo-Gothic tower and a new entrance in the representative southwestern corner. The architect, Konrad Steinbrecht, wished to restore a ”Gothic chivalrous gallery” of stone in the inner courtyard too, however, due to insufficient funds a compromise gallery of wood was built on the third floor level (the level of the Hall of Moscovites). The gallery was a temporary structure but “nothing is more permanent than the temporary”. A castle church occupied the second and the third floors (if the semi-basement floor is considered as the first one) and on the third floor there was the Hall of Moscovites. The broadness of its support-free area had made it for a long time the most respectable fashionable hall of East Prussia. Coronations of the Prussian kings and audiences were held here. A small balcony situated in the upper part of the bay window and decorated with sculptures led out of this hall to the courtyard. From this balcony a king could greet his subjects and in the Nazi times Hitler reviewed his troops.

Monetnaya Square and Zamkovaya Square

The main gate of the Order’s castle — Albrecht Gate — was situated in the eastern wing. Accordingly a small square was built to allow for dropping-off guests in front of it, the quartering guards and their ceremonial change at a fixed hour. Earlier, before there were guards there was a moat separating the Castle from Marsovy stables of the dragoon barracks. Later the moat was filled-in and a through castle square that served for as a transit from Schlossteich to Altstadt, was laid out in its place.

There was nothing surprising in the surrounding of the castle with squares as well as the filling up of spaces by the castle with triumphant statues, lyrical fountains and various bas-reliefs. On the castle square stood only the Putti fountain (later it was moved from this temporary location) and the statue of King Friedrich I (he was also known as Kurfürst Friedrich III), the first king of Prussia, by Andreas Schlüter. The monument had such a long-suffering history

that its dubious artistic value was far outweighed by its “adventures”. At first, it had taken a long time before it could be installed. It had been stored in the Berlin zeughaus. In 1760, it was taken by Russian troops as a trophy but reached only Spandau where, after the liberation of Berlin, it was as near as could be to being melted down. In 1764, the statue was moved to the zeughaus again and only a half century later, on the king’s birthday, with extensive support from citizens the “homeless” statue had found its place in the vicinity of the dragoon barracks in Königsberg. A semicircular wall around the monument and the pedestal was created by the architect Schadow. During the 19th Century the monument was covered with oil paint (revealing the trace of the solicitous hand of the military supply officer) and because of this its precious patina was destroyed forever. When in 1928 the dragoon barracks became obsolete and were demolished for a new Reichsbank to be built there, it was decided to shift the monument. Patriotism had won and the wall by the sculptor Schadow that had been demolished was accurately restored in 1930. The destiny of the sculpture after 1945 remains unknown but considering its trials and tribulations before the installation at the castle square… However a true copy of the statue has been recently found in Berlin Charlottenburg.

If looked from the Ovsyanaya (Oat) tower of the castle over Schlossteich, a small orderly square with low iron gratings and two solid obelisk-lamps could be seen between the castle and the pond. Not wishing to install a ponderous monument the city authorities took a decision to combine these two functions into a single object by creating the paired obelisk-lamp supports and making them a dominant feature of the vertical composition on the new Monetnaya Square. It is referred to as the new Monetnaya Square because it emerged in the early 20th Century after the old Monetnyi Dwor (the Mint that had been situated here since the Order’s times until 1802) was bought out and demolished and two lamps-obelisks served as a memorable monument of “Liberation”, “the city revolution at the turn of the Century” during which a new city Charter was adopted and the city territory was expanded severalfold at the expense of the former suburbs. This square was built simultaneously with two tenement twin buildings on both sides (there were cozy restaurants on the ground floors and the Gelhaar’s marzipan confectionery in the left building) and opened up a perspective from the castle over Schlossteich by functioning as a main “entrance” drawing in leisurely strolling people towards the freshly made promenade of the pond.


Section 2. Analytical conclu-sions by sites and territories

2.1 Medieval core

Nowadays, the significance of the original medieval core is increasing as imitations and incorrect ideas about the Middle Ages and the historical city of Königsberg (the construction of the complex “Rybnaya Derevnya”) arose. Therefore, there is now a need to take account of authentic history with the emphasis shifted and contemporary imitations put into correct perspectives

A method to separate the medieval core from the hierarchy of urban spaces

• An average number of citizens: 3–5 thousand persons;

• The engaged urban planning experience and remote architectural and town planning traditions

• Principles of morphogenesis: small area, restricted by the city wall, dependent on the castle in terms of the landscape, with adjustable accesses and two main transit streets “Landgasse”;

• A panoramic perception of the city (a silhouette);

• Geometry and regularity of planning;

• The town planning unit is a block;

• Construction standards and regulations ( “timber framing/brick” construction technology);

• Suburbs (sloboda) and service household areas;

• Transport scheme is affected by the location of the gate in the city wall.

Main themes of the medieval city:

• The Order’s colonial activities in the mid-13th Century;

• Crossroads of trade by land, water and sea routes;

• A spiritual bond with the image of the Celestial Jerusalem;

• An element of the European integration process — the Hanseatic League;

• The Kulma’s right as a fundamental legal and urban planning canon;


In terms of structure and environment, the Middle Ages can be identified as both great (important, serious: a cathedral, a stock exchange, town halls) and small (residential housing, daily routine) times.

The architectural themes are the building front floor at the bottom of the mountain, the ”Castle/Cathedral” tandem; “square/town hall”, ‘square/flanking with historical facades’, the silhouette of dominant architectural features , street front development.

The waterfront of the three towns was formed based on two processes:

• As a result of the demolition of the town’s defensive walls and building on the released area the houses that are generally (but not always) water-facing;

• As a need for port (storage) functions inside the city.

Later on (in the 19th Century) in Königsberg the pan-European tendency to use public quays for private boats and yachts began to spread, and this became the third function as the element of the private “luxurious life in the city by the water”.

2.2 Altstadt

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted Altstadt)

• Self-sufficient historic town planning unit (medieval town);

• Regular “Hippodamus” plan;

• Terrain with a slope (4-5 meters);

• Town fortification wall with watch- and over-the-gates towers;

• Standard town blocks;

• Blocks based on fortification wall (rampart);

• Measuring scale (height dimensions of the 4 – 5 storey development);

• Area of the old Cathedral (1297);

• Langgasse Main street;

• Altstadt Market Square;

• Altstadt Town Hall;

• St. Nicholas Church of Altstadt;

• Northern development and Southern Terrace of the castle;

• Town’s pocket park (Wilhelm’s Square);

• Embankment — Lower and Upper Fish Market;

• River waterfront;

• Blacksmith Bridge;

• Merchant’s Bridge;

• Timber Bridge (Old and New);

• Cathedral Bridge;

• Subzones and elements adjacent to Altstadt.

Genetic code of the town block of Altstadt

The typology of the block form is circularity of the development perimeter (as a final result). Flexibility is the main feature of the block town planning form as a primary town planning element, applied in Altstadt, Kneiphof and Löbenicht with the only difference being that it was regularly and deliberately used in Altstadt and Kneiphof. Development tendencies of the block are related to the increased height and square of the development as well as the insignificant reduction of the scope of the development.

The main compositional principle is interchangeability of elements and fragments of the block form.


Subjects of preservation:

• Planning grid;

• I and II lines of development;

• Modularity (в) and (½в);

• Measuring scale.

The land area of Altstadt is rich with traces of the sites from the medieval part of the city’s history. It has the highest density of archaeological objects that require surveying and a considerable incorporation in the current cultural interchange and the urban environment in their various forms. These are the territories of: the Old Cathedral (РархС); Pfeifen-tower and Lastadien gate (РархПЛ); the city walls and tower (РархБ); Steindamm Gate and neighboring fragments of the city wall (РархШ); Altstadt tower (after final specification of the spot of location; РархАб); Löbenicht Gate (РархЛ).

One of the best known and symbolical “secular” sites of Altstadt is its Town Hall, an outstanding example of Renaissance style architecture, and its adjacent square — Altstadt market.

Following the demolition of the defensive walls of Altstadt the adjoining territories west and east of the city were converted into buffer subzones which still followed the borderline and ”transitional” built-up pattern of these areas. During the international workshop many architects suggested to retain the characteristics of transitional elements for these areas. These are the subzones ЗГ (in place of the western city wall) and ВГ (in place of the eastern city wall) — they may play an important role as the future borders between “historical” and modern territories.

