Kaliningrad - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast

Kaliningrad Oblast

Kaliningrad Oblast is a federal subject of Russia situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of The oblast forms the westernmost part of the Russian Federation, but it has no land connection to the rest of Russia. Since its creation it has been an exclave of the Russian SFSR and then the...

, the Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n exclave between Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

and Lithuania

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

on the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

. The territory, the northern part of the former East Prussia

East Prussia

East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

, borders on NATO and EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

members Poland

Poland

and Lithuania

Lithuania

, and is geographically separated from the rest of Russia.

Originally named Königsberg

Königsberg

Königsberg was the capital of East Prussia from the Late Middle Ages until 1945 as well as the northernmost and easternmost German city with 286,666 inhabitants . Due to the multicultural society in and around the city, there are several local names for it...

in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

, the town was founded in 1255 by order of Teutonic Knights

Teutonic Knights

The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem , commonly the Teutonic Order , is a German medieval military order, in modern times a purely religious Catholic order...

in honour of the Czech king Přemysl Otakar II and was part of Prussia and then of Germany until 1945, but was largely destroyed during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Its ruins were occupied by the Red Army

Red Army

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...

in 1945 and its German population forced out. It was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 in honor of Mikhail Kalinin

Mikhail Kalinin

Mikhail Ivanovich Kalinin , known familiarly by Soviet citizens as "Kalinych," was a Bolshevik revolutionary and the nominal head of state of Russia and later of the Soviet Union, from 1919 to 1946...

.

According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, its population was 431,491—an increase from 430,003 recorded in the 2002 Census

Russian Census (2002)

Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...

. Its ethnic composition is 77.9% Russians

Russians

The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....

, 8.0% Belarusians

Belarusians

Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...

, 7.3% Ukrainians

Ukrainians

Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...

, 1.9% Lithuanians, 0.6% Germans, and 0.5% Poles.

Königsberg

The site now occupied by Kaliningrad was previously the site of the German city of Königsberg, founded in 1255. During World War II the city was largely destroyed.

Soviet Union

At the end of World War II in 1945, the city became part of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

pending the final determination of territorial questions at the peace settlement (as part of the Russian SFSR

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

) as agreed upon by the Allies at the Potsdam Conference

Potsdam Conference

The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...

VI. CITY OF KÖNIGSBERG AND THE ADJACENT AREA

The Conference examined a proposal by the Soviet Government
Politics of the Soviet Union
The political system of the Soviet Union was characterized by the superior role of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , the only party permitted by Constitution.For information about the government, see Government of the Soviet Union-Background:...

that pending the final determination of territorial questions at the peace settlement the section of the western frontier of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics which is adjacent to the Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

should pass from a point on the eastern shore of the Bay of Danzig
Gdansk Bay
Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk or Danzig Bay is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland and is sometimes referred to as a gulf.-Geography:...

to the east, north of Braunsberg
Braniewo
Braniewo is a town in northeastern Poland, in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, with a population of 18,068 . It is the capital of Braniewo County...

and Goldap, to the meeting point of the frontiers of Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

, the Polish Republic
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

and East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...

.

The Conference has agreed in principle to the proposal of the Soviet Government concerning the ultimate transfer to the Soviet Union of the city of Koenigsberg and the area adjacent to it as described above, subject to expert examination of the actual frontier.

The President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

and the British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...

have declared that they will support the proposal of the Conference at the forthcoming peace settlement.

Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946 after the death of Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet

President of the Soviet Union

The President of the Soviet Union , officially called President of the USSR was the Head of State of the USSR from 15 March 1990 to 25 December 1991. Mikhail Gorbachev was the only person to occupy the office. Gorbachev was also General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union between...

of the USSR Mikhail Kalinin

Mikhail Kalinin

, one of the original Bolshevik

Bolshevik

The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....

s. The German population was expelled

Expulsion of Germans after World War II

The later stages of World War II, and the period after the end of that war, saw the forced migration of millions of German nationals and ethnic Germans from various European states and territories, mostly into the areas which would become post-war Germany and post-war Austria...

