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Kaliningrad Oblast

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Cities / Other destinations / Culture and History / Talk / Travel to Kaliningrad Oblast, visa requirements By car Flights to Kaliningrad Oblast, airtickets / Get around / Kaliningrad Oblast attractions and sightseeing / Itineraries / City tours / Good restaurants and cheap meals / Kaliningrad Oblast nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Stay safe / Get out

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Kaliningrad Oblast (Polish: Krolewiec, German: Ostpreussen) is one of the numerous Russian oblasts (admininstrative subdivisions). Kaliningrad Oblast is interesting in that being situated between Poland and Lithuania it's physically separated from the rest of Russia.

Many towns in Kaliningrad Oblast are on the Baltic Sea coast, and have beautiful beaches.

Cities

Kaliningrad -- the capital (formerly known as Königsberg (German) and Królewiec (Polish))
Pionerskiy
Primorsk (Fischhausen)
Sovyetsk (Tilsit)
Svetlogorsk (Rauschen) -- Soviet seaside resort
Zheleznodorozhniy

Other destinations

Tourist Guide & listing.
Curonian Spit - UNESCO World Heritage Site
Vyshtynetskoye Lake

Culture and History

The Kaliningrad Oblast is the northern part of East Prussia (the southern part is roughly the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship of Poland). 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 the German national state was established, and Prussia proper was incorporated into Germany for the first time.

After Germany's defeat in WWII Prussia was divided. 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), was already split from Prussia and incorporated into Lithuania after WWI, and this was done again after WWII.

After the German speaking inhabitants were disowned and expelled, the population of Kaliningrad Oblast consists now mostly of Russian speaking people, but there are still a lot of traces of old German culture 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.

Talk

Russian language is spoken by more than 95% of Kaliningrad Oblast population. There is a small Lithuanian-speaking minority in the north-east. English in understood by many people under 25. Many people understand some German and Polish.

Travel to Kaliningrad Oblast, visa requirements

By car

There are several border crossing points. From the Polish direction: Mamonovo, Bagrationovsk and Gusev. From the Lithuanian direction: Sovyetsk and Morskoye (on the Curonian Spit). You will need Russian visa.

Flights to Kaliningrad Oblast, airtickets

Kaliningrad Oblast does not have a real international airport, so you will need to fly into Lithuania (Vilnius), Poland (Gdansk or Szczytno) or Finland and take a bus or ferry to Kaliningrad.

Get around