Royal castle of Koenigsberg before the war. Koenigsberg Castle. What will you find now at the site of Königsberg Castle?

Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow is an entire architectural complex, which is the most important symbol of the country.

The history of Wawel begins in the 10th century. The castle at this time became a symbol of both political and spiritual power. For quite a long time, from the 11th century to the 17th century, Wawel Castle had the status of the main residence of local rulers, since the capital of Poland at that time was located in Krakow. The best time for the royal palace came in the 14th century, during the reign of Casimir the Great and then the Jagiellon dynasty. Later, after Poland and Lithuania concluded a historic agreement, the Wawel complex began to be geographically located on the very border of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as a result of which its position began to deteriorate, and the importance of another Polish city - Warsaw, located in the geographical center of the country - on the contrary, to grow. At the same time, a large fire occurred in Wawel, after which a decision was made to move the capital. In 1609, during the reign of Sigismund III, Warsaw actually finally became the capital of the state, and the city was officially given this status in 1795. In the same year, Wawel Castle became the property of Austria.

This complex has experienced many vicissitudes over the centuries of its existence. For example, after Napoleon's invasion in 1815, Krakow was defeated and became a separate free city that did not belong to any country. In 1846, the Austrians settled in these places again and built barracks here for their military. In 1905, the Polish government bought the lands and territory of Wawel and returned them to its historical ownership. After this, the castle began to be restored, and in 1930 it again acquired the status of a state residence for special occasions, and part of the Wawel territory became a museum. During wartime, Wawel Castle was the headquarters of a German general.

Inside the castle

Wawel Royal Castle includes many architectural historical attractions. The most famous and visited of them are: the castle itself, the cathedral, and the castle fortifications. Entrance to the complex itself is free, but each exhibition has a separate entrance fee (there is no single ticket for all exhibitions).

Sights of Wawel:

• Cathedral House
• the Royal Castle
• Royal cuisine
• Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslas
• Church of St. Gereon
• St. Michael's Church
• Church of St. George
• Sigismund's Chapel
• Fortification
• Administrative building
• Wikarówka
• Gate of Bartolomeo Berrecci
• Hospital
• Seminary building
• Bastion of Vladislav IV
• Bernardine Gate
• Vazov Gate
• Armorial Gate
• Villain Tower
• Panenskaya Tower
• Sandomierz Tower
• Senator's Tower
• Tenchin Tower
• Nobles' Tower
• State Art Collection
• Wawel dragon
• Wawel Chakra
• Courtyard of Stefan Batory
• Royal Gardens
• Unpreserved Wawel
• Monument to Tadeusz Kosciuszko

At the entrance to the complex there is a main gate, which is reached by an ancient paved path. To the left of the entrance there is a wall on which are engraved the names of people and companies (as well as the year and amount) that at one time donated a certain amount for the restoration of Wawel. Just outside the entrance you can see a monument to Tadeusz Kościuszko, a famous Polish hero who led a popular uprising in 1794. During World War II, the statue was destroyed, but then restored and placed in its original place.

To the right of the entrance there is a ticket office and an information center for tourists, where you can order excursion support, including in Russian.

When entering Wawel Castle through the coat of arms gate on Kanonicze Street, the Cathedral in honor of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslas will be located on the left. It is easy to recognize by the real mammoth bones hanging right above the doors, which, according to legend, bring happiness and good luck. The cathedral building was erected in the 11th-12th centuries; Polish rulers were crowned there at one time, and it also served as a tomb for them in the future. To this day, a small part of the old cathedral remains from the tower of Silver Bells and the crypt of St. Leonard, in which the remains of Józef Piłsudski are buried. The Cathedral acquired its modern Gothic appearance in the 14th century. Inside, the Altar of the Fatherland occupies its central position, and nearby are stone sarcophagi and the tomb of Casimir Jagiellon. The cathedral tower houses the Sigismund Bell, which is one of the largest bells in the country. At the farthest north-eastern end of Wawel there is a beautiful old medieval tower, which, due to its seclusion and inaccessibility, throughout its existence served as the personal apartments of local rulers, and was therefore called the “Chicken's Foot”. If you go a little further, on the right side of the gate you can visit the Cathedral Museum.

In the courtyard of the architectural complex of Wawel Castle on the right there is a huge lawn on which the ruins of ancient castle buildings are located. Among the buildings that have survived to this day, you can see the palatium of the 11th century, which was the residence of the princes, stone fortifications, a small castle in the Romanesque style built in the 12th century, rebuilt in the 14th century into a large Gothic castle. To the left is another exhibition “Lost Wawel” (which, among other things, includes the oldest surviving building in the city - the rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary), and right there is a small cafe where you can take a break from walking around the castle. To the left of the cafe, if you follow the road that winds between the brick building and the tower, you can get to the entrance to the dragon's cave. According to legend, a ferocious dragon lived here, taking away the most beautiful representatives of the city. He was defeated only by the clever son of King Krakow, who founded the city of the same name Krakow.