and the city was repopulated with Soviet citizens. German was replaced by Russian as the language of everyday life. The city was rebuilt, and went through industrialisation and modernisation. As the westernmost territory of the USSR

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

, the Kaliningrad Oblast

Kaliningrad Oblast

became a strategically important area during the Cold War

Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

. The Soviet Baltic Fleet

Baltic Fleet

The Twice Red Banner Baltic Fleet - is the Russian Navy's presence in the Baltic Sea. In previous historical periods, it has been part of the navy of Imperial Russia and later the Soviet Union. The Fleet gained the 'Twice Red Banner' appellation during the Soviet period, indicating two awards of...

was headquartered in the city in the 1950s. Because of its strategic importance, Kaliningrad was closed to foreign visitors.

In 1957 an agreement was signed and later came into force which delimited the border between Poland and the Soviet Union.

Russian Federation

Kaliningrad is the only Russian Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

port that is ice-free all year round and hence plays an important role in maintenance of the Baltic Fleet

Baltic Fleet

.

Due to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Kaliningrad Oblast became an exclave, geographically separated from the rest of Russia. This isolation from the rest of Russia became even more pronounced politically when Poland

Poland

and Lithuania

Lithuania

became members of NATO and subsequently the European Union

European Union

in 2004

Enlargement of the European Union

The Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1952...

. All military and civilian land links between the region and the rest of Russia have to pass through members of NATO and the EU. Special travel arrangements for the territory's inhabitants have been made through the Facilitated Transit Document (FTD) and Facilitated Rail Transit Document (FRTD).

Today, there is some debate about changing the name of the city back to "Königsberg" in the same way that several other Russian cities have reverted to their pre-Soviet names, e.g. Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

and Tver

Tver

Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...

, which were known in the Soviet era as Leningrad and Kalinin, respectively. "Kyonig" (Кёниг, a shortened form of "Königsberg" via Russian) is often used in advertisements for tourism companies in the region. Another possibility would be to give it a Russian name similar to other historic Slavic names, such as "Korolevets".

In July 2005, the 750-year jubilee of the city was widely celebrated.

In July 2007, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov

Sergei Ivanov

Sergei Borisovich Ivanov is a Russian senior official and statesman. He was Minister of Defence from March 2001 to February 2007, Deputy Prime Minister from November 2005 to February 2007, and the First Deputy Prime Minister from February 2007 to May 2008...

declared that if US-controlled missile defense

Missile defense

Missile defense is a system, weapon, or technology involved in the detection, tracking, interception and destruction of attacking missiles. Originally conceived as a defence against nuclear-armed Intercontinental ballistic missiles , its application has broadened to include shorter-ranged...

systems were deployed in Poland, then nuclear weapons might be deployed in Kaliningrad. On 5 November 2008, Russian leader Dimitry Medvedev said that installing missiles in Kaliningrad was almost a certainty. These plans were suspended, however, in January 2009.

Geography

Kaliningrad is located at the mouth of the navigable Pregolya River

Pregolya

The Pregolya or Pregola is a river in the Russian Kaliningrad Oblast exclave.It starts as a confluence of the Instruch and the Angrapa and drains into the Baltic Sea through Vistula Lagoon. Its length under the name of Pregolya is 123 km, 292 km including the Angrapa. The basin has an...

/Pregel

Pregolya

River, which empties into the Vistula Lagoon

Vistula Lagoon

The Vistula Lagoon is a fresh water lagoon on the Baltic Sea separated from Gdańsk Bay by the Vistula Spit. It is sometimes known as the Vistula Bay or Vistula Gulf. The modern German name, Frisches Haff, is derived from an earlier form, Friesisches Haff. Both this term and the earlier Polish...

, an inlet of the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

.

Sea vessels can access Gdańsk Bay

Gdansk Bay

Gdańsk Bay or the Bay of Gdańsk or Danzig Bay is a southeastern bay of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the adjacent port city of Gdańsk in Poland and is sometimes referred to as a gulf.-Geography:...

/Bay of Danzig and the Baltic Sea

Baltic Sea

by way of the Vistula Lagoon and the Strait of Baltiysk

Strait of Baltiysk

The Strait of Baltiysk is a strait in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, enabling passage from the Baltic Sea into the Vistula Lagoon. It separates the Sambian Peninsula and Vistula Spit...