In addition, Altstadt had several alternatives of the town planning nodes serving the functions of ”connection/disconnection” of the Upper and the Lower city at its northern borders. In particular, these were:

• a junction node with Steindamm (Rollberg, Steindamm Gate, Yellow Tower and Gesekusplatz );

• a node (Лп) at the end of the Southern Terrace of the Castle, the corner of the “Unfried’s wing” (Unfriedbau), the corner of the castle barracks (a bank) and Kuznechnaya Street built over the former moat;

• a node around the Mill Gate (Melnichnye vorota) (the northeastern corner of Altstadt), that was fairly complex in merging the three historical estates (Altstadt, Löbenicht and those of the Order) as well as the connection between the Upper and the Lower city.

Each of these nodes has its own pattern of solution for “transitional areas”.

The “city water transit” from the Lower Pond to Pregel: the stream Koschachy (with a mill) and Löbebach (Mill node plus ВГ) — is considered to be of special value.

Within its boundaries, Altstadt has two architectural and town planning ensembles: a classical Wilhelm’s square (ПлВ plus Фз) in tandem with the front corner of the castle (Фз) and a compositional pair “market of Altstadt plus the Southern Terrace of the castle” (ПлА plus Т1), which require a special plan for restoration due to its high value.

In addition, it is important to retain the scale and the nature of architectural interaction of the northern façade line of Altstadt (the northern facades of the blocks Q. 20, 21 and 22) and the Southern Terrace of the Castle (Т1).

The Waterfront of Altstadt (Q1 5) is considered to be the most important element of the port “city on water” (Hansa League membership). The “Ghost Bridges” (the old Timber and Cathedral bridges) have survived in the “memory of the place” in the form of the elements of embankments and depictions on the ancient maps; they can also become a “theme” for cultural enrichment of the new/restored embankment and the waterfront of Altstadt.


Archaeological sites

• Old Cathedral (РархС);

• Altstadt Town Hall (РА);

• Pfeifen-tower and Lastadien-gate (РархПЛ);

• City walls and towers (РархБ);

• Steindamm Gate and neighboring fragments of the town wall (РархШ);

• Löbenicht Gate (РархЛ).

After the completion of archaeological works the subsequent destiny of the findings will be decided, including the possibility of declaring some of them to be designated as museums or placed therein (museumification). The complex of Pfeifen-Tower and Lastadie Gate can be considered as an autonomous site for a historical reconstruction in stone, which in particular can be used for practical implementation of technologies and principles of restoration of the lost historical sites.

2.3 Kneiphof

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted Kneiphof)

• Self-sufficient historic town planning unit (medieval town);• Landscape unit (island); • Two-part planning composition: the western part (“Hippodamus” plan) and

the eastern Cathedral area with irregular geometry;• Town fortification wall with watch- and over-the-gates towers; • Cathedral square;• Cathedral; • Building of the old University of Albertina; • Kant’s Grave;• Small Cathedral square;• Langgasse Main Street; • Stadandard town blocks;• Blocks based on the fortification wall; • Blocks of the Cathedral part;• Scale (height dimensions of 4 – 5 storey development);• Kneiphof Town Hall; • Riverfront;• Embankment — Market;• Embankment Junker-garten;• Blacksmith’s Bridge;• Merchant’s Bridge;• Green Bridge;• Entrails Bridge; • Honey Bridge;• Cathedral Bridge;• Old Stock Exchange;

• Ferry service to Lastadie.

Analytical conclusions

One of the strategic decisions in the «construction of the Soviet Kaliningrad above German Konigsberg» ideology was to redevelop the former historic center of the city for transit. This was realized in Moskovsky Prospect and the Estacada Bridge. Estacada Bridge reduced the significance of the island to that of a residential area (in the past) right down to design attempts to demolish it completely, and «locked» the western part of the island. Kneiphof has ceased to exist as a self-sufficient historical urban unit (subject). The island has turned into an area not easily accessible for pedestrians. Due to the complexity and the high cost of dismantling, foundations and basements were covered up, and trees


were planted on new vertical levels. The area of the island along with the set of sculptures from Soviet times became known as a “park of sculptures”. Currently, the trees continue to grow on the foundations of the medieval Kneiphof, gradually destroying them. The basements suggest the potential authenticity of restoration works. Later on, they could be used for the restoration of a part of lost buildings and entire blocks. The pavements, covered-up and most likely preserved, could be exposed and would revitalize the authentic layout of medieval streets and original ancient sett stones.

Today, we are used to the fact that the Cathedral is a magnificent single feature on the deserted island of Kneiphof. Historic photos show us a different picture. The Cathedral is squeezed among other buildings. Only its steeple and some middle grounds including Pregel arch (embankment view not far away from the Entrails Bridge) could be seen from a distance. The Cathedral could be seen either from a very short distance or from long distance such as from the hills and the floodplain ridge. To the east, it was closely adjacent to the old building of Albertina. A new gymnasium together with the Cathedral forms a microscopic square, overlooked by Stoa Kantiana (Kant’s portico) — all this clearly illustrates the idea that the change of the context changes the perception of the object.

Kneiphof ’s layout, preserved underground, and the main restored building of the town — the Cathedral laid down in 1333, being as the main representative of the medieval culture — make it possible to reconstruct a fragment of the medieval core in the most authentic urban planning manner and with appropriate materials.

The first step towards have a «new-old life» springing up on Kneiphof could be remove the «transport deadlock», i.e. to reconstruct one or two of its lost bridges. In the context of possible dense development of the surrounding area within the “Heart of the City” project, one of the ways to preserve the green space of Kant’s lsland could be the idea of establishing a Philosophical Park and the development of the Immanuel Kant Museum, which would be especially timely in view of the forthcoming anniversary of Immanuel Kant in 2024.

2.4 Lobenicht

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted Lobenicht)

• Self-sufficient historic town planning unit (medieval town);

• Non-regular plan;

• Terrain with a slope (15 meters);

• Stream (Cat’s ravine);

• Unclosed (section along the R.Pregel) town fortification wall with watch- and over-the-gates towers;

• Old town blocks;

• New town blocks;

• Blocks based on the fortification wall;


• Measuring scale (height dimensions of 4 – 5 storey development);

• St. Barbara Church of Löbenicht (1333);

• Church Square;

• Benedictine Convent and Hospital area;

• Löbenicht Town Hall;

• Langgasse Main Street;

• Löbenicht Real Gymnasium;

• New Market;

• Embankment of R. Novy (New) Pregel;

• Timber Bridge (new);

• Design of the new bridge;

• Sub-zones and elements adjacent to Löbenicht.

It appears to be impractical to select any structural elements of Löbenicht for restoration. From the side of the Pregolya River, Löbenicht neither had any developed waterfront, nor had any regular ”waterfront development” — nevertheless, the rhythm of the street “punctures” leading to the waterfront and the bay windowed string of houses on the street, along the embankment are considered to be valuable. The blocks of Löbenicht followed the curve of the flood valley ridge, the altitude line between the Upper and the Lower cities, and therefore, they did not have such a regular pattern as Altstadt did. Thus, they do not have to be replicated in a new town planning scheme. The only remarkable and repeatable graphical image of Löbenicht is the side-view of three churches with its spires “making” a character of the right side of the Königsberg panorama, which has been traditionally silhouetted from the south. It is interesting to mention the ancient building on Löbenicht — a monastery, which later became a hospital; in case of archaeological excavations, it will be possible to use it as an example in order to see the progressive development of this place.

Started in the early 1900s, the extended works on reconstruction of the riverside territories, the arrangement of new blocks, straightening and widening of streets and the embankment are all of interest. Of an architectural merit is also the spatial composition of the “two banks” — Lomse and Löbenicht, expressed in the combination of the wide street with the name Kurfürstendamm, overlooking the bank of the River Pregel in Lose, and the square New Market, overlooking the bank of the River Pregel in Löbenicht, directly opposite Kurfürstendamm, along with the project proposals of the early 1940s regarding the construction of a new bridge.

As a valuable town-planning accent, we see the characteristic corner on the riverfront of Löbenicht, east from Timber Bridge to the New Market (Hamann street), a little tower of Löbenicht gymnasium named after Hamann. It has been captured on numerous photographs of Löbenicht and this city node. This “corner with a little tower” should be reproduced as a principle in case of construction in this place.

2.5 Lastadie

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted Lastadie)

• Medieval port (business and storage area);

• Development based on business and storage activities;

• Main discharging square;

• Blocks of fachwerk (timber-framed) warehouses (speichers);


• Riverfront and development from the R. New Pregel side;

• Embankment of the R. New Pregel;

• Measuring scale (height dimension of the 2–6 storey development);

• Port and railway and storage infrastructure;

• Ferry service;

• Sports complex and square/station near the swimming pool.