Next, after the ancient arch, is the central royal courtyard. On its right side there are three floors of royal chambers and royal rooms, in the chambers of which the main value is large canvases depicting historical events and antique furniture, and in the main hall there is a ceiling decorated with carved “Wawel heads”. On the left side you can visit the armory (with a collection of Polish and European weapons of the 15th-18th centuries, as well as many ancient swords and armor) and the treasury, as well as an interesting exhibition called “The Art of the East”.

In the central square of the complex there is also the Sigismund Chapel, inside of which there are the tombs of the Polish rulers: Sigismund the Old and Sigismund Augustus. Nearby stands the 16th-century Jagiellonian Chapel with the tomb of Anna Jagiellonka. To the left of it is a chapel from 1676 with burials of the Vasa dynasty.

Ticket to Wawel Castle

How to get to Wawel Castle in Krakow

The Wawel architectural complex can be reached on foot from the Krakow railway or bus station. To do this, you need to go left along Lubicz, Pijarska or Flopianska streets, then through the underground passage there will be access directly to the city walls. Walking along the walls, the road will lead to the Market Square and Grodska Street. At the very end of this street on the right side is Wawel Castle. You can also use taxi services in Krakow: Radio Taxi Mega, Eco Taxi Krakow, Radio Taxi 919 and many others.

You can get to Wawel Castle by public transport. To do this, take trams 1, 3, 6, 8 and 18 and get off at the Wawel stop - this is the stop closest to the complex. If you go a little further, you can take trams 10, 19, 22 and 40 and buses 128 and 184, their stop will be called Stradomska. A little further away is the Jubilat stop of tram 2 and buses 103, 114, 124, 144, 164, 169, 173, 179, 194, 279, 289, 409 and 424.

Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow on Google panoramas

Architecture of the Wawel Royal Castle complex in Krakow inside

Bird's eye view video of Wawel Castle

Video inside the Wawel Royal Castle complex in Krakow

Wawel Castle has stood majestically above the Vistula for almost a millennium. Over its long history, the castle has witnessed many events and survived dozens of wars, destruction, fires and reconstructions. Wawel is a symbol of Poland and a place of special significance for the Polish people.

In the 11th century, on the site of Wawel there was a fortified settlement of the Vistula tribe. In the 14th century, Krakow became the capital of the Polish state, and Wawel the royal residence. Officially, Krakow was considered the capital until 1795, but after the monarch moved to Warsaw in 1609, in fact, it was not one; Polish kings continued to be crowned in Krakow.

The impetus for the move was a severe fire at Wawel Castle, which King Sigismund III simply decided not to restore. They say that he was a noble alchemist, he was looking for the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, and the fire happened because of his alchemical experiments in a laboratory set up in one of the halls of the castle.

The Royal Castle. On the left is the Jordan Tower, on the right is a complex of three towers - the Danish Tower, the Chicken Leg and the Tower of Sigismund III Vasa, and right behind the wall is the royal garden.

Memorial "Katyn Cross" at the Church of St. Egidio. According to legend, the temple was built by Prince Vladislav in gratitude to God for the birth of his son. However, research has shown that the building was built in the first half of the 14th century. In the 19th century, redevelopment began in Krakow: the defensive fortifications of the Old Town and many dilapidated buildings were demolished. The Church of St. Egidio was also planned to be destroyed, but the city residents opposed it and managed to defend the temple.

During the Swedish Flood, the castle was partially destroyed and looted; after Poland lost its independence, it generally fell into the hands of practical Austrians, who stationed a cavalry garrison in it. The Polish public could not tolerate such an attitude towards the national shrine. A ransom was collected - 3,504,609 Austrian crowns, which was paid to the Austrian government for Wawel. In 1905, Austrian soldiers abandoned the castle, and in 1911, the whole of Wawel. Restoration work began after World War I and continued for several decades.

Senator's Tower.

During World War II, the castle was the residence of the German Governor-General Hans Frank. In the ancient rooms and halls of the royal palace, the Nazis set up offices and apartments for their officials. When Frank had to flee Krakow under the pressure of the Soviet Army in 1945, he still managed to order that all the buildings on Wawel and the best monuments in Krakow be mined. And only the lightning march of the Soviet troops saved both Krakow and Wawel. Marshal Konev, who carried out this brilliant maneuver, was awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the City of Krakow as a sign of gratitude and recognition of his services.