.

Until around 1900 ships drawing more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) of water could not pass the bar and come into town, so that larger vessels had to anchor at Pillau (now Baltiysk

Baltiysk

Baltiysk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Pillau , is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Bay from the Gdańsk Bay. Baltiysk...

), where merchandise was moved onto smaller vessels. In 1901 a ship canal

Ship canal

A ship canal is a canal especially constructed to carry ocean-going ships, as opposed to barges. Ship canals can be enlarged barge canals, canalized or channelized rivers, or canals especially constructed from the start to accommodate ships....

between Königsberg and Pillau was completed at a cost of 13 million German marks which enabled vessels of a 6.5 metres (21.3 ft) draught to moor alongside the town. (See also Ports of the Baltic Sea

Ports of the Baltic Sea

There are over 200 ports in the Baltic Sea. When only those ports that handle minimum of 50,000 tonnes of cargo annually, and where at least part of this cargo is international, are taken into account the number of ports reaches approximately 190. In 2008, the total amount of cargo handled in the...

.)

Khrabrovo Airport

Khrabrovo Airport

Khrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, east off the Zelenogradsk highway. The airport, part of which is still military, is a bare landing strip with few frills for passengers.-History:...

is located 24 kilometres (14.9 mi) north of Kaliningrad, and has a few scheduled and charter services to several destinations throughout Europe. There is the smaller Kaliningrad Devau Airport

Kaliningrad Devau Airport

Kaliningrad Devau Airport is located 5 km northeast of Kaliningrad. Today it is a small general aviation airfield and is also used for sports aviation. There are Antonov An-2 aircraft parked on the site....

for general aviation. Kaliningrad is also home to Kaliningrad Chkalovsk

Kaliningrad Chkalovsk

Kaliningrad Chkalovsk is a naval air base in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia located 9 km northwest of Kaliningrad. Most instances in Russian aviation literature of Chkalovsk or Chkalovskoye refer specifically to this large airfield...

naval air base.

City districts

As of 2011, the city is divided into three administrative districts:

City district	Russian name	Inhabitants 2010 Census (preliminary results)	Notes
Moskovsky	Московский	151,990	Named after the Russian capital, Moscow Moscow Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
Leningradsky	Ленинградский	159,764	named after Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
Tsentralny	Центральный	119,737	lit. central, as it lies to the northwest of the historical city center

Two administrative districts were abolished in June 2009:

City district	Russian name	Inhabitants 2002 Census Russian Census (2002) Russian Census of 2002 was the first census of the Russian Federation carried out on October 9 through October 16, 2002. It was carried out by the Russian Federal Service of State Statistics .-Resident population:...	Notes
Baltiysky	Балтийский	68,664	named after the Baltic Sea Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
Oktyabrsky	Октябрьский	43,252	named after the October Revolution October Revolution The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...

Climate

Museums

Kaliningrad has many museums. A few examples are the Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....

museum on the Kneiphof

Kneiphof

Kneiphof was one of three towns in the Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights that became the city of Königsberg . Kneiphof was originally Knypabe , meaning 'area flushed by water' in Old Prussian.As other members of the Prussian Confederation, Kneiphof rebelled against the Teutonic Knights in...

island, the Museum of History and Arts, which still has parts of the so-called Prussia collection of local archaeological findings, and the Kaliningrad Amber Museum

Kaliningrad Amber Museum

The Kaliningrad Amber Museum is a museum located in the Russian city of Kaliningrad devoted to housing and displaying amber artworks. It is located in the city center, on the shore of Lake Verkhneye....

, which is situated in the Dohna tower near the Rossgarten Gate

Rossgarten Gate

The Rossgarten Gate is one of seven surviving city gates of old Königsberg...

. The city also has an art gallery with eight exhibition rooms.