The valuable feature of this district is the “riverside” port image of Lastadie itself, incorporating the tall narrow facades of the warehouse frameworks with a diversity of speicher-marks at the house doors, berths, ships at berths and an unloading square (it is quite possible that authentic setts with narrow-gauge railway tracks still remainv under the asphalt). This image and its components — the riverside embankment and the unloading square paved with setts — are envisaged for restoration or renovation in this area.

2.6 Front Steindamm

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted Front Steindamm)

• Suburb (sloboda) (town district);

• Element connecting districts of the north-west with Altstadt;


• Main street — Market Square;

• Regular block planning;

• Standard blocks;

• Measuring scale (development height dimensions of 4¬–5 storey);

• New Altstadt church;

• St. Nicholas Church;

• Central Post Office;

• Central Telegraph Building;

• Gesekusplatz;

• Sub-zones and elements, adjacent to Steindamm;

• Rollberg;

• Sovetsky pocket park opposite Investbank.

Steindamm has been always a “node of intersection”, a gate to medieval Königsberg, аnd a passage-way from the Lower city to the Upper city and vice versa — generating much traffic with the trade functions.

The block pattern of the small streets of Steindamm appears to have an architectural merit: some of the roads continue existing as roads today, some

remain as “local thoroughfares” which is undesirable and violates the principle of the ”visual historical fabric”: in future it is required not to lose “invisible roads”. Another architectural merit is the historical broadness and the scale of the main street/market being a panoramic view site and opening up a spatial perspective of the Lower city and the Stock Exchange.

Today’s pocket park opposite the building of Investbank partially imitates the square around St. Nicholas Church but does not retain any memory of this fact except for a specifically paved road with an extended portion that has now been converted into a parking lot. The sett paving and the shape of this street-square are historical: in combination with the pocket park they form an individual historical element of Zhitomirskaya Street: (a square) with a symbolic centre piece (the monument).

The Underground Königsberg in the area of Front Steindamm may be used to solve the problem of the present traffic flows by including the elements of the underground archaeology, sufficiently available here, into the current traffic.


2.7 Paradeplatz

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted Paradeplatz)

• Territory of the first town settlement;

• Royal Garden;

• Element connecting the districts of Steindamm and Nizhny Pond;

• Parade Square (Paradeplatz);

• Architectural and town planning ensemble of classicism (architect Friedrich Stüler);

• Contribution to the ensemble of New Altstadt Church;

• Main approach from the Castle’s side;

• Regular green parterre;

• Perimeter of development;

• New building of “Albertina” University;

• Richness of sculpture plasticity;

• City Theatre (Opera Theatre);

• Equestrian monument to King Friedrich Wilhelm III;

• Monument to Immanuel Kant;

• Monument to Friedrich Shiller;

• Measuring scale (development height dimensions of 4–5 storey);

• Sovetsky (Soviet) pedestrian boulevard;

• Bunkers.

In terms of town planning, the Parade Square (Paradeplatz) is a fragment of the smaller traffic circle of historical Königsberg and a transit spot between the present Leninsky Prospect and the Lower Lake.

In representative terms, it is a new Main (Parade) square of the city as a royal residence with not fully completed design in classicism traditions. There is a concentration of royal urbanity here. It is surrounded by large royal (”federal”) objects, among which are: the university (the building was donated by the king); the Opera house and a royal passionate element in the form of an equestrian statue plus (sideways) the monuments to Immanuel Kant and Friedrich Schiller (a square as a polyphonic site). The gallery (unfinished all around) is an architectural indication of two European traditions: a gallery= neoclassicism plus university.

Paradeplatz was the core of the updated brand “Königsberg as a university and theater city” (German-Soviet-Russian periods, during the latter two the theater centre was moved). It is a square understood in European (German) terms: a developed site area with meaningful greenery (dendrological idea), paving, benches, lamps and symbolical objects.

According to the typology, it is an architectural and town planning ensemble of classicism with a symmetrical planning composition, including New Altstadt Church. The largest Russian counterpart is Dvortsovaya Ploschad (Palace Square) in St. Petersburg with a passage through the arch of the General Staff building.

The regularity of classicism (a complex ensemble) within the city has been partially implemented only here, as an element of the “long-term” concept.


It was characterized by developed transit: pedestrian plus vehicular (in the past). Today, only pedestrian transit remains. The Soviet pedestrian boulevard is a partial successive concept of the historical ideology of regularity.

2.8 Nizhneye Lake

Architectural and town planning (which constituted Nizhny Pond)

• Man-made landscape unit (pond);

• Embankment (levee);


• Landscape element connecting districts of the North East;

• Promenade;

• Architectural ensemble of Monetnaya Square;

• Façade development of the southern (castle) part facing the pond;

• Façade development along the streets in the northern part facing away from the pond;

• Measuring scale (development height dimensions of 4–5 storey);

• Natural landscape;

• Elements of private gardens;

• Blocks based on the fortification wall;

• Burgkirche;

• Stadthalle building;

• Park-Hotel;

• Bellevue building;

• Schlossteichbrücke Bridge;

• Architectural competition for a new bridge;

• Water cascade complex;

• Development of hospital complex (Kranken-haus);

• Subzones and elements adjacent to Nizhny Pond;

• Soviet open landscape;

• Mirror parterre for the House of Soviets.

The area of Schlossteich (Nizhneye Lake) should be divided not lengthwise — into the left shore/the right shore but into two zones characterized by different historical development: the “Castle (southern) part” of Schlossteich that at first was directly dominated by the castle but later on became intensively urbanized/ when these areas were passed over to the magistrate at the turn of the 19th and 20th Centuries; and the “City (northern) part of Schlossteich”. These zones were


separated by the Schlossteichbrücke Bridge. Both of these zones had a different pattern of development and subsequently they need to be considered as two interlinked but different historical landscapes.

As a result of its development the castle zone of the lake was the first to receive the pedestrian promenade on both shores following the “urban liberation” on the threshold of the First World War. Before that the lands had been bought out from the royal family and private persons; the buildings that were in the way were demolished and the complex of the architectural ensemble of Monetnaya Square linking the castle to the pond and representing a unique “triumphant opening” of the promenade was erected. This promenade was a “city” part: the building line along the embankment was built up with facades facing the lake. The facade line of this southern part of the pond was a main distinguishing feature. Unlike the castle part, the ”city” part of the lake was provided with a pedestrian promenade only just before the Second World War; the shores with a small exception had not been developed here, and the building facades in this part of the city looked not towards the lake but the streets. The exceptions were Bellevue, Park-hotel and Stadthalle.

In German times, the lake was crossed by only one bridge (a neck at the waterfall cannot be considered as a bridge). In Soviet times, a new bridge was built in place of the old one and then two more bridges were constructed. As a result, there are University and Museum bridges and the third bridge without a name; their names are not familiar to citizens. The German buildings along the shores were mostly dismantled. The buildings that have remained are those of Stadtshalle and the Park Hotel on the shore, the building of the hospital complex between the lake and Klinicheskaya Street, the facilities of a distillery and the complex of the waterfall in the north end of the lake.

The Soviet embankment of the lake and the bridges were designed as a complex by the architect Eremeev in the 1970s; as a result of the Soviet reconstruction the dimensions and consequently the water surface of the Lower pond decreased. On the northwest shore, some large public buildings with regional or municipal functions were erected, the last one was the building of a court; the place for standard housing construction was found on the southeastern shore. Therewith, bridges were interpreted as not architectural but engineering structures.