Sandomierz Tower.

Exhibition and Conference Center. Former Austrian military hospital. The building was built according to the design of the architect Felix Ksenzharsky in 1853-1856.

On the left in the panorama are the buildings of the seminary and the cathedral museum (covered with a tiled roof), the vicarage (green roof), then the Cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslas and the building of the royal kitchens, behind which is the royal castle itself.

Wawel Cathedral once hosted coronations, and today the remains of Polish monarchs rest. From the original building of the temple, only part of the tower of the Silver Bells and the crypt of St. Leonard have been preserved; the current building was erected in the 14th century. In the center of the cathedral stands the Altar of the Fatherland, on which the monarchs of Poland placed war trophies. Not far from the altar are the royal stone sarcophagi and the tomb of Casimir Jagielon.

One of the towers houses the largest Sigismund bell in Poland. Residents of the city believe that at the time when this ringing is heard, you need to make a wish, and it will certainly come true. Another romantic belief promises young girls who touch the huge tongue of “Sigismund”, weighing 365 kg and held by giant leather straps, to get married soon.

In the 20th century, the Wawel See became famous because its bishop was Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II.

Photography is prohibited inside the cathedral. A very strange ban that always surprises me.

In front of the entrance to the cathedral hang...bones. These are mammoth bones. According to popular belief, the bones of such a strange animal bring prosperity and peace to the land on which they are located.

On the gates of Wawel Cathedral there is a stylized letter K. Among the residents of the city, this symbol is much more popular than the official symbols.

Copper model of Wawel Castle and Krakow.

Almost in the center of the panorama is the Thieves (Zlodeyskaya) Tower - one of the three fully preserved Wawel towers, which was used as a prison. It was built under Casimir the Great. In the sixteenth century, the tower was destroyed by fire and then renovated several times. In the mid-nineteenth century, it was rebuilt by the Austrians, like other Wawel towers. In 1950-1951 it was restored to its eighteenth-century condition according to a project prepared under the leadership of Witold Minkevich.

In the foreground are the foundations of buildings destroyed at the beginning of the 19th century: the Church of St. Michael, the House of the Housekeeper Kowalski, the House of Canon Stanislav Bork, the Church of St. George.

The arcaded courtyard of the castle. Each tier is of a different height, but the proportions are found so successfully that the entire courtyard is permeated by a feeling of perfect harmony and lightness. Next to where I'm standing is the entrance to the room where Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Lady with an Ermine" is being shown.

Filming inside the castle is also prohibited.

The interior halls are hung with ancient tapestries made in Brussels by order of King Sigismund the Old - 365 pieces, exactly the number of days in the year. During the wars, the Krakow authorities hid them either in the mountains or in monasteries; some of the tapestries were burned in fires. One day the king wanted to replenish the treasury and pawned the tapestries in Gdansk, but the Sejm bought the shrine and from then on only rented them out to the kings!

After the war between the Bolsheviks and the White Poles, the tapestries ended up in the Winter Palace of St. Petersburg, but later the Soviets had to return them to their rightful owners. At the beginning of World War II, the tapestries were hidden from the Nazis, taken first to Romania, then to Canada, and returned to Wawel in 1961.

Fragments of paintings depicting portraits of Roman emperors in medallions, floral ornaments and decorative compositions on ancient themes have been preserved to this day on the walls of the southern and eastern wings of the castle.

Forged copper drain in the shape of a dragon's head.

One of the most interesting halls in the castle is the Ambassadorial Hall, which is famous for its unique ceiling, in the niches of which there are carved wooden heads of courtiers, which is why the hall was also called “Under the Heads”. Once there were one hundred and ninety-four of them, only thirty have survived to this day - the rest burned down during a strong fire in Wawel in the 17th century.

Once, when the king was holding court in the Ambassadorial Hall, for some reason he sentenced an innocent man to death. Then the mouth of one of the wooden heads opened and said: “Rex Auguste, judica juste!” (“King Augustus, judge fairly!”).

Above the entrance to the store there is such a funny figurine of an angel. He holds scales in his hands, on the bowls of which he rests his feet.

The walls of the castle are covered with ivy.

At the other entrance to the castle there is an equestrian monument to the leader of the 1794 uprising, Tadeusz Kościuszko. During World War II, when the castle housed the temporary headquarters of the Nazis, a German general ordered the demolition of the monument, which was immediately carried out, and at the end of the war, a copy of the destroyed monument was cast in Germany and brought to Wawel, only the German horse turned out to be fatter than the Polish one and Kosciuszko changed the horse to a more well-fed one :)

Under the wall, Russell Crowe works part-time as a medieval knight.