The Museum of the World's Oceans is located on the former research vessel Wityaz on the shore of the Pregel

Pregolya

river. The museum displays the newest technologies on sea research and also shows the diversity of the flora and fauna of the world's oceans. An anchored Foxtrot-class

Foxtrot class submarine

The Foxtrot class was the NATO reporting name of a class of diesel-electric patrol submarines that were built in the Soviet Union. The Soviet designation of this class was Project 641....

submarine next to the museum, the B-413, hosts an exhibit about the Russian submarine fleet.

Theater

The Kaliningrad Philharmonic Orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

is accommodated in the former Catholic Church of the Holy Family

Church of the Holy Family, Kaliningrad

The Church of the Holy Family is a neogothic brick church in Kaliningrad. It was built in the Haberberg city district of Königsberg, near the Pregel river, between 1904 and 1907...

of Königsberg, built in 1907. The church was destroyed during World War II, but rebuilt afterwards. The building, which has noted acoustics, functions as an organ hall since re-opening in 1980.

The city's theater is still located in the former Königsberg theater, which was opened in 1910. The building was rebuilt after the war using earlier plans for the theater and opened in 1960. The colonnade in front of the entrance was modeled after the Bolshoi Theater

Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...

in Moscow.

The regionally notable Kaliningrad Puppet Theater has had its seat since 1975 in the Queen Louise Remembrance Church. This neo-romantic church, designed by architect Fritz Heitmann, was built in 1901.

Architecture

The pre-war city center (Altstadt and Kneiphof) currently consists of parks, broad avenues, a square on the site of the former Königsberg Castle, and only two buildings: the House of the Soviets ("Dom Sovyetov"), roughly on the site of the former Castle, and the restored Königsberg Cathedral

Königsberg Cathedral

Königsberg Cathedral is a Brick Gothic style building in Kaliningrad on an island in the Pregel . The island was called Kneiphof in German times.-14th Century to World War II:...

on the Kneiphof island (now "Kant island"). Immanuel Kant's grave is situated next to the Cathedral. The new city centre is concentrated around Victory Square

Victory Square, Kaliningrad

Ploshchad Pobedy ) is a central square in Kaliningrad.Up until 1934 the square was named Hansaplatz, and during Nazi Germany the square was known as Adolf-Hitler-Platz. Because the old Königsberg city centre was destroyed during the war, the post-war city developed around Ploshchad Pobedy...

. The Cathedral of Christ the Savior

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Kaliningrad)

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in the Russian city of Kaliningrad is the largest church of Kaliningrad Oblast. It is the dominant building of the inner city and is situated near the central square, called Ploshchad Pobedy .The Russian Orthodox cathedral is designed in a simplified and...

, consecrated in 2005, is located on that square.

Also worth seeing are the former Stock Exchange, the surviving churches, and the remaining city gates. In anti-clockwise order these gates are: the Sackheim Gate

Sackheim Gate

The Sackheim Gate is one of seven surviving city gates in Kaliningrad. It is located at the intersection of Moscow avenue and Lithuanian wall street.- History :...

, King's Gate

King's Gate (Kaliningrad)

The King's Gate is one of the former six gates that were built during the 19th century around Kaliningrad .-Architecture:...

, Rossgarten Gate

Rossgarten Gate

The Rossgarten Gate is one of seven surviving city gates of old Königsberg...

, Attack Gate , Railway Gate , Brandenburg Gate

Brandenburg Gate (Kaliningrad)

The Brandenburg Gate or Berlin Gate is one of seven surviving city gates in Kaliningrad, the former German city of Königsberg...

, and Friedland Gate . Apart from the already mentioned Dohna tower, which houses the Amber museum, the Wranger tower also remains as a reminder of the former Königsberg city walls. Only the gate of the former Friedrichsburg Castle remains.

Monuments

Notable monuments include the statue of Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was a German philosopher from Königsberg , researching, lecturing and writing on philosophy and anthropology at the end of the 18th Century Enlightenment....

in front of the Immanuel Kant State University of Russia. The statue was made by notable sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch

Christian Daniel Rauch

Christian Daniel Rauch was a German sculptor. He founded the Berlin school of sculpture, and was the foremost German sculptor of the 19th century.-Biography:Rauch was born at Arolsen in the Principality of Waldeck...

and unveiled in 1864. The statue was destroyed in 1945, but was remoulded in 1992 on the initiative of Marion Dönhoff

Marion Dönhoff

Marion Hedda Ilse Gräfin von Dönhoff was a German journalist who participated in the resistance against Hitler's National Socialists with Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, Peter Yorck von Wartenburg, and Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg. After the war, she became one of the leading German...

