The Kaliningrad Oblast is the northern part of historic East Prussia (German: Ostpreussen), as the southern part is roughly the Warmia-Masuria region of Poland. Since 1945, it has been part of Russia. In 1525 the Duchy of Prussia was founded by the last High Master of the Teutonic Knights Albrecht of Brandenburg-Ansbach who became the first duke of Prussia. From 1618 in personal union with Brandenburg, the duchy was elevated to a kingdom in 1701.
Though the united Kingdom of Prussia (with the capital Berlin) was a member state of the Holy Roman Empire and later the German Confederation, Prussia proper was not a part of Germany (or any other state) but an independent country until in 1871 when the German national state was established under Prussian leadership. Prussia was thereby incorporated into Germany, as its dominant and most powerful state.
After Germany's defeat in WWII, East Prussia's native German-speaking population was forcibly expelled and the area was divided among three countries. The northern part with the capital Königsberg became the area of Kaliningrad Oblast, while the southern part was incorporated into Poland. A third fraction, the district north of the river Memel (Memelland) with the main city Klaipeda (Memel), had previously been split from Prussia and incorporated into Lithuania after WWI, and this was done again after WWII. In the aftermath of WWII, all three areas were ethnically cleansed of the their native German speaking populations.
Because the German speaking inhabitants were forced out and all their property was confiscated, the population of Kaliningrad Oblast consists now mostly of Russian speaking people, but there are still a lot of traces of old German culture (for example, every city in the oblast has an authentic name in German) which, along with the presence of modern Russian culture, makes it an interesting destination for travelers.
Kaliningrad Oblast produces 90% of the world's amber supply.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Kaliningrad Oblast
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Kaliningrad Oblast - updated Apr 2024
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Kaliningrad Oblast Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