This lion guards the entrance to the tomb under the Tower of Silver Bells, where Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria are buried.

They died in a plane crash near Smolensk airport. A delegation consisting of political, military, public and religious figures of Poland flew with the president. There were 89 passengers and 7 crew members on board the plane. The purpose of the visit was to visit the Katyn Memorial near Smolensk on the day of the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre.

Marshal Jozef Pilsudski, a Polish statesman and political figure, the first head of the revived Polish state, the founder of the Polish army, is buried in the second room of the tomb.

View of the Vistula from Wawel Hill.

In the distance you can see the Church of St. Svyatoslav Kostka.

And we go underground, into the cave of the dragon Smoke. There are several versions of the legend about the dragon, but my friend told the real, terrible story about human cruelty ren_ar . I highly recommend reading it.

The total length of the dungeons is 270 meters, of which 81 are tourist routes. The most interesting, as always, was hidden (
The first information about the cave appeared in the Polish Chronicle in the 12th/13th century thanks to Master Vincent. After the death of the dragon, this was one of the most famous passages into the castle.

In the 17th-18th centuries, a famous tavern was located in the cave - it was often described in travel notes by famous travelers and foreign diplomats.

With the partition of Poland, when Wawel Hill was occupied by Austrian troops, the cave was closed, and the lower entrances to it were walled up.

At the exit from the cave we are greeted by the dragon himself, who spews fire every 5 minutes or by SMS by phone 7168 with the text “smok”. He has to earn his living somehow, right?

There is a legend that a mysterious stone is hidden in Wawel - a source of unusually powerful energy. Hindus believe that there are seven main energy centers on our planet that give a person unprecedented strength. As if the god Shiva once scattered seven stones to the seven cardinal directions. And it seems that one of these stones is now hidden somewhere in the thickness of the Wawel Hill. They say that it is located in the dungeon of the western wing of the royal castle, in the chapel of St. Gereon, which does not exist today.

Once a month, gala concerts of ancient music from the series “Wawel Evenings” are given in the Senator’s Hall; on “Days of Krakow” performances are staged in the castle courtyard. And on the night of Ivan Kupala, at the foot of the castle along the Vistula, according to ancient Slavic custom, maiden wreaths and boats decorated with multi-colored lights float, by the way, today is June 21, the day of the summer solstice.

Everyone who has visited Wawel, having learned its history, everyday life and holidays, takes with them an unfading memory of it.

To be continued...

Treasures of the Third Reich in the dungeons of Kaliningrad. What does the former City of Kings of Königsberg hide?

Königsberg Castle- castle of the Teutonic Order in Königsberg (Kaliningrad), also called the Royal Castle. Founded in 1255 by the Czech king Ottokar II Přemysl and existed until 1968. Until 1945, various administrative and public institutions of the city and East Prussia were located within its walls, as well as museum collections and halls for ceremonial receptions. The name of the castle gave the general name for the city that arose near the castle walls. Along with the Cathedral, it was the most important and oldest landmark of the city

The building had a maximum length of 104 meters and a width of 66.8 meters. The tallest building in the city - the Castle Tower, 84.5 meters high, was rebuilt in 1864-1866 in the Gothic style. Twice a day a chorale sounded from the Castle tower. At 11 o'clock in the morning - "Oh, preserve your mercy", at 9 o'clock in the evening - "Peace to all forests and fields."

The castle was rebuilt many times and combined various architectural styles (Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo). Its purpose also changed according to periods. The original fortress acquired the characteristics of a castle. The castle was transformed from a seat of power into a museum complex and became the center of spiritual life.

Components of a castle

German historian Dr. Gunnar Strunz recently visited Kaliningrad, the former capital of East Prussia, Königsberg. He visited this city with a series of lectures about the ancient order castle of Koenigsberg, destroyed by British bombing during the Second World War. This castle has a rich and interesting history that dates back to 1257.

During his visit, he made a proposal to restore the most beautiful rooms of this building, which locals call the Castle of the Three Kings - the church, the “Hall of the Muscovites” and others. In his opinion, this will help attract tourists to Kaliningrad and increase their interest in the historical heritage of this city.

Coronation of Frederick I in the Castle Church, 1701

In 1944, the building was heavily damaged during bombing by British aircraft, and in the early 60s of the twentieth century, by order of the Kaliningrad regional committee of the CPSU, the ruins of this castle were finally demolished.