. Also worth seeing is the Cosmonaut monument, which honours the Kaliningrad cosmonauts Alexei Leonov, Yuri Romanenko

Yuri Romanenko

Yury Viktorovich Romanenko is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union . Over his career, Yury Romanenko spent a total of 430 days 20 hours 21 minutes 30 seconds in space and 18 hours in space walks. In 1987 he was a resident of the Mir space station, launching on Soyuz TM-2 and...

and Aleksandr Viktorenko. Other statues and monuments include the statue for count Albrecht, the statue for Friedrich Schiller

Friedrich Schiller

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...

, the statue for Tsar Peter the Great

Peter I of Russia

Peter the Great, Peter I or Pyotr Alexeyevich Romanov Dates indicated by the letters "O.S." are Old Style. All other dates in this article are New Style. ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from until his death, jointly ruling before 1696 with his half-brother, Ivan V...

, the "Mother Russia" monument, and the Monument for the 1200 Guardsmen, remembering the Battle of Königsberg

Battle of Königsberg

The Battle of Königsberg , was one of the last operations of the East Prussian Offensive during World War II. In four days of violent urban warfare, Soviet forces of the 1st Baltic Front and the 3rd Belorussian Front captured the city of Königsberg...

Parks

The Kaliningrad Zoo

Kaliningrad Zoo

The Kaliningrad Zoo was founded in 1896 as the Königsberg Tiergarten in the then German town of Königsberg, which in 1945 became part of Russia and was renamed Kaliningrad. Thus, the zoo is one of the oldest zoological gardens in Russia, and one of the largest...

was opened as the Königsberg Zoo in 1896. The collection, which extends over 16.5 ha

Hectare

The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...

, comprises 315 species with a total of 2264 individual animals (as of 2005). The Kaliningrad zoo is also an arboretum.

Lower Pond

Centrally located in the city is Lower Pond

Lower Pond (Kaliningrad)

Lower Pond in Kaliningrad, Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, is a large artificial pond in the north of the city. The pond is about one kilometre long, north to south. Along its length, its width varies between about 50 and 100 metres....

, an artificial lake. Lower Pond is surrounded by a promenade and is an area for recreation especially in summer.

Music

The modern city of Kaliningrad is home to the Kaliningrad Regional Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestra, the Lik

Ngelik

The ngelik is a part of an Indonesian gamelan composition that contrasts from the surrounding section, either the ompak or merong. It is also sometimes called the gendhing proper, in contrast to the bubuka gendhing ....

male chamber choir

Choir

A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...

and the Garmonika Russian music ensemble, as well as the Kaliningrad Chamber Orchestra.

Cuisine

Kaliningrad has its own vodka and beer brands, Stari Konigsberg and Ostmark respectively. Since the early 1990s

1990s

File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...

many new restaurants have opened in the city. These restaurants offer culinary specialities of former East Prussia

East Prussia

, like Königsberger Klopse

Königsberger Klopse

Königsberger Klopse, also known as Soßklopse, is a Prussian specialty of meatballs in a white sauce with capers.The dish is named for the Prussian city of Königsberg and is one of the glories of East Prussian cuisine...

, but also many fish and salad dishes, Italian pizza and sushi, which is as popular in Kaliningrad as in the rest of Russia. Königsberger Fleck, a bovine tripe soup and yet another culinary speciality from former Königsberg, no longer belongs to the eating culture of Kaliningrad.