2.9 Korolevskaya Gora and the House of Soviets

Architectural and town planning elements (which constituted the Mountain/Upper City)

• Landscape unit (Berg-mountain);


• Prussian ancient settlement (Tuwangste);

• Trade route to Zamland – Lithuania;

• First town settlement;

• Site of the old castle;

• Coordinate zero point — starting point of urban planning;

• Centre point of the radial plan structure;

• Focus on the south and the city’s silhouette (southern panorama);

• Three scales of the Mountain:

Medieval — of the Order (13th–15th Centuries),

Renaissance — Ducal (16th Century),

Classicism — Royal (17th–early 19th);

• Key dominant feature — Königsberg castle (the Order’s fortress, Royal Castle);

• Fortification infrastructure;

• The Order’s lands, areas outside the castle;

• Projects of the castle modernization in the 16th Century (Renaissance);

• Castle part of the Nizhny Pond;


• Streams:

Löbebach (Katzbach),

Stream west of the castle,

Mühlenfliess,

Melnichnyi kanal (Mill’s channel);

• Mills:

Castle mill (Upper mill, Haus-mühle),

Old castle mill (Lower mill, Katz-mühle, Burg-mühle),

Middle mill (Mittel-mühle);

• City defensive walls and gate;

• Complex of dominants:

St. Maria Magdalena Church,

St. Nicholas Church,

New Altstadt Church,

Burgkirche,

St. Barbara Löbenicht Church;

• Irregular blocks based on roads leading to the castle;

• Blocks based on defensive walls;

• Measuring scale (height dimensions of 3–5 storey building-up);

• Streets (passages), connecting the Upper and the Lower city;

• Complex of squares:

Münzplatz,

Schlossplatz,

Bergplatz,

Gesekusplatz,

Kantplatz,

Architectural ensemble of the new Monetnaya square;

• Terraces of the castle and man-made (artificial) landscapes of Korolevskaya Gora area;

• Monument to Duke Albrecht;

• Momunet to Keiser Wilhelm I;

• Monument to Friedrich I;

• Monument to I. Kant;

• Central Post Office;

• Building of the Central Telegraph Office;

• Building of Reichsbank;

• Subzones and elements adjoining the Mountain/Upper city;

• House of Soviets;

• Central square;

• Waterfalls;

• Soviet open landscape.

Three facets: material, symbolic and ideal

(The main representative facade of the Order’s castle)

While further developing (renovating, reviving and regenerating) this area it is necessary to envisage the existence of “three castles” here, three guises of a “public power-wielding body”. The Underground castle — a castle hidden under ground — with passages, “punctures” through the moun-tain and other hidden transit traffic through buildings and the body of the mountain. (At the same time it serves as a metaphor for the multi-branched network of legendary underground passages, which always exists both in the symbols of the “mountain” and in the allegories of “power” and with which the legends about

the Amber room in the castle cellars are associated.) The Aboveground castle which is a “visible body” and for which one of the key tasks is to “package” its functions in the utmost representative and up-to-date but not ponderous manner. This is the task that shall be completed by “functional architecture”. The “Nonmaterial castle*” (aboveground, image-bearing, ideal) which shall be broadcast on screens and in books as a symbol or an image “covering” a memory appeal to the castle.

* This “castle” will be a part of the medieval environment as is the case with the Moscow Kremlin which is not entirely a part of it but only a few of its canonical forms are.


Morphology of the mountain

A Castle and a “necklace” of squares. After the demolition of ramparts and backfilling of moats, the Order’s castle was encroached upon by urban housing. Only from the north, formerly the Order’s territories were developed according to the internal needs of the Order rather than any town constitutions, later the Duchy’s and the King’s needs until at the turn of the Century these lands were transferred to the magistrate and used for the layout of a new Monetnaya Square with a bright symmetrical composition, which emphasized the significance of this place, and a promenade along Schlossteich (Nizhny Pond).

Fig 1. Terrain of the mountain area: the Order’s period (the 13th–15th Centuries), Renaissance (the 16th Century) and the Royal period (the 17th–early 19th Centuries) and rhythm of links between the Upper and the Lower city.

Fig 2. Dominant features and four town planning frames with the main entry node to the castle.

Fig 3. Man-made (artificial) landscapes of the Korolevskaya Gora area.

Everywhere, from west and east, north and south, the building-up closely adjoined the castle and it was separated from the developments by specifically created areas of the square type. From the northeast — by Monetnaya Square, from the east — by Castle Square, from the south — by Yuzhnaya (Southern) Square and Keiser Wilhelm Square, from the west — by Zapadnaya (Western) Terrace and Gesekusplatz. Unexceptionally crossing of the Order’s Castle with the “node traffic” was manifested by the square which provided the castle with a ”middle ground” while a ”background” was secured by corner towers, the main tower and the main southwestern facade.

A different situation arose with the House of Soviets. Technically it “reigned” alone on Korolevskaya Gora against the “democratic” declaration of its content. Its loneliness was secured by non-built up areas of the former Altstadt and Kneiphof from the south; by Tsentralnaya (Central) Square that was never completed (but became an embodiment of the public space of forlornness) — from the west; by the area of the cascade of fountains — from the east and by a smaller square before Shevchenko Street and the spaciousness of Nizhneye Lake — from the north. As a result spiritless loneliness came about instead of magnificence.

According to different estimates a Castle inner courtyard (of about 7000 sq. m. in area) could accommodate up to 1500 persons. Assuming that the castle embodied almost absolutist power (of the Order, the Duchy and the King — functioning as a residence) the inner courtyard had the role of the ”main square” space not within the city but within the functions of the state or the ”city-royal-residence”. It was a meeting point for the Authority and Estates and for this meeting an infrastructure was designed — a “governmental bay window” with a balcony on the 3rd floor (accessed from the level of the Hall of Moskovites) from which the king greeted his subjects.

In the Soviet design, the function of the inner courtyard was split into two spaces: “vertical inner courtyard” of the House of Soviets and the site of Tsentralnaya Square. The function of holding the parades and demonstration had also been envisaged (designed), for which a pedestrian subway was built to enable large masses of people to disperse. However, neither the square nor the pedestrian subway were ever used. The square itself was rather interpreted as a spacious pocket park with fountains and benches for the many Soviet clerks who would have hurried to the House of Soviets: this is clearly evidenced by the concept of equipping the square with fountains. Thus, no places with a “forum function” had been designed in Kaliningrad (Ploschad Pobedy (Victory Square), that has been the usual location for demonstrations and parades until the anniversary of Kaliningrad in 2005, cannot be considered by us as such a “platz” for demonstrations and parades). Inside the House of Soviets itself, a spacious multifunctional hall was designed and together with the lobby it was one “Soviet forum” under a single roof.

Today, when there is a demand from oblast and city authorities for ceremonial representative events with a capacity from 600 (including buffet) up to 1.5 thousand (excluding buffet) people, the sites for rent are the halls of Dom Iskusstv (House of Arts), Dramteatr (Drama Theatre) or the sports complex “Yunost”, which are unfit for these purposes and outdated in representative and technological terms.


Construction of the most famous landmark of Kaliningrad on the site of the former vorburg — the House of Soviets, became an apotheosis of the 1970–1980s of Soviet times. The House of Soviets be-came the embodiment of brutalism and of Brezhnev stagnation and was the result of the architectural competition of 1974. Its monumental image was supposed to eclipse the monumental image of the Royal Castle that was still remembered and, at the least, not to be inferior in heaviness of the architectural mass, the impact, the construction density and the compositional combinatorial set of elements.

Some of the compositional themes and elements of the former architectural “castle” form were merged into the new structure and were given a new translation.

For example, the inner horizontal courtyard of the Castle merged into the inner vertical courtyard — a space of the new structure of the House of Soviets, and the former historically tested quadrangular shape was replicated in the quadrangle of the House of Soviets. The strengthening of the angles of the Castle by the towers with horizontal fortification links was echoed in the fixing of the angles of the new building by the elevator shafts with the horizontal links — passages between them. The bare structural elements of the western wing of the castle — counterforts, were reflected in the vertical rhythm of lower supporting elements of the House of Soviets. The coordinate grid of the siting of the new Soviet structure also fits the cardinal direction orientation of the former Royal Castle.

The major conceptual change has occurred in the naturally determined forceful gravity of the new architectural mass — a symbolic shift of the coordinate ”zero” point of the House of the Soviets siting which can be expressed in the sententious saying — “further away from Berlin and closer to Moscow”.

House of the Soviets

The design of the House of the Soviets was conceived in 1968. It had been approved by 1970 and in the same year the construction commenced. The chief architect was Yulian Lvovich Shvartsbreim, an honored architect of the RSFSR, a laureate of the USSR state prize, the head of the architectural workshop of TsNIIEP named after B.S. Mezentsev. The construction of the House of the Soviets started on Korolevskaya Gora alongside the castle foundation. All successive concepts up until the early 1990s considered the House of the Soviets as an accomplished fact. Its height is 71.6 m. According to the builders the House of the Soviets has an immense safety factor. It is standing on 1148 piles up to a meter-and-a-half thick cast in situ foundation footings, heavy duty steel and reinforced concrete frames, four stiffening cores cast in situ on different levels — from the basement up to the top. It has four halls, eight express lifts, and a basement with space for a restaurant and service facilities. According to its design the House of the Soviets should have been finished with a special material — stemalite (enameled glass) but after the replacement of this material with concrete panels, initiated by the higher authorities, the House of the Soviets got its present look.