In 2010, the Kaliningrad authorities announced preparations for a referendum on the restoration of Konigsberg Castle. It was planned to hold it in March 2011 in order to combine it with elections to the local regional Duma. However, the referendum was never held. This is not the first unsuccessful venture to study and restore this architectural monument, as will be seen below.

However, the idea of ​​restoring and reconstructing the castle was not rejected or forgotten. It did begin to receive practical implementation, although in a different way than originally planned. The government of Kaliningrad agreed to the proposal that came from the German side to perpetuate the architectural appearance of old Koenigsberg in bronze.

Funds for this project - the creation of a model of the historical center of Königsberg as it was before the massive British air raids in 1944 completely changed its face - were collected by former residents of the capital of East Prussia. The project is a bronze copy of the architectural ensemble of the old city with a diameter of 3 meters, where the Castle of the Three Kings will be built. The model is planned to be installed on Kant Island near the restored Cathedral.

But this is data only about the external part of the castle. There are also numerous dungeons and passages located under the Castle of the Three Kings. They are completely walled up and well preserved. And, according to Moscow archaeologist Ivan Koltsov, restoration will not require much effort or money. In addition, they are capable of bringing huge profits to the Kaliningrad treasury. What is this statement based on?

Castle courtyard - western and northern wings

Report to the CPSU Central Committee

Russian journalist Sergei Turchenko, studying archival documents in the Central State Archive of the Russian Federation that contained information about cultural values ​​stolen by the Germans in the former USSR, discovered a memo from dowsing engineer Ivan Koltsov, sent to the CPSU Central Committee and dated May 8, 1982.

This note stated that his research allowed him to draw up a diagram of the main underground passages and structures of Koenigsberg. There is reason to believe that they contain enormous valuables stolen by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. According to assumptions, this is a large amount, estimated in tens of tons of gold, silver, amber, and precious jewelry. Perhaps this is where fragments of the Amber Room, paintings, books and much more are located.

The network of underground passages and structures in which valuables are hidden was built at different times, starting from the 13th century, and is located at various depths from 16 to 68 meters. It has several main directions radiating from the city center, that is, the former Royal Castle. The memo also mentions a certain special room where plans and diagrams of all the dungeons of Koenigsberg are stored.

The same note contains information that the central entrance to the dungeons of Koenigsberg, which was located on the territory of the Castle of the Three Kings, was blown up and littered with debris to a depth of at least 16 meters. But the author of the note believes that at greater depths the corridors are in a condition suitable for research and are not flooded. He also believes that there were other entrances to the dungeons.

Sergei Turchenko managed to find the author of this note, Ivan Evseevich Koltsov, who in the 80s of the last century was an employee of the “closed” dowsing bureau under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. In 1982, Ivan Evseevich Koltsov, as part of an expedition, examined the ruins of the former Koenigsberg, at the same time he drew up detailed diagrams of the dungeons under this city and sent his report with the above-mentioned memo to the CPSU Central Committee.

But the reaction that followed to his report was, according to Ivan Evseevich, strange, to say the least. He was removed from participation in the State Historical and Archaeological Expedition, which after some time ceased to exist altogether. As far as he knows, the diagrams he compiled were not used in any search work in the area.

Eyewitness testimony

The conversation with Koltsov left more questions than answers. Can we trust his data about the dungeon system near Kaliningrad? If possible, then to what extent? Are these data confirmed by other sources? Sergei Turchenko decided to look for answers in Kaliningrad itself.

At the beginning of his journey, while still in a train compartment, he heard a story in which the dungeons of this city appeared. A fellow traveler told him that her friend’s son once brought home a large piece of synthetic fabric. He said that he found it in the basements of one of the flooded forts, where he climbed with friends. A friend of hers sewed a shirt for her son from that fabric, being surprised that the fabric, despite lying in water for a long time, looked like new.

When the mother began to iron this shirt, the fabric flared up under the iron like gunpowder. The frightened woman contacted the police. Divers were sent to the said fort, who discovered a cache of such rolls in it. This is how the Nazis produced gunpowder. The history of further searches in this direction remains unknown. As will be seen from further eyewitness accounts, the authorities continue to show surprising indifference to such facts. What caused this lack of interest? Perhaps the internal affairs bodies simply did not believe the frightened townswoman?

The researcher decided to turn to other sources.

Post-war literature also contains some mentions of the Königsberg dungeons. In particular, Stanislav Garanin, in his book “The Three Faces of Janus,” wrote about eight hundred and sixty-two blocks in the city, each of which was connected to the others by a single defensive system. Passages connected the basements of the houses. Underground there were power plants, ammunition depots, and hospitals.