The people of Kaliningrad generally imported their respective culinary traditions to the region when they settled in the area after 1945. Borshch and okroshka

Okroshka

Okróshka is a cold soup of Russian origin that is also found in Ukraine. The name probably originates from "kroshit'" , which means to crumble into small pieces....

may be served like in the rest of Russia. Also, many Italian and Asian (or combining both traditions) places are working all over the city. Pizza and sushi are amongst the most popular dishes today. Fastfood is widely presented by different chains, and not only by local ones: McDonalds and Subway started to operate here in year 2011. Shawarma

Shawarma

Shawarma is a Levantine Arab sandwich-like wrap of shaved lamb, goat, chicken, turkey, beef, or mixed meats. The meat is placed on a spit, and may be grilled for as long as a day. It is eaten with pita bread, tabbouleh, fattoush, taboon bread, tomato and cucumber. Toppings include tahini, hummus,...

is also getting huge prominence.

Transport

Kaliningrad's airport

Khrabrovo Airport

Khrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, east off the Zelenogradsk highway. The airport, part of which is still military, is a bare landing strip with few frills for passengers.-History:...

is located near Khrabrovo

Khrabrovo Airport

Khrabrovo Airport is located north of Kaliningrad, east off the Zelenogradsk highway. The airport, part of which is still military, is a bare landing strip with few frills for passengers.-History:...

. The airport mainly connects Kaliningrad to other Russian cities, but also offers flights to other cities in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. In Baltiysk

Baltiysk

one can take a ferry to Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Riga

Riga

Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...

, and Kiel

Kiel

Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...

. Kaliningrad's international train station is Kaliningrad Passazhirskiy, which in German times was known as Königsberg Hauptbahnhof. Trains depart in the directions of Malbork

Malbork

Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region , with 38,478 inhabitants . Situated in the Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, it was previously assigned to Elbląg Voivodeship...

, Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Baltiysk

Baltiysk

, Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg

Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...

, Minsk

Minsk

- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...

, Kharkiv

Kharkiv

Kharkiv or Kharkov is the second-largest city in Ukraine.The city was founded in 1654 and was a major centre of Ukrainian culture in the Russian Empire. Kharkiv became the first city in Ukraine where the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was proclaimed in December 1917 and Soviet government was...

, Anapa

Anapa

Anapa is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. It was originally a seaport for the Natkhuay tribe of the Adyghe people. Population: The town boasts a number of sanatoria and hotels...

, and Bagrationovsk

Bagrationovsk

Bagrationovsk is a town and the administrative center of Bagrationovsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located south of Kaliningrad. Population: -History:...

. A unique feature of the Kaliningrad railway is that the track in the direction of Berlin has a standard gauge

Standard gauge

The standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...

of 1435 mm instead of the commonly used in Russia broad gauge

Broad gauge

Broad-gauge railways use a track gauge greater than the standard gauge of .- List :For list see: List of broad gauges, by gauge and country- History :...

of 1520 mm.

Regional trains depart from Kaliningrad Severnyy, the former Königsberg Nordbahnhof, which is situated on Victory Square, the current city centre. Trains depart to Zelenogradsk

Zelenogradsk

Zelenogradsk, is a town and the administrative center of Zelenogradsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, Located on the Sambian coastline near the Curonian Spit on the Baltic Sea...

and Svetlogorsk

Svetlogorsk, Kaliningrad Oblast

Svetlogorsk , prior to 1945 known by its German name Rauschen, is a coastal resort town and the administrative center of Svetlogorsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the coast of the Baltic Sea on the Sambian Peninsula. Population:...

and also once a day to Sovetsk

Sovetsk, Kaliningrad Oblast

Sovetsk , known by its historical German name of Tilsit in East Prussia before 1946, is a town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the south bank of the Neman River. Population: -History of Tilsit:...

.

In 1881 the Königsberg tramway was opened, and it still functions to this day. In 1975 a trolleybus system was also introduced.

Economy

In 1996, Kaliningrad was designated a Special Economic Zone

Special Economic Zone

A Special Economic Zone is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country's typical or national laws...

. Manufacturers based there get tax and customs duty

Customs

Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

breaks on the goods they send back to Russia. Although corruption was an early deterrent, that policy means the region is now a manufacturing hub. One in three televisions in Russia is made in Kaliningrad, and it is home to Cadillac

Cadillac

Cadillac is an American luxury vehicle marque owned by General Motors . Cadillac vehicles are sold in over 50 countries and territories, but mostly in North America. Cadillac is currently the second oldest American automobile manufacturer behind fellow GM marque Buick and is among the oldest...

