Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz (Koenigsberg)

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The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Platz was a central square and lively transport hub in the city center of the former East Prussian capital Königsberg . It was located below the palace terrace on the southwest corner of the Königsberg Palace and was characterized by its Renaissance gable, the palace tower and one of the two round towers of the palace. The square was the zero point of all Königsberger Chausseen and the center of the Königsberg tram network.

history

The square was laid out in 1803 as the old town church square . To the northeast was the old town high school . In 1826 the old town church of St. Nikolaus was demolished. Gardens with water fountains, designed by Peter Joseph Lenné , were created at Königsberg Palace . In 1847 there was an extension to the grammar school, into which a middle school for boys moved in 1889. In 1894 the Kaiser Wilhelm I monument was erected at the palace and the square was renamed Kaiser Wilhelm Platz in 1897.

In 1900 the Gebr. Barrasch department store was built on the west side of the square . In 1901 the Bismarck memorial was unveiled in the middle of the square . The buildings around the square were badly destroyed in August 1944 during the two air raids on Königsberg. The artillery fire in the Battle of Königsberg in 1945 caused further serious damage. In the post-war period, the ruins were removed and the entire area leveled.

Today the area is called Zentralplatz and is a green area next to the House of the Soviets in Kaliningrad .

photos

literature

  • Robert Albinus: Königsberg Lexicon. City and surroundings . Flechsig, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-88189-441-1 .
  • Richard Armstedt: history of the royal. Capital and residence city of Königsberg in Prussia. Hobbing & Büchle, Stuttgart 1899 ( German land and life in single descriptions . 2, city stories), (reprint: Melchior-Verlag, Wolfenbüttel 2006, ISBN 3-939102-70-9 ( historical library )).
  • Fritz Gause : The history of the city of Königsberg in Prussia. 3 volumes. 2nd / 3rd supplemented edition. Böhlau, Cologne et al. 1996, ISBN 3-412-08896-X .
  • Baldur Köster: Königsberg. Architecture from the German era . Husum Druck, Husum 2000, ISBN 3-88042-923-5 .
  • Jürgen Manthey : Königsberg - history of a world citizenship republic . Hanser , Munich 2005, ISBN 3-446-20619-1 .
  • Gunnar Strunz: Discover Königsberg. Between Memel and fresh lagoon . Trescher, Berlin 2006, ISBN 3-89794-071-X .