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The Soviet Aftermath

What remained of Königsberg's historic city centre: Kneiphof Island and Dom Cathedral in 1949

While many other German cities suffered similar fates in WWII, by being nearly bombed into oblivion and thousands of its citizens killed - Dresden and Hamburg come to mind -the situation at Königsberg deserves special mention. Over the years much of Hamburg and Dresden has been rebuilt, with many of the destroyed significant landmarks being restored to their prewar condition.

But when the Allied Forces gave the essentially destroyed City of Königsberg to the Soviets in 1945 they took a different approach. They simply bulldozed the remains of most bombed-out structures away after going through the rubble for still-usable building materials which were shipped back to Mother Russia. Thus, the possibility of their eventual restoration was essentially eliminated, while some buildings were left standing in their bombed-out condition until as recent as today. Given that all of the areas original German inhabitants had been expelled, there was no local opposition to this as Stalin had repopulated the city with people from all over the Soviet Union, including from as far away as Siberia. As well, the city was now Soviet territory and - behind the Iron Curtain - essentially closed to all foreign eyes because Stalin was turning it in to a naval base, taking advantage of a newly acquired year-round ice free harbour with access to the Baltic sea.

1950 - Living Among the Ruins - Kaliningrad, Street Car along Soviet Prospect - (Photo M. Popov Collection - Moscow) 

1950 - Kaliningrad: Living Amongst the Ruins - The remains of Königsberg's 13th Century Castle - It was completely demolished in 1968

It was not until the dissolution of the Soviet Union, that the region has come out from behind the iron curtain to fend for itself and make a better life for its citizens. In the process, some of the remains of the old city of Königsberg have been restored to a semblance of their original state,  adding a bit more interest to the local post-war Soviet architecture which – in typical Stalin fashion – consists of the usual rows of dreadfully drab apartment blocks.

The iconic Dom church on Kneiphof Island, which was still a ruin in 1990 has now been largely restored - the funding for this included financial contributions from Germany - and now looks very close to its original. Also, Kaliningrad acknowledged its link with the past by celebrating the 750 year anniversary of Königsberg / Kaliningrad in 2005. Towards this occasion, other bombed-out buildings have been restored to some degree, and more are slated for restoration based on the availability of funds.