, Hummer

Hummer

Hummer was a brand of trucks and SUVs, first marketed in 1992 when AM General began selling a civilian version of the M998 Humvee. In 1998, General Motors purchased the brand name and marketed three vehicles: the original Hummer H1, based on the Humvee; and the H2 and H3 models that were...

and BMW

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the Mini marque, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands...

car plants. Now Kaliningrad's major industries are manufacturing, shipping, fishing and amber products. Moscow has declared it will turn the region into "the Russian Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

".

The European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

provides funds for business projects under its special programme for Kaliningrad. The region has begun to see increasing trade with the countries of the EU

European Union

as well as increasing economic growth

Economic growth

In economics, economic growth is defined as the increasing capacity of the economy to satisfy the wants of goods and services of the members of society. Economic growth is enabled by increases in productivity, which lowers the inputs for a given amount of output. Lowered costs increase demand...

and rising industrial output. With an average GDP

Gross domestic product

Gross domestic product refers to the market value of all final goods and services produced within a country in a given period. GDP per capita is often considered an indicator of a country's standard of living....

growth of more than 10% per year for three years to 2007, Kaliningrad is growing faster than any other region in Russia, even outstripping the success of its EU neighbours.

Military

Kaliningrad Oblast

used to be the most heavily militarized area of what is now the Russian Federation

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

, and the density of military infrastructure was the highest in Europe. It was the headquarters of the former Soviet Baltic Military District

Baltic Military District

The Baltic Military District was a military district of the Soviet armed forces, formed briefly before the German invasion, and then reformed after World War II and disbanded after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991....

. Kaliningrad also functions as the headquarters of the Russian Baltic Fleet

Baltic Fleet

, circled by Chernyakhovsk (air base)

Chernyakhovsk (air base)

Chernyakhovsk – – is a naval air base located 4 km southwest of the city of Chernyakhovsk in the Kaliningrad Oblast of Russia...

, Donskoye (air base)

Donskoye (air base)

Donskoye is an air base in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located 1 km east of Donskoye . It is a very old airfield probably dating back to World War II, nearly at Russia's most extreme western point. The facility contains 25 aircraft pads, and appears to be in a severe state of decay...

and Kaliningrad Chkalovsk

Kaliningrad Chkalovsk

(naval air base).

Sports

Kaliningrad is home to the football club FC Baltika Kaliningrad

FC Baltika Kaliningrad

Baltika is an association football club based in Kaliningrad, Russia. Currently the club plays in the Football Championship of the National League.-History:The club was founded on 22 December 1954 as Pishchevik Kaliningrad...

, which plays in the Football Championship of the National League

Football Championship of the National League

The Football Championship of the National League , formerly called Russian First Division is the second level of Russian professional football....

(formerly Russian First Division). It played in the Russian Premier League

Russian Premier League

The Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...

between 1996-1998 (3 seasons).
Kaliningrad will be the host of some games in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Notable residents

Writers

Sergey Snegov (1910–1994), science fiction writer

Athletes

Sergei Beloglazov
Sergei Beloglazov
Sergei Alekseevich Beloglazov is one of the greatest modern wrestlers. He trained at the Armed Forces sports society in Kaliningrad in 1976-77 and at Dynamo in Kiev since 1979. He was a two-time Olympic Champion in 1980 and 1988, a six-time World Champion and a World Silver medalist...

(born 1956) Olympic wrestler
Lilli Henoch
Lilli Henoch
Lilli Henoch was a German track and field athlete who set four world records and won 10 German national championships, in four different disciplines....

, world record holder in three sports
Alexander Volkov
Alexander Vladimirovich Volkov
Alexander Vladimirovich Volkov is a former professional tennis player from Russia.Volkov turned professional in 1988.Volkov finished runner-up in three tournaments over 1989 and 1990; in the latter year he defeated World No. 1 Stefan Edberg in straight sets in the first round of the US Open....

(born 1967), tennis player

Cosmonauts

Aleksei Leonov (born 1934), first person to walk in space
Viktor Patsayev
Viktor Patsayev
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and had the unfortunate distinction of being part of the second crew to die during a space flight...