The House of the Soviets has a high quality of the architectural composition and aesthetics in the ideology of Soviet brutalism which is a constituent part of the common architectural and artistic programme of that time and is defined as Soviet modernism. Soviet brutalism is in its turn an echo of international brutalism — an architectural style of Western Europe, the USA and Japan of the 1950s and its vivid continuation — metabolism which originated in Japan in the late 1950s. The representatives of metabolism of the 1960s are such famous architects as K. Tange, K. Kikutake and K. Kurokawa. The peculiarities of the architectural language of metabolism are incompleteness, ”understatement” and openness of the structural arrangement of buildings for a “dialogue” with the changing architectural, cultural and technological context of urban environment.

Thus, the House of the Soviets represents a monument to good stylistic architecture. It stimulates interest in contemporary history and provides vivid visualization of the views of that period, as nothing more interesting and significant has been created in Kaliningrad during the Soviet period. No examples of such magnitude exist in other provincial cities of Russia. By its scale, ideological power, intensity of the administrative will and the resources spent it is comparable to the construction of Konigsberg Castle by the Order.


Design of the House of Soviets. TsNIIEP named after Mezentsev, workshop No2, Project Manager Y. Shvartsbreim. (“Architecture of public buildings”, Stroyizdat, 1980)

In the postwar period the construction of the House of the Soviets, the Estacada Bridge, the entertainment complex ”Plaza” has radically enlarged the urban planning scale of this area. The built-up spot of the former castle is limited all around by the building-up that has nothing in common with historical construction. Nevertheless, this area has not lost its town planning and compositional relevance in the historical core as well as in the planning framework of the city. The strategic and compositional significance of this area is determined by preservation of the major radial plan structure of the Inner city.

According to the historically developed “memory of the place”, it would be expedient to build up this area within the borders of the former fortification complex of the Order (within the outer borders of vorburg) and, in this way, to manifest the urban planning genetic continuity of historical periods.

Height characteristics of the future building-up can be in a scale comparable to the previously existed historical site. More precise parameters will be determined by the future function of the whole complex of the building-up.

The most important aspect is the designation (the purpose) of the future silhouette and compositional dominant of the complex. It is impossible to underestimate the factors of the existing town planning environment affecting this area — a high-rise building of the House of Soviets, the Hotel Kaliningrad and the commercial centre Plaza.

Section 3. Expert proposals

3.1. Medieval core

The medieval core shall not be large and will coincide with the scope of the whole construction essence of the historical city under restoration. The core shall include the elements/fragments of the three medieval towns (to represent them) and, if possible, to give the holistic picture/characterization of the Middle Ages with the demonstration of the medieval building technologies and lifestyle. It may be a group of several facilities interconnected by a local tourist route.

The assets (sites and elements of environment) proposed for restoration

Medieval square. The notion of a medieval square comprises virtually any open space with the social and commercial function (a market) shaped by the facade lines of surrounding buildings. The sites to be restored — Bolshaya Sobornaya (Big Cathedral) Square, Malaya Sobornaya Ploschad (Small Cathedral) Square, Rybnyi (Fish) Market, Lipovyi (Lime Tree) Market.

Medieval dominant feature. The sites to be restored — continued restoration of the Cathedral and medieval surroundings of the Cathedral, recovering of the immensity and the ratio “cathedral–development”. Following the regeneration of the historical surroundings of the Cathedral — first of all of the building of the University Albertina (1569) — the former will be again perceived as was originally designed. The restoration of older developments in place of Kneiphof Gymnasium built in 1865 is also justified by the intention to return to the harmonic combination of the embankment to be built up and the magnificent bulk of the Cathedral. [Köster].

Medieval street. The fragment of the medieval street is needed for full perception of the medieval city environment. The sites to be restored — Magisterschtrasse or Poperechnaya.

Medieval block. The sites to be restored — the blocks of Altstadt No 1, 2, 3; the blocks of Kneiphof No. 1, 2, 3, 7, 8 (please see the expert proposal for Altstadt, Kneiphof). It is important to realize that it is not the medieval building-up which has almost been reconstructed by the end of the 19th Century, that is proposed to be reproduced but the medieval urban fabric in the framework of which architectural styles were developed and facades were shaped. The method of the restoration of the development is reproduction of the scope and dimensions using modern construction materials and techniques including the historical facades restored in authentic construction materials. The developments of Köster are proposed as the basis.


Medieval embankment. The sites to be restored — the blocks of Altstadt No 1,2,3; the blocks of Kneiphof No 5,6,7.

Medieval bridge. The sites to be restored — Kuznechny Most(Blacksmith bridge), Derevyanny Most (Timber Bridge), Medovy Most (Honey bridge).

Medieval fortification wall. The sites to be restored — Blue Tower.

The environment based method of restoration implicates the restoration of the following:

Medieval elements of life. Elements of the medieval urban tradition, including those that have been transformed by the present day. For example, it is desirable that, along with a number, all of the houses would have a house-mark or a specially designed entry portal.

Construction techniques and materials. For construction materials it is preferable to use timber-framing or hand-moulded brick (either used or new) and lime as a binding base.

Medieval toponymy. The toponymy of historical cities is preserved longer than architecture or individual buildings. Therefore, in case any ”new historical streets” spring up we suggest to give them back their old names and to give the landscape units their old typonyms (for example ”Fruit embankment” in place of “Fruit market” or “the Holy Spirit street”).

Lifestyle (inhabitants). The mode of communication (morals) , behavior pattern (getting into the past), a particular kind of trade (market, fair), clothes (historical costumes), language (dialect), cuisine (an inn, a pub), visual historical attributes, recalling historical events — ”historical reconstructions”, epi-sodes from life, street artists, vehicles, etc. Prototypes: public servants, clergy, craftsmen, guild and craft union representatives (medieval professions).

Status of the area. It is proposed to define and separate a ”medieval city” district along with a potential special historical and cultural zone with the status of a ”Landmark” within it (the Cathedral with epitaphs, the tomb of Immanuel Kant, the restored Albertina, the statue to Albrecht, pavestones and pavements from the medieval period, the revetment of the embankment of ”Cyclopean” masonry, the authentic elements of the medieval city environment found over the region — removed genuine timber-framing, metal and processed stone). All of this, together with archaeological artifacts, may constitute an open “Museum of medieval city culture” within the limited area.

3.2 Altstadt

Considering the criteria (historical area-city, touristic meta-site, potentially incorporating touristic flows; riverside location, abundance of historical sites) we propose to use here the principal of the “polyphony of the historical centre functions”. It shall have the following functions in significant proportions: small-scale retailing, cultural and social facilities, apartments, commercial agencies, specific accommodation types (studios); hotels, offices, parking, cultural and museum function, gift shops, yacht mooring facilities, craft and art workshops, public catering of all kinds.

The target archaeological excavations on sites:

• РархПЛ

• РархБ

• РархШ

• РА

Defining the destiny of each of the inspected sites.


• Historical dimension (parameters) of the Altstadt town;

• Altstadt as a part of the historical town planning civilization of the town of the 13th–14th Centuries — “regularity”;

• Compositional form of the Altstadt town;

• Altstadt as a fragment of the medieval core of Königsberg;

• Restoration of the historical vertical levels of Altstadt in the fragment, which allows restoration of Altstadt in its principles;

• Kuznechny (Blacksmith’s) Bridge with the little house by the bridge;

The fragment of the “Architectural and Urban Planning Concept of Development of the Kaliningrad Historical Centre” Project. The International Competition of Architecture and Design «Eurasian Award 2011», the 2nd place nomination “Urban planning and urbanism”, Yekaterinburg. NW Architecture Agency.


• Altstadt waterfront: blocks Кв1, Кв2, Кв3, Кв4. The development of Rybnaya naberezhnaya (Fish Embankment) (formerly Fish Market) and mooring places;

• Altstadt Market (square) plus commercial blocks Кв12, Кв13, Кв20 and Кв21. The residential, commercial and office blocks “Three citizens” Кв8, Кв9 and Кв10. The technical and service blocks Кв13 and Кв14 and the waterfront blocks Кв5 and Кв6, the ”borderline” blocks Кв16, Кв17, Кв18 and Кв19;

• Lavochny (Merchant’s) Bridge (МЛ) shall be restored. The Estacada Bridge shall be dismantled. The remaining block configurations shall be built in the former dimensions according to the principles specified in the Expert proposal (see above) except for the complementary territories R, the destiny of which shall be solved depending on the current situation. The height of buildings shall be observed in the dimensions of a historical block.

Altstadt as a fragment of the “Medieval core”

As an element of the general regulations for the «Medieval core» it is encouraged to restore a historical built-up area not only according to the 1930s — 1940s but also according to an earlier period down to architecturally stylized but technologically authentic replicas of the medieval structures (for example taken from Gdansk, Olsztyn, Lubeck etc.).

