How can you travel to the main part of Russia?
What are the major cities and towns of the region?
What are the neighbors of the Kaliningrad region?
Task 2: Say if these statements true or false.
The city has been set up in 1256.
2) Air and artillery attacks in 1945 have destroyed 90 % of the industrial and administrative structures.
The King Palace was damaged by the English and French aircrafts.
3. The historical heritage
The Castle
Kenigsberg was founded outside the German territory during the German knights Order intrusion into the land of Prussians. Since 1230-1231 German knights undertook a few military & political operations to conquer freedom-loving and brave Prussians. Moving further on from the rivers of Vizsla and Nogat they erected a number of fortresses such as Elbing, Balga, Brandenburg and finally reached Zemland.
In January 1255 a powerful invading army of crusaders under the command of King Ottokar II from Bohemia crossed the icebound gulf Frishes Huff and pillaged the settlements of Zemland. On their way back the knights captured and destroyed a free settlement of Prussians called Twangste ('wangus1 is a Prussian word meaning 'oak-wood') located not far from the river Pregel's mouth. On its site the crusaders founded their fortress which was named Kenigsberg, Most probably after King Ottokar.
In September 1255 a wooden fortification was already built, but the rebellious Prussians burnt it down. By 1257 the first stone building was erected inside the. fortress and the construction of other brick buildings began. They divided Lobe-Beich brook with the dam making two ponds — Schloss-Teich (Castle Pond) and Ober-Teich (Upper Pond), and filled the moats with water. Later the fortress and the Castle itself were often renovated and expanded.
It was the main fortress of the Order in the East. Originally the Castle was a residence of the Marshal of Teutonic knights. After the surrender of Marienburg (1457) the residence of the Great Magistrate was transferred to the Castle. In 1525 by the order of Duke Albrecht the eastern part of the Castle was reconstructed under the direction of the architect Friedrich Nusderfer to satisfy the needs of the court. On January 18, 1701 in its spacious Audience Chamber the first Prussian King, Kurfurst Friedrich III crowned himself with his own hand.
However, a few years earlier a very important event took place in Kenigsberg: on October 18, 1663 in the courtyard of the Castle the Prussian nobility made a feast in honour of Kurfurst Friedrich Wilhelm who had secured sovereignty of the Eastern Prussia by the Welau Treaty. Prussia was dependent on the Polish Kingdom for two centuries according to the Second Torn Peace Treaty following its defeat at Grunwald Battle and the Thirteen-Year War (1466).
198 years later, on October 18, 1861 on the eastern side of the Castle courtyard there was a celebration in honour of King Wilhelm I and Queen Augusta. After the ceremony the king crowned himself and the queen in the Castle Church.
The Castle and the entire historic center were burnt down during British bombardments in August 1944. In the late 60-ies the party leadership made a decision to blow up the Castle's ruins. A small group of local intelligentsia made a desperate attempt to prevent the destruction of the Castle. However, L. I. Brezhnev personally interfered in the matter and the Kenigsberg Castle came to its last hour. The 96-metre Castle Tower, which was built in 1864 and dominated the city, was blown up earlier.
Nowadays only old photos can tell us about the Castle Church's splendid interior with fragments of the Order of Black Eagle, the Throne Room and the biggest in Germany Chamber of Muscovites (83 m x 18 m) named after the Great Moscow Embassy in the XVI century. One can only remember the collections of 38 museum halls, the unique 'Silver Library', the exotic underground restaurant 'Blutgerichf.
It was in 1256 that the first settlement of migrants from the West grew up in the shelter of the Castle. In 1263 already at the dawn of its history the settlement was burned down by the unsubdued Prussians. Its inhabitants restored it to life on a better protected site between the Castle and the Pregel river. The town privilege was granted to it by the German Order in 1286. That was the date of birth of the town of Altstadt. However, the number of migrants increased greatly and soon it was impossible to settle all of them in Altstadt. That is why in 1300 Kenigsberg Ruler Bertold Bruhafen granted the town privilege to a new settlement at the foot of the hill Milenberg. That was the date of birth of the town of Lebenicht.
The third settlement— Kneiphoff was founded on the island formed by two branches of the Pregel river. The town privilege was granted to it in 1327.
Only in 1724, during the reign of King Friedrich Wilhelm I, the three small towns merged into one." Zaharius Hesse, Doctor of Law and Burgomaster of Kneiphoff, became the first burgomaster of Kenigsberg. During 200 years the Town Hall of Kneiphoff served as a municipal building of Kenigsberg. In 1927 it was converted for use as the Kenigsberg Museum. The Burgomaster's residence was moved into the Town Hall in Hansa-platz. The emblems of three old towns were depicted on the emblem of Kenigsberg.
Answer the questions:
1) When was the first settlement of migrants from the West founded?