Also in the same literary work, a situation is described in which some heroes, who went down into the dungeons through a sewer hatch, saw an underground hall, along the wall of which there was a pier. At this pier there was a small, four meters long, submarine.

But this is a literary work that cannot claim documentary accuracy. The data presented in it amazes the reader, but raises questions about their reliability. It was necessary to find evidence from real eyewitnesses.

The former head of the underwater technical works department, Mikhail Matveevich Lif, said that although he does not know the underground communications of Kaliningrad completely, but only in the part that concerned his work, he can say that in the area of ​​​​the former palaces and under fortifications there are two and three-story dungeons. Most of them are flooded or covered with stones. Some of them are still used as warehouses today.

So these dungeons still exist? But are they accessible to tourists? Perhaps these are just warehouses, partially destroyed during the bombing and nothing more. But Mikhail Matveevich also mentioned a certain underground aircraft factory. But this plant is also flooded and littered with stones. He also told a story about some home-grown “treasure hunters,” which once circulated among his friends. It was as if these people had found an artificial grotto in one of the lakes, the entrance to which was blocked by a German anchor mine.

One of the treasure hunters soon died under unclear circumstances - he fell from the fifth floor. Another turned for help to a familiar midshipman-sapper, who did not pay much attention to this request. But after the “treasure hunter” went missing while on one of his trips, the sapper became worried and filed a report with the police. Unfortunately, the police search yielded no results. Lief also spoke about one of his colleagues and comrades, Grigory Ivanovich Matsuev, who had been in Koenigsberg since 1945.

After leaving military service, Matsuev remained in the underwater technical work detachment. He has dozens of dives into the Pregol River and lakes. He just said that at that time the upper floors of the basements of the Royal Castle were not yet flooded. This is very interesting and echoes what Koltsov said. Could these floors have been flooded later, after research carried out by a historical and archaeological expedition, of which Koltsov was a member?

But let us return to the story of Mikhail Matveevich Lif about his comrade. One story in particular is of particular interest. Grigory Ivanovich once talked about how one day, not far from the ancient city gates, a large hatch was discovered in the floor of a fortification. When it was opened, they saw that the tunnel, the entrance to which it covered, was completely flooded with water. Matsuev dived there and saw a large room with a large number of shelves on which lay many rolls of unknown material.

Several of them were brought to the surface. Further analysis showed that it was gunpowder. Perhaps Germany, bound by the Treaty of Versailles, did not have the right to produce weapons and explosives in more than the permissible quantity. Therefore, the gunpowder that was made in Koenigsberg was camouflaged under fabric. But again, not a single mention of treasure. And that these passages may be available for visits. The researcher found it necessary to continue his search. On what were Koltsov’s statements based?

Archived data

Sergei Turchenko thought this information was not enough, and he decided to return to the archives and continue his search there. Many months of painstaking work in the Central Archives of the Russian Federation were not slow to bear fruit. He found several documents there that attracted his attention and confirmed the presence of extensive dungeons near Kaliningrad.

He discovered a historical certificate by the German researcher F. Lars about the Royal Castle. It said that construction of the castle began in 1257 and continued until 1810. During this long six-century construction, the castle was rebuilt several times. Extensive underground work was also carried out. Professor Heydeck, who carried out geological excavations under the Royal Castle in 1889, mentioned 7-8-meter thicknesses of “cultural” deposits. He also mentioned the ancient dungeons that stretch under the Castle Church, the former home of the Convention and the restaurant "Blütgericht" ("Last Judgment"). But all these researchers mentioned only the dungeons of the first tier. For some unknown reason, deeper excavations were not carried out. Perhaps the limited technical capabilities of that period interfered.

But such work was not carried out in 1945. Although, to search for cultural values ​​that may have been hidden in Koenigsberg, a special commission was created under the leadership of General Bryusov. His diary has been preserved, in which he kept a detailed account of the activities of this expedition. From this diary we managed to find out the following interesting detail. A certain doctor Alfred Rohde, who was the curator of the Koenigsberg museums and did not have time to leave the city when it was liberated by Soviet troops, actively dissuaded the expedition from excavations in the southern wing of the castle.
Rohde argued that during the war there was a hospital there, which was damaged by bombing and littered with stones. And nothing can be found in these rubble except corpses.

After Rohde's mysterious disappearance, his deception was exposed. Military experts who examined the characteristics of the rubble of the southern wing of the castle proved that the explosion did not occur from above, as it should have happened if an air bomb had hit this wing of the castle, but from below, which makes one think about its artificial origin. Dr. Strauss, who arrived in Konigsberg at the call of the commission and was Rohde’s former assistant, categorically denied the presence of any hospital in the southern wing of the castle. He confidently stated that museum treasures have always been concentrated there. Why did Roda organize such a deception? To hide valuables? So that they do not fall into the hands of the Soviet expedition? For whom did he save them and where did he disappear?