It is recommended to restore old house-marks for all building structures within the area of the “medieval core” consistent with the personal history of these buildings. In case the old-time arrangement of narrow blocked facades is replicated on the remaining areas of Altstadt and manifested in new materials

and architecture, we recommend “inventing” house-marks for the majority of houses. These are the blocks of the Waterfront plus Altstadt Market plus the Northern façade of Altstadt.

To reconstruct the fragment of the Waterfront, blocks Кв1, Кв2 and Кв3 using old technologies (brick, fachwerk, lime as a binding mortar and others) and by using authentic historical materials, facades and dimensions with a different interior layout if necessary.

In place of the two old bridges on the embankments — the old Timber Bridge (МстД) and Cathedral Bridge (MC) — to mark historical cross-sections and install commemorative plaques and quotations in place of “МстД” (as was done in the vicinity of the old bridge, please see the historical background “Lomse”) and other quotations from the same work to be arranged in place of MC.

Toponymy. Pereulok Sviatogo Dukha, Altstadt Dolgaya Street, Melochnikov Street, Kant Street, Hamann Street, Bannaya Street, Kuznechnaya Street — these and other names and toponyms (Monastyrskiy dwor (Monastery Courtyard), Melnichnyi kholm (Mill’s Hill), etc.) shall be brought back to their sites when restoring the urban fabric of Altstadt. Therewith, a question regarding any modifications of toponyms “Derevyannaya, Drovyanaya or Drevesnaya ulitsa (Wooden, Wood or Timbered Street) shall be decided on a case by case basis.

”City clothing” — paving, benches, curbs, lamps etc. in the area of the “Medieval core” will differ from those in other parts of this area. They will be more “personal” in the sense of authentic stylisation: modern replicas of their ancient counterparts from Gdansk — Elblag — Lubeck.

Common element with Kneiphof. To restore the Blacksmith Bridge (MK). With the replacement of the present hydraulic mechanism with an electric one a house for the bridge-raising machinery will be functionally adapted to provide an art-residence or a “mooring bureau” (for example, “Marina Altstadt”).

To restore the Waterfront of Altstadt in the following dimensions:

To restore blocks Кв1, Кв2 and Кв3 by utilising authentic historical materials, facades and sizes with a different internal layout if necessary.

Blocks Кв4, Кв5 and Кв6 to be built in the proportion of 50:50, i.e. the scale and the fabric of the historical development will be retained but 50% of the buildings will be restored with authentic historical materials, facades and dimensions (if necessary with a different internal layout) while another 50% will represent new architectural concepts of “buildings by the water” built using new materials but at the historical height of cornices and ridges as well as with retained historical structural properties.

To reconstruct the Altstadt Town Hall (РА) with authentic historical materials, facades and dimensions but if necessary with a different interior layout. Functions: a museum of Altstadt: to house all artifacts of sufficient interest or value found during excavations and construction.

To restore Altstadt Market (Ratuschnaya Ploschad — Town Hall Square) with preserved dimensions, paving and front facades (the façade perimeter overlooking Altstadt Market) (ПлА + Кв12 + Кв13 + Кв20 + Кв21 with historical facades, overlooking a square and a terrace (by Кв20 and Кв21)).


Materials will be historical; dimensions of blocks, the height of the ridge and the cornice will be preserved. Planning will be adapted to the new functions which will be, for the most part, commercial (the first two floors) and offices or studios (other floors).

Common element with Korolevskaya Gora. To identify a compositional tandem (an ensemble) ”Altstadt Market (Town Hall Square) plus Yuzhnaya (Southern) Terrace of the castle” (ПлА + Т1) as an architectural and town planning ensemble aimed at the restoration of this composition. This means that in case of any (political and architectural) decision taken with regard to the restoration of the castle it is necessary to build a southern terrace near a building on Korolevskaya Gora, and the node at this place will have a fundamental formula “A junction of two vertical long spaces, one of which will be the terrace of Korolevskaya Gora and the other one — an Altstadt Square (Rynochnaya — Market) restored with proper dimensions”.

Common element with Korolevskaya Gora. To identify a node “Wilhelm’s Square plus front corner facade of the castle” (ПлВ + Фз) as an architectural and town planning ensemble aimed at the restoration of this composition. This means that in case of any (political and architectural) decision taken with regard to the restoration of the castle the city node at this place will have a fundamental formula: “Front corner façade of the main building of the city (region) plus a solemn square in neoclassical style”.

Common element with Korolevskaya Gora. An intermediate element between “the Upper and the Lower” city, between the site of the castle and the site of the House of Soviets, between the “above-ground castle and the underground castle”, requiring a special design concept in the zones of “Zamkovaya Gora (Castle Mountain) and the Order’s possessions plus Altstadt” has been designated as “Kuznechnaya grand staircase” (Лп). (Here Kuznechnaya Street leads from the castle down across Altstadt to Kuznechnyi Most (Blacksmith Bridge)). This transitional element was proposed by many participants at the Workshop. It will begin on Korolevskaya Gora as an element of the transit route from Nizhneye Lake to Kneiphof. On the passageway “mountain/Altstadt” it is intended to take the form of a grand staircase; on the passageway “Upper Altstadt/Blacksmith Bridge” it should be in the form of a succession of galleries stretching through different buildings along Kuznechnaya Street down to Blacksmith Bridge — so that a pedestrian would be able to get from the Upper Altstadt to the bridge and mostly avoid having to be exposed to rain.

To restore the housing blocks “Three citizens” (Three Eastern Blocks) (Кв9, Кв10 and Кв11) in an “integrated” concept” — at all times they have existed as a “triple alliance” and therefore we propose to design them as a “triple composition” in any form. The southern facades of these blocks will be repro-duced in a historical form to bring about the effect of a “historical section of the street”.

To build the northern front line of Altstadt (northern facades of blocks Кв20, 21 and 22) facing the Yuzhnaya (Southern) Terrace of the castle (Т1) with regard to the height of historical blocks and with a 50:50 ratio between historical and modern facades.

Common element with Korolevskaya Gora. The eastern border (sub-zone ВГ) of the historic area of Altstadt is proposed to be restored as a non-standard site development of blocks Кв7 and Кв16 (+РархЛ) and a spatial concept of the zone of Melnichnye Vorota (Mill’s Gate) (М) (please see section “Korolevskaya Gora and the Order’s estates”). We agreed with one of the options for this area, elaborated at the Workshop, and as one of through elements “knitting together” this subzone into a single pattern (and linking the Upper city with the river) we propose to design such an architectural and town planning concept that would enable a through (gallery-like) pedestrian and “water” transit from the Upper city to Pregolya. Thus, we would respect the trajectory of the ancient streams Koshachiy and Löbebach while partially supporting the fundamental idea of the combination of the House of Soviets water cascades with the Grand Staircase-2.

Blocks Кв19, Кв18, Кв17 and Кв16 are to be restored within their former height scale and overall dimensions and with new architectural concepts but with due regard for their interaction with the Upper city (through the design idea of the Workshop — terraces Т2 and staircases Лп1, subzones of ВГ and Melnichny Holm (Mill’s Hill)).

Blocks on the west of Altstadt (R) are proposed to be reserved — depending on the traffic situation after dismantling of Estacada Bridge and restoration of Merchant’s Bridge. The architecture will be new; the size of the blocks and the height of a ridge and a cornice shall be historical.

3.3. Kneiphof


• Kneiphof as a part of the historical town planning culture of the 13th — 14th Centuries — “regularity”;

• Kneiphof as a fragment of the medieval core of Königsberg;

• Cathedral square with the Cathedral as a symbolic building of Kaliningrad and Königsberg situated within typical compact medieval planning;

• Kneiphof ’s waterfront (in the first place, significant by its structure and in the second, by its facades);

• The building of Albertina — the old University as a “beginning of science” in the city (and a part of the Cathedral square periphery) and the old building of the Gymnasium;

• The secluded memorial space of the porch “Stoa Kantiana” by F. Lars and “Kant’s” place;

• The building of the Town Hall of the medieval town of Kneiphof;

• Bridges of Kneiphof as a main part of the unique planning composition of “Seven Königsberg Bridges” — a practical embodiment of an example from higher mathematics (Euler’s formula).

In any case, it is necessary to reconstruct one or two historical bridges of Kneiphof: Potrokhovy (Entrails) Bridge and Kuznechny (Blacksmith) Bridge.


