Kneiphof

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Coat of arms of Kneiphof

Kneiphof ( Russian Кнайпхоф Knaipchof ) was the name for one of the three cities of Königsberg . In 1785 the front and rear suburbs as well as the old or dry garden on the Haberberg , the wet garden and the fortress Groß Friedrichsburg belonged to this district .

Surname

The name is derived from the Prussian word "knypabe" (kneip-abe, ape = river) and means to be flooded, to be flooded. The cathedral island was enclosed by the two arms of the Pregel: north of the "New Pregel" (Lipza) and south of the "Old Pregel" (Natangischer Pregel). The Kneiphöf area began at the Litthauischer Baum in the east and ended at the Holländer Baum in the west.

history

Kneiphöfische Langgasse and Green Gate

In the oldest times the boggy island was also called Pregormunde , Pregelmünde or Vogtswerder . The development is said to have started in 1324 with the construction of the Langgasse, the Krämerbrücke and the Green Bridge. The island has been privileged as a city since 1327. In 1332, Grand Master Luther of Braunschweig moved the cathedral chapter (Old Cathedral) from the old town to the Kneiphof. The front and rear suburbs and the Haberberg belonged to the Kneiphof . As long as only two bridges connected the cathedral island with the other urban areas, the granaries and inns increased in the suburbs. Two bears are holders of the Kneiphöf city arms. Between two hunting horns in the green field, a crown in the white field is held up by a hand with a blue sleeve.

From 1255 to 1724 the Kneiphof was an independent, wholesaling city with its own city administration. At the end of the 19th century, Kneiphof was densely built. In addition to the Königsberg Cathedral, the tomb of Immanuel Kant , university buildings and many other old town buildings were located on the island, which was just under 10 hectares in size . Because of the marshy ground, a large number of oak stakes had to be driven into the ground before construction. The island was connected to the mainland by five bridges. These bridges, together with two other bridges over the Pregel, formed the well-known Königsberg bridge problem .

After the bombing of Koenigsberg by the Royal Air Force in August 1944, almost all buildings were destroyed. Only the Königsberg cathedral and the Kant tomb remained badly damaged.

From 1945 to 1953 the island was used as a kind of quarry. Ruins and only slightly damaged houses were dismantled, stones and bricks were used to rebuild Leningrad . The cathedral ruins remained, however, mainly because Immanuel Kant was buried next to it, who was also seen as a pioneer of the Enlightenment in the Soviet Union . In the 1970s, the Kaliningrad city administration had a "dendropark" and a sculpture park built on the island: a layer of earth was poured onto the remains of the foundations, paths were laid out, lawns and trees were planted. Since then, sculptures from museum reserves and specially purchased sculptures have stood on the lawns.

At the beginning of the 1990s , when Kaliningrad was again accessible to foreign tourists, the then mayor Vitaly Schipow decided to make Kaliningrad a festival city. The former Kneiphof, which was now called "Kantinsel", turned out to be a good place for such festivals: It is not far from today's center of the city, but is at the same time relatively isolated and spacious.

The Königsberg Cathedral has been rebuilt since 1992, the exterior work has been completed; Currently, work is still in progress on the completely lost interior. In 2007 , the plan for a true-to-original reconstruction of the Kneiphof district and the old town as a whole was announced, which is also taking on more and more shape.

Sacred buildings

In 1785 (60 years after the merging of the three cities) Kneiphof included:

Model of the island

In 1993 the two Kaliningrad artists Valeri Morosko and Olga Dmitrijewa were invited by the Königsberg Foundation to Duisburg and commissioned to create a model of the island that was to recreate the buildings on the island before the air raids on Königsberg at the end of August 1944. After half a year of work, the replica was ready. In August 1994, when the exhibition to mark the 450th anniversary of Albertus University was opened, the mayor of Duisburg presented the model to the Kaliningrad History and Art Museum. The model can be viewed there today.

Island and port

Towards the west, both Pregel arms reunited and flows into the Fresh Lagoon and thus into the Baltic Sea . The port of Königsberg thus established the link between inland shipping and shipping . Around the Kneiphof was the old port of the city. The dog husband with the Lastadie in the west of the island formed the old seaport. In the north between Krämerbrücke and Schmiedebrücke was the Lower Fish Market. Here the fishermen offered their sea fish catch from the Fresh Lagoon against the backdrop of the trading, office and residential buildings. Deep wooden tubs were reserved for sea fish. The fish women extol the smoked eel and smoked flounders in wooden boxes, mostly at the Lower Fish Market (between Schmiedebrücke and Hoher Brücke ). Freshwater fish that were still alive, such as pike, pikeperch and perch, wriggled in wooden tubs. In the numerous pubs and in the famous Fleckkellern there was the specialty of the city, the strong, sour tripe soup Königsberger Fleck . Vegetables and agricultural products were offered in the northern and southern parts of the Kneiphof. The Junkergarten should be mentioned here, which stretched between Köttelbrücke and Honigbrücke . The Kneiphof was a river island that was both inland and sea port of the city of Königsberg. A wide variety of ships and barges landed on this lively island, and land vehicles of all kinds also used them. Therefore, all Kneiphof bridges were built as bascule bridges. The Kneiphofinsel is now called Kant Island .

and display information about the image
Eastern part of the Kneiphof island with the cathedral. On the right the Alte Pregel and the Lomse . In the middle the Neue Pregel. Above (north of the Pregel) on the right the former Löbenicht , on the left the former old town with the House of the Soviets (looking towards east-north-east)

Kneiphof bridges

literature

  • Ludwig von Baczko : An attempt at a history and description of Königsberg . Koenigsberg 1804.
  • Baldur Köster: Königsberg. In the appendix: The Kneiphof, graphic reconstructions and ideas for the recovery of a historical townscape - Husum 2000; ISBN 3-88042-923-5 .
  • Johann Friedrich Goldbeck : Complete topography of the East = Prussian Cammer = Department . Königsberg Leipzig 1785, reprint Hamburg 1990. ISBN 9783743633278
  • Samuel Gottlieb Wald : Topographical overview of the administrative district of the Royal Prussian Government in Königsberg in Prussia . Koenigsberg 1820.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ How Kaliningrad could become the new Königsberg. welt.de, October 25, 2010, accessed on August 16, 2011 .
  2. ^ Old town project (Königsberg). Arthur Sarnitz - Koenigsberg GmbH, accessed on August 16, 2011 (German).

Coordinates: 54 ° 42 '  N , 20 ° 31'  E