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Not long ago, Kaliningrad was on the brink of becoming an exotic European city-break destination – until the outbreak of war put that on ice
It’s always nice to go somewhere and not be quite sure what country you are in. Or what century for that matter.
I had to double take a few times when I visited the extraordinary region of Kaliningrad. This chunk of land, about the size of Northern Ireland, is part of Russia but separated from the mother country by hundreds of miles, and borders two countries – Lithuania and Poland – that are both members of the EU and Nato. A mind-boggling juxtaposition in these times of heightened tensions between the West and Moscow.
The year was 2009 when – as hard as it is to believe now – Kaliningrad appeared on the brink of becoming Europe’s most exotic city-break destination, accessible by new direct flights from a host of continental cities, including London, and with easy on-arrival visa procedures.
As someone who had lapped up the multiple treasures of the post-Soviet states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and drunk in the glories of Hanseatic cities such as Gdańsk, Riga and Hamburg, Kaliningrad represented the final piece of the Baltic puzzle and its opening up promised genuine adventure.
In the post-Cold War era, this little enclave offered the geopolitical frisson of the old West Berlin – a capitalist outpost in the midst of a hostile communist world – and an opportunity to dip a toe into the mysteries of Russia without committing to an extended trip there.
English was barely spoken and all the signs were in Cyrillic. Much of the architecture – largely Soviet era – was harsh, though there were some softer touches that spoke to the region’s richer European heritage. In the late-night 12 Stul’yev bar (which is now closed), I ate blinis and red caviar and drank shots of vodka in glasses embellished with images of the Kremlin; I saw old ladies fervently chanting in the gleaming Russian Orthodox Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.
I also visited the sandy dunes of the Curonian Spit, the wonderfully atmospheric seaside resort of Svetlogorsk and a vast open mine that is the centre of the world’s amber production.
But what country does Kaliningrad really belong to? Since 1945, without a doubt, Russia. Before then, though, it was German. Founded by the Teutonic Knights in 1255, it was for almost 700 years a key stronghold for the territory that became East Prussia. Surrounded by a series of fortresses, Königsberg as it was then known was militarily one of the most important cities in Prussia, while the amber trade made it one of the wealthiest; kings were crowned there and among its most illustrious sons was the great Enlightenment philosopher Immanuel Kant.
Much of Königsberg’s heritage was destroyed in the war – a combination of an RAF raid in 1944 and the sustained assault of the Red Army in 1945. As part of the post-war settlement, the territory became part of Russia and was renamed after one of the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution, Mikhail Kalinin; its German population was forcibly expelled while Russians moved in en masse. Almost everything recalling the Prussian past was obliterated – the brave new Soviet world had arrived.
I saw many reminders of what Russians call the “Great Patriotic War” – nowhere more vividly than the Bunker Museum detailing the final battle for the city in spring 1945.
I also got a good sense of the exclave’s continuing significance as a military and naval base – troops from here have recently been redeployed to Kursk – made very real in the B-413 Submarine Museum.
The more optimistic take on the post-war change was captured by the Cosmonaut monument, a futuristic-looking tribute to the many from this region who contributed to the Soviet space programme, which for a while looked like it was giving the West a run for its money.
The uglier side was laid bare in the building put up to replace the demolished Königsberg Schloss (castle), the massive House of Soviets, which remains to this day incomplete. It is referred to locally as the “Monster”, or as one Tripadvisor reviewer put it: “Brutalism at its very best.”
The collapse of the Soviet Union inevitably spelt change for Kaliningrad – most notably by cutting it off from Russia proper, but also in the realignment of its tricky relationship with its past. The gothic cathedral that symbolised the old Königsberg, left in ruins since the war, was rebuilt with funds largely coming from Germany.
A row of buildings in Teutonic style lining the river Pregolya were reconstructed; likewise, since my visit, the splendid old synagogue in an attractive waterfront area that is now termed the “fishing village”.
If that all seems a little twee, a short drive out of the city into the wider region reveals an agricultural landscape that somehow still evokes the old East Prussia. On the short drive to Svetlogorsk – known as “Rauschen” in German times – I felt I had travelled back to the 19th century, a view strengthened in the resort as I glimpsed delightful old art nouveau villas and churches evoking a totally different time and tempo.
Many in Kaliningrad quite like this link to a past that sets them apart from the rest of Russia. Whisper it softly, but some younger ones even use the name “König” to describe their multi-textured homeland, I was told.
At the time I visited, there were hopes that the region could become a booming free-trade zone and while some sought full independence from Moscow, others more realistically set their sights on greater economic autonomy, including a thriving tourist sector – a great add-on for those taking tours of the wider Baltic region or a unique city-break destination in its own right.
As recently as 2020, Kaliningrad topped a Tripadvisor poll of the top 25 emerging destinations in the world, a sure sign that intrepid travellers will always be drawn to the strange and the challenging.
Two years later, Russia invaded Ukraine and the picture changed dramatically. With the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office currently advising against all travel to Russia, and no sign of an imminent end to the conflict, there is unlikely to be a tourist surge anytime soon.
But Kaliningrad-König’s day may yet come.
“Kaliningrad is the most curious city in Europe,” says Neil Taylor, the author of Bradt’s Baltic Capitals guidebook and former co-director of Regent Holidays, which for a while offered trips to Kaliningrad.
“It’s a bit of Russia where no one expects it and is almost totally free of the standardised international fare you get in so many places now. There’s nowhere else like it.”
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