Option 1. To restore a Big Cathedral Square in historical dimensions and materials: the building of Albertina (to fulfill the university’s scientific function, possibly a library) plus the two square blocks on the old foundations (functions: hotels, shops, food service facilities, small museums, specialist housing, tourist agencies).

Option 2. To preserve the green area by turning it into a Philosophical Park, to make the whole area an island of museums, solitude and meditation. To develop the idea of the museum of Kant by taking into account the historical, landscape and town planning resources of the area.

The town planning value of the “regularity” of the historical site development is proposed to be preserved and converted into the landscape regularity by creating a contemporary regular (French) park instead of the existing landscape (English) park with a special historical green fragment to be accentuated and expanded opposite the Stock Exchange (Junkergarten).

3.4. Lobenicht

When reconstructing the complex of Soviet buildings with the building of the department store “Moskovsky” at the top, on the site of the former church we propose to restore a panoramic composition with a vertical dominant feature in one material manifestation or another.

Stage 1.

To conduct archaeological excavations (РархМ) of the foundations of the Benedictine convent (Löbenicht hospital) and Löbenicht gymnasium (РархГ) on Hamann Street. The destiny of the findings will be decided after completion of the excavations.

To restore the naval motor boat memorial and turn it into a museum vessel to be handed over to the Museum of the World Ocean to the Historical Fleet Embankment in the same way as it was done with the military submarine. The riverside section from the Timber Bridge to the last 9-storey building will be used to lay out the embankment to be named after the philosopher Hamann.

Stage 2.


To unify the two banks of the New Pregolya River further east of the Timber Bridge, two embankments and the built up area situated across the river will be integrated into a single compositional idea. The embankment of Pregolya from the Timber Bridge to the 9-storey building on Moskovsky Prospect (Hamann Embankment (street)) “in a tandem” with the embankment Lomsenskaya (Lomse) and three building blocks are proposed to be developed as a general composition “Five riverside blocks of Lomse/Three blocks of Löbenicht” with the preservation of the block template. The height of the blocks can be 5 levels (according to the proposals put forward at the Workshop). Three blocks Кв8, Кв9 and Кв10 are proposed to be built with a typical architectural element characteristic of Löbenicht nearby — at Luther Street: high-rise bay windows facing the water and starting from a height of 2–3 floors. The functions of these three blocks will be hospitality, social, residential (on the upper floors), offices (on the upper floors), gallery (should the Art Gallery be removed from its old building on Moskovsky Prospect); the first two floors will be for commerce, catering and consumer services. The corner of the building opening to the Timber Bridge will be designed with a tower (an indirect replication of tower Б2). The architecture of the three blocks will be modern, devoid of historicism, responding to the river, the embankment and three other buildings on the opposite bank. It is proposed to take a tandem “courts of honor/bay windows” as a planning principle for the redevelopment of these two banks and to make this principle a common rule for this node: bay windows for Löbenicht part, courts of honor for Lomse. The exits of crosscutting streets to the river (”airways”) are proposed to be made in the locations of historical streets. The streets (lanes) will be named using the topography of Löbenicht.

If the excavated elements on the site of the Benedictine convent (АрхМ) and Löbenicht gymnasium (АрхГ) are found valuable, they will be included in the current design concept of blocks Кв10 and Кв8 respectively.

3.5. Lastadie

This historical zone is proposed to be assigned a basic function of the main river port (node) for tourism and pleasure of Kaliningrad city and of the river touristic zone.

On Lastadie it is proposed to restore the function of the mooring embankment and to reconstruct the former unloading (Speicher) square Пл2, built up on all sides by timber-frame in blocks Кв2, Кв3 and Кв4. These three blocks are proposed to be restored in the following manner: Кв2 — to be restored by using old materials and shapes and by adapting the internal layout to new functions. The other two blocks (Кв3 and Кв4) will be built in the ratio of 50:50 “old timber-framing/new timber-framing”, i.e. a new one will use new materials, but in the old measuring scale with the preserved style of exposing the “interior design” outside. The square will be paved with setts (or genuine setts will be retrieved from under the asphalt).

The archaeological excavations Арх2 are proposed to be arranged from the north on the territories of Lastadien Tor (Lastadien Gate) and Pfeifen-turm (Tower). Based on findings from these excavations it will be necessary to decide a further destiny of this area and the excavated items. An optimum option

would be to reconstruct a characteristic Pfeifer Tower in order to strengthen the historical image of this district.

The square Пл3 that will be formed between the facades of the sports complex Yunost, the swimming pool and block Кв3 is proposed to be paved in different surface finishes (paving tile, different cobble-stone and sett), marking the spots of the former historical site development. To integrate squares or service areas with transit corridors, either block Кв3 will be made passable or service areas (café, small shops, gift shops) will be developed.

3.6. Front Steindamm and Nikolsky pocket park


Status and function in the urban fabric. After changing the traffic scheme (please see Stage 2) we propose to give back a historical status of the “principal business thoroughfare of the city” to Front Steindamm, i.e. to change the ideology of the place, to make it a historical and touristic shopping (gal-ery) pedestrian street with a memorial pocket park, as well as to promote the development of “luxury and fashionableness” in this area.

Stage 1.

Kopernika Street: to return setts and block pattern. To return public life and consumer service business to the ground floors and, thus, to restore the function of historical blocks — providing the dense public life on the ground floors (consumer services). To renovate or to make appropriate repairs (by “complete renovation”) of the historical buildings Д1-Д4. If necessary, to introduce regulations for refurbishment and operation of historical buildings with a new form of protection agreement to be elaborated on a case by case basis.

To solve the problem of a missing corner building (Kopernika Street and Zhitomirskaya Street)

To conduct archaeological excavations of the foundations of the medieval Steindamm Gate. To decide the destiny of the remains with regard to the value of remaining building materials after excavations. We propose to preserve the fragments as a historical element of the urban landscape. The best option would be to use fragments while laying out or designing the pedestrian traffic zone between the Lower and the Upper city (Zhitomirskaya Street and Moskovsky Prospect — Altstadt).

To conduct archaeological excavations of a part of the foundations of St. Nicholas Church. To decide the destiny of the remains with regard to the value of remaining building materials after excavations. The best option would be to preserve a part of the open basements (foundations) of the church and to include them in the interior of the pedestrian crossing across Leninsky Prospect in the vicinity of the former church (please see Stage 2) or to make them a historical landscape element of the new Nikolsky pocket park.

To conduct archaeological excavations of a part of the foundations of New Altstadt Church. To determine the destiny of the remains with regard to the value of remaining building materials after excavations. An optimum option would be to make them a historical landscape element of a new Nikolskiy pocket park (please see stage 2).

Stage 2.

Traffic scheme. A historical node of the Front Steindamm as a “gate between the Lower and the Upper city” will have a modern interpretation. We propose to separate pedestrian and vehicular traffic by levels with a developed consolidated network of underground parking lots and passages.

Roofed-in commercial galleries “Steindamm”. To expand pedestrian traffic from Leninsky Prospect towards Moskovsky Prospect along Zhitomirskaya Street, to reconstruct historical paving of the same broadness and configuration; to refurbish residential buildings from the Khrushchev period (Кв1-Кв4)

and convert them into commercial galleries by retaining the historical size of blocks and small roads between them on the section “Zhitomirskaya/Saltykova-Schedrina” and “Zhitomirskaya 2–8/Wagnera 2–8”. In other words it is proposed to rearrange and merge scattered houses into block complexes with consumer services on the ground floors and residential accommodation on the others. Galleries will have modern architecture. The height and dimensions of historical blocks will be 4–5 levels. A striking historical turret (Б1) or another corner emphasis (in modern design and materials) will be made at the corner of Wagner/Zhitomirskaya Streets. Antiquity will be placed in this novelty with the help of dimensions, objects, materials, functions and richness of plasticity of the new architecture.

Kopernika Street: The Krushchev-building (Д5) at Kopernika Street 8–10 will be rebuilt based on neighboring historical buildings.

Nikolsky pocket park: recreational, symbolic and touristic place. A meaningful symbolic loading “remaining from two churches” will be transferred to a pocket park in the vicinity of the bank and its design shall be reconsidered. With this aim the pocket park opposite Investbank will be given the name “Nikolsky” (СкН, named after the ancient church once existed here), redesigned and included as an element of the common pedestrian zone of Front Steindamm. After excavations of St. Nicholas and New Altstadt churches it will be also possible to discover “Brusov’s bunker” and “Alfred Rhode’s key” here. An option is to museumify the church basements by making entrances from the side of the pocket park. Underground parking (P) will be provided under the pocket park.