(1933–1971)
Yuri Romanenko
Yuri Romanenko
Yury Viktorovich Romanenko is a former Soviet cosmonaut, twice Hero of the Soviet Union . Over his career, Yury Romanenko spent a total of 430 days 20 hours 21 minutes 30 seconds in space and 18 hours in space walks. In 1987 he was a resident of the Mir space station, launching on Soyuz TM-2 and...

(born 1944)
Alexander Viktorenko
Alexander Viktorenko
Aleksandr Stepanovich Viktorenko is a Soviet cosmonaut. He was born in Olginka, North-Kazakhstan Oblast, Kazakh SSR on March 29, 1947. He is married with two children....

(born 1947)

Other

Veruschka
Veruschka
Vera Gräfin von Lehndorff-Steinort is a German model, actress, and artist who was popular during the 1960s...

(born 1939), German supermodel
Oleg Gazmanov
Oleg Gazmanov
Oleg Mikhaylovich Gazmanov is a Russian pop singer, composer and poet, specializing in patriotic songs that glorify Russia and Russian history. Gazmanov is leader of rock-group "Эскадрон"...

(born 1951), singer
Lyudmila Putina
Lyudmila Putina
Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Putina is the wife of former Russian President and current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.She married Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin on July 28, 1983; they have two daughters, Maria, born 1985 and Yekaterina...

(born 1958), wife of Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...

, former First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

of Russia
Tvangeste
Tvangeste
Tvangeste is a symphonic black metal band from Russia .- Biography :* 1995 — Michael Chirva starts seeking members through advertisiments in local newspaper* 1997 — The band is officially born...

, black metal
Black metal
Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, raw recording, and unconventional song structure....

band
Grishkovetz

Twin towns/sister cities

Kaliningrad is twinned with:

Murmansk

Murmansk is a city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It serves as a seaport and is located in the extreme northwest part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland...

in Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

Gdańsk

Gdansk

Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...

, Poland

Poland

(since 1993) Gdynia

Gdynia

Gdynia is a city in the Pomeranian Voivodeship of Poland and an important seaport of Gdańsk Bay on the south coast of the Baltic Sea.Located in Kashubia in Eastern Pomerania, Gdynia is part of a conurbation with the spa town of Sopot, the city of Gdańsk and suburban communities, which together...

in Poland

Poland

Zwolle

Zwolle is a municipality and the capital city of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands, 120 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam. Zwolle has about 120,000 citizens.-History:...

in Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

Toruń

Torun

Toruń is an ancient city in northern Poland, on the Vistula River. Its population is more than 205,934 as of June 2009. Toruń is one of the oldest cities in Poland. The medieval old town of Toruń is the birthplace of the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus....

in Poland

Poland

Białystok in Poland

Poland

Zabrze

Zabrze is a city in Silesia in southern Poland, near Katowice. The west district of the Upper Silesian Metropolitan Union is a metropolis with a population of around 2 million...

in Poland

Poland

Łódź in Poland

Poland

(since 1992) Olsztyn

Olsztyn

Olsztyn is a city in northeastern Poland, on the Łyna River. Olsztyn has been the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship since 1999. It was previously in the Olsztyn Voivodeship...

in Poland

Poland

Malmö

Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...

in Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

Kiel

in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

Norfolk

Norfolk, Virginia

Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....

in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Kalmar, Sweden

Kalmar

Kalmar is a city in Småland in the south-east of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 62,767 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of 233,776 inhabitants .From the thirteenth to the...

Mexico City

Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

Groningen in Netherlands

Netherlands

Klaipėda

Klaipeda

Klaipėda is a city in Lithuania situated at the mouth of the Nemunas River where it flows into the Baltic Sea. It is the third largest city in Lithuania and the capital of Klaipėda County....

in Lithuania

Lithuania

Šiauliai

Šiauliai , is the fourth largest city in Lithuania, with a population of 133,900. It is the capital of Šiauliai County. Unofficially, the city is the capital of Northern Lithuania.-Names:...

in Lithuania

Lithuania

Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

in Ireland

Republic of Ireland

Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

Aalborg

-Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....

in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

External links

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