Such a contradiction alone should have attracted increased attention to excavations in the castle area. But, surprisingly, they were carried out superficially. Having examined only part of the dungeons of the first tier, Bryusov’s commission found more than 1000 museum exhibits stolen by the Nazis from museums in Leningrad and Moscow. These were priceless works of silver, bronze, porcelain, paintings and furniture. Perhaps if the excavations had been continued and carried out more thoroughly, more valuables would have been recovered?
Also in the archive, the researcher was able to find records of testimonies of former Soviet and foreign military personnel who were related to Koenigsberg, the competent authorities regarding the burial of cultural property by the Nazis.

Warsaw prison inmate A. Vitek said the following: during the war he was sent to forced labor in Konigsberg. From the work camp where Vitek was located, the Germans took people to work every day. The interrogated person was part of a group that removed equipment from houses and institutions and took it to Wilhelm Castle (Royal Castle - author's note) on Kaiser Wilhelm Strasse. There things were sorted for subsequent shipment to Germany.

The prisoner helped pack the requisitioned equipment into boxes. He testified that he saw a large number of boxes marked with the same number. These boxes were located in the right wing of the castle. The boxes were strictly guarded. Their safety was checked by Gauleiter Erich Koch himself. After this, the prisoner saw how bricks were brought into the castle palace and masons were called. The prisoner testified that the boxes had disappeared, but Vitek did not remember that the boxes were removed from the castle grounds. He suspects that the boxes were hidden in the castle's cellars.

Professor G. Klumbis, a colleague and former ally of Dr. Rohde, recalled that not far from the wine cellar of the palace there was an old mine. It is closed and has not been used for several centuries. There were no signs of its existence, but Dr. Rohde knew about its presence in the indicated place. In his opinion, the mine is the best place to hide various valuables in wartime. If necessary, their transportation could be quickly carried out with small forces and unnoticed. It was on this that his assumption was based that the basements of the castle contained cultural values ​​exported from the USSR.
This point of view is also shared by the former chief architect of the city of Kaliningrad D. Navalikhin. He believes deeper mines are possible. He himself went down into the dungeons of the castle and saw a shaft inclined at approximately 45 degrees. This event took place in 1948.

In 1973, researchers came across yet another confirmation of the existence of dungeons under the Royal Castle. It consists in the fact that during the construction work, which consisted of constructing the pile foundations of the House of Soviets, four piles up to 11 meters long were sunk underground to the full depth. No more than 4 centimeters of the pile was visible above the surface. Based on this, construction workers believed that there might be a bunker or underground passage under this building. They accepted the possibility that the Amber Room or other valuables stolen by the Nazis could be stored in this bunker.

But a strange reaction followed to the memo by S. Kuleshov, who noted this fact. The piles were ordered to be removed, their holes filled with concrete, and construction work to be carried out in another place.

It seemed to the researcher that these facts were enough to trust the words of Ivan Koltsov. The existence of dungeons can be considered proven. But do they contain the same valuables that the Nazis took from the occupied territories? The results of Bryusov's expedition provide sufficient grounds to consider this true. But the presence of the main Nazi warehouse of stolen valuables in these basements and the location of the Amber Room there still remains a mystery.

Ivan Koltsov gives a fairly clear answer to this question. According to him, special equipment can determine what is underground - water, oil, ore or metals. And in this case, he believes, the equipment was not mistaken. Even now he is ready to show several entrances to the dungeons of the Royal Castle and places in which, according to him, there are warehouses with mothballed equipment, cars, commissary property. Then it is surprising the persistent inaction of the authorities to this information and the cessation of any work related with exploration of the dungeons of the Royal Castle in Konigsberg. Perhaps the legendary treasures of the Third Reich are still hiding there, waiting in the wings.

Address: Kaliningrad, st. Shevchenko, 2.
Opening hours: daily from 10:00 to 18:00.
Cost of visit: from 100 rub.