Underpass. An underpass will be built from Nikolsky pocket park across to Leninsky Prospect. It will be partially linked to the basements of the church or the Brusov’s bunker as an archaeological and museum object. A possibility for two archaeological sites (St. Nicholas Church and New Altstadt Church) to be incorporated in the interiors of the underpass will be considered.

3.7. Paradeplatz (Parade Square)\Universitetskaya (University) Square

The pocket park remaining after the former Paradeplatz is proposed to be transformed into the UNIVESITY SQUARE, based on the principles of classical ensemble planning, which were introduced here by the architect Friedrich Stüler. This idea is proposed to be implemented in three stages:

Preparatory stage. To determine the area of the former Paradeplatz as a separate cadastral plot and grant it the status of a square.

Stage 1. To make a new design of the University Square based on F. Stüler’s design, in which a green regular parterre (in front of the building of the university) will be restored with a centre at the focus of the composition. To restore the university gallery and a decorative design of the facade of the university building as they were before. To build a walkway (an alley) of trees around the periphery of the University Square according to the principle set forth by F. Stüler.


Stage 2. To restore the principal dimensions and façade lines of the old Paradeplatz with a partial restoration of old facades and demolition of five-storey buildings of the Soviet period. On the site of five-storey buildings modern public buildings with representative facades facing the square will be built.

Stage 3. To restore the links of Paradeplatz to the land area of the castle and to recommend an appropriate site development range from the side of Nizhniy Pond.

3.8. Nizhneye Lake

Stage 1.

Burgkirche. The foundations of the church (РархБ) will be surveyed by archaeologists. A decision on further use will be made after these archaeological excavations. As a minimum, in case this area is built up with large public facilities, potential foundations and basements of the church will be integrated into a new building or landscape (please see Stage 2). Hotel Bellevue. Reproduction of the hotel on the historical site and improvement of the adjacent promenade.


Stage 2.

To identify the borders of the future landscape park, including the water surface itself, and separate it from the “outer” development and adjacent areas. To assign the status of the city landscape park (or a similar one, for example, a historical landscape area) to this part of the area. A lakeside development will be prohibited except for reproduction of old buildings (a hotel Bellevue), terraces and light structures — pavilions and bridges.

To develop a concept of the park and thereafter, to hold a competition for the design of lakeside amenities and embankment development within the landscape park layout (landscape area). The scope of the competition will include the requirements for individual lakeside facilities (fencing, viewing sites, garden-houses, etc) with mooring embankments for pleasure and rowing boats; a rowing club with a shore base to be established by the University here (as an option for the repetition of a historical tradition. No ready-made catalogue solutions will be applied. Two bridges, situated in the “City part” of the lake (ММз and М1) will also be included in the competition: they are to be designed not as architectural but as engineering structures and not in a park but urban style. A bridge without a name will be given a “landscape” name (following the selection of an architectural concept).

Stage 3.

The “castle part” of the lake and adjacent lands and embankments (from Monetnaya square (ПлМ) to the bridge Schlossteichbrucke, at present University Bridge (МУ)) will have a different character from the “City’s” one. As an option, the built-up area of a lakeside type with facades facing the embankment and with social and recreational functions on the ground floors, will be restored by taking into account that, historically, there were 4–5 floors with lodgings on the upper floors. To accomplish this, a competition will be conducted for an integrated landscaping concept of the development of this part of the lakeside. The competition will take into account a focus on the promenade, public places, terraces, boat station and improvement elements and other elements of the area’s historical design. At the same time, the Universitetsky (University) Bridge (former Schlossteichbrucke) will be redesigned and made not as an engineering but as an architectural structure with a “city character” — including the design of gratings, lamps, etc. As an option it is also possible to hold public hearings on the competition designs from 1908, to select the winning option and to build it as a “gesture of memory”. Since residents do not have a name for the bridge it will be renamed (a possibility could be Castle Bridge).

Shevchenko Street. Based on the workshop materials and competition works on the Music Theatre we propose to divide the vehicular and pedestrian traffic into separate levels by using the principles of underground site development for this part of Korolevskaya Gora and to route the pedestrian traffic from Nizhny Pond to Altstadt.

Ensemble of Monetnaya Square. The node of the former Monetnaya Square will be designed together with Korolevskaya Gora and herewith it is necessary to take into account the necessity to: a) create an ensemble complex at this node

(the node will be designed as an urban planning and landscape ensemble), b) continue a promenade of the “lower” — through the hill – pedestrian traffic to the southern side of Korolevskaya Gora (a proposal that was articulated by many participants of the international workshop). This node will be included either in a separate competition to be announced or in a competition assignment for Korolevskaya Gora as a half-autonomous (linking) project node.

New bridges across Nizhny Pond will be designed and constructed to provide various opportunities for pedestrian traffic along and across Nizhny Pond.

Sites of separate archaeological interest for potential museumification or reconstruction

This register lists the sites that will be subject to prior archaeological surveys. For other programme sites and areas archaeological surveys will be carried out before the project development of historical areas is commenced.

Foundations of Steindamm Gate and towers of Altstadt city wall in the area of Gesekusplatz and Rollberg. To be preserved and included in the urban public landscape.

Site of the Old Cathedral on Altstadt: to be subject to archaeological surveys. A conclusion regarding further utilisation will be based on the results of the archaeological excavations.

Site of the old Benedictine convent (later a hospital) in Löbenicht and Löbenicht gymnasium: to be subject to archaeological surveys. In case any significant historical building material is found it will be subject to preservation and incorporation into the body (space) of a new building to be designed at this place.

Foundations of Pfeifen-tower and Lastadien Gate: to be subject to archaeological surveys. A conclusion regarding further utilization will follow from the archaeological excavations. In a favorable archaeological situation a part of the complex will be used either for a partial reproduction in order to be included in the city’s public landscape or for a full reproduction (Pfeifen-tower) in order to strengthen the historical individualisation of this section of the embankment.

Foundations of Burgkirche: to be subject to archaeological surveys. A conclusion regarding further utilisation will be based on the results of the archaeological excavations. A minimum option is to integrate the retained historical building mass into a new building or a landscape.

Foundations of the Altstadt Town Hall: to be subject to archaeological surveys and subsequent recreation with the facades as of the mid-20th Century, including modern layouts. If any significant historical building material is found it will be subject to preservation and incorporation into the body (space) of a building to be reconstructed.


Interzonal and intrazonal linkages

Historical bridges:

• Kuznechny (Blacksmith) and Lavochny (Merchant’s);

• Potrokhovy (Entrail) and Zeleny (Green);

• Schlossteich Bridge.

Compositional historical ensembles:

• “Wilhelm’s Square plus Parade corner of the Castle”;

• “Altstadt market and Yuzhnaya (Southern) Terrace of the Castle”;

• “Monetnaya Square”.

New linking elements:

• Underpass “Front Steindamm-Paradeplatz” (via Leninsky Prospect in the area of the present TC “Merkuryi”);

• Staircase node “Front Steindamm plus Altstadt” or “Rollberg plus tower Laak”;

• Staircase node Лп1 (connects the Lower and the Upper city as well as the area of the castle with the area of the House of Soviets);

• Melnichny Hill and the cascade of fountains near the House of Soviets.

76 Volume II. Attachment 4. Extract from the historical and cultural study of the “Heart of the City” project areas

This attachment is a short version of the historical and cultural study of the «Heart of the City” project areas, conducted on behalf of the State Budgetary Institution of Culture «Research-and-Production Center on Protection and Use of Monuments of History and Culture of Kaliningrad Oblast» in 2013 by the team of contributors: Oleg Vasiutin (architect, team leader), Alexander Popadin (culture expert), Anna Barsuk (architect), Maria Sizikova (architect-restorer) and Danila Kotov (architect).

Editor of the short version:

Alexander Popadin

Responsible for publication:

Lina Kramen

Translation into English:

Lina Kramen

Proofreading:

Stephen Dewar

Lay-out:

Victoria Pek

Maxim Popov

Note on distribution:

This publication has been issued within the framework of public activities and cannot be used by political parties or other political groups as a political advertisement or for any election campaign. Political advertisements must not be enclosed in this publication. These limitations are valid regardless of the form of distribution, the way or the amount of information received.

Published by Urban Planning Bureau "Heart of the City" non-profit partnership on behalf of the Government of Kaliningrad region.Kaliningrad 2014.

Printed by "Pictorica" Publishing House, 110 copies.

The on-line version of the publication is available at:www.tuwangste.ru

extract from the historical and cultural study of the "heart of the city" project areas

Documents

cultural study

kaliningrad city

historical backgrounds

urban planning development

medieval core

altstadt market

expert proposals

urban planning stages