History of Königsberg Castle

Story castle, called Royal, dates back to the reign of the Teutonic Knights. Then, on a hill not far from the small village of the Prussians, who were later completely destroyed, they built a wooden fortress in the first quarter of the 13th century and called it “Konigsberg”, from German “King’s Mountain” or “King’s Shore”.
According to the most common version, the castle was named in honor of the Czech king, who took an active part in the construction. From the moment the first stone was laid, the people living in the area began to name the castle in their languages ​​and dialects. In the Old Polish language there was a name Krulevets, in Czech the Royal Castle bore the name Kralovets. In Russian written sources, the castle was called Korolevets for many centuries. This name lasted until the era of Peter I, after which the castle began to be called in the German manner.
Two years after its foundation in 1255, the first huge stones were laid on the site of the future castle. Within a few years, a wooden castle was built, and then the construction of a brick structure began. Boulders were placed at the base, and natural stone and brick were laid on them using the so-called “Viennese masonry.”
Three years later, Prussian troops began to besiege the castle. Unsuccessful attempts were repeated until 1873. In addition to the Prussians and Germans, there were about ten percent Lithuanians in the city. And in the 16th century, the city around the Royal Castle, also called Königsberg, became an important cultural center. The first printed book in the Lithuanian language was published here, and their own newspaper was published here.
Lock had a rectangular, elongated shape. All German castles were built according to the same model: a closed quadrangle with high stone walls, several separate outbuildings for utility rooms and a large tower. There were high towers in three corners of the Royal Castle, and in the fourth corner there was a four-story building made in the classical style. The castle had a large courtyard and a tall Gothic tower. The northern wing contained the oldest buildings. There were high gray walls with small windows and arched entrances. On the second floor there was a wooden gallery, the staircase to which was decorated with an elegant balustrade. The refectory halls were called in an exotic manner: “Pepper Room”, “Spanish Needle”, “Big Cap”. A five-meter ditch was dug around the castle, and between the castle and the ditch there was an earthen area.
Over the course of seven centuries, the castle has undergone significant changes. Both its shape and appearance changed. The castle was repeatedly visited by monarchs: Peter I, Catherine II, Alexander I. Prussian kings accepted the crown in the castle, ceremonial receptions were held for coronations, the adoption of titles, oaths were taken and knights fought. Executions also took place here. For a long time, the residence of the Teutonic Order was located here. The medieval castle had dining rooms, wine cellars, torture chambers, refectories, numerous utility rooms, a kitchen, a chapel, and a small chapel.
In the Middle Ages the Royal Castle met all the requirements for a defensive structure. Gradually, a unique library and collection of art objects was formed in Königsberg Castle.
In the 19th century, the city carried out improvements and reconstruction of the defensive structures around the Royal Castle. New ramparts and bastions were built, and new city gates were erected.

Royal Castle in the post-war period

The Amber Room was brought from Leningrad to the Royal Castle. Her further fate is unknown to this day. Excavations carried out in the castle in the past and in the present century have not yielded any results. The room was not found either in the basements or among the ruins. Although there was evidence that it could have been preserved in the basement. A written source says that the amber room was stored in the castle, packed in the northern wing of the building. Upon subsequent examination, traces of fire were found in the room where it was stored.
During the last years of World War II, the castle was subject to massive air attacks. It burned, but the walls remained intact even after the assault on Koenigsberg by Soviet troops. In 1954, the bell tower was destroyed, and a year later the walls of the northern and southern wings. The bricks of the ancient structure were used to build blocks, then a stone crushing plant was installed here, turning the bricks into dust. At the end of the 60s, they decided to blow up the main towers and walls. The hill itself, where the castle used to be located, was hidden. The castle, which had stood for 700 years, was destroyed in two years, all the bricks were dismantled, every tower, every wing was blown up. Pieces of walls were mixed into concrete mortars, and cinder blocks were used to build new houses.
All that was left of the ancient castle was a mountain of stones with signs indicating which part of the structure it represented.
For almost fifty years now, there has been no reminder in Kaliningrad that there was once a Royal Castle here. In its place they laid out a square with fountains and flower beds, with an unfinished, abandoned high-rise building.

Royal Castle today

The first archaeological excavations in the territory Royal Castle were undertaken back in 1926 - 1927. Then, only 70 years later, excavations were resumed by the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The foundations of the towers in the north-eastern part of the castle were discovered. In the fall of 1999, the editor-in-chief of a leading German publishing house approached the Institute of Archeology with the initiative to resume excavations. Work now began to be carried out in the western part, where outbuildings were located. Work was stopped due to unfavorable weather conditions, but was never resumed. Excavations require funding. Most of the funds are also needed to preserve the archaeological material obtained.
Today, tourists can only admire the view of the ruins that remain of the castle. For this purpose, a special observation deck of the ruins has been equipped, where anyone can look at the mountains of stones that were specially left as a memory of Königsberg Castle.

Each stone has a name, written on tablets, and indicates from which part of the building certain stones are from. Excavations are underway in the center of the former building, after which it is planned to completely restore the historical monument. In 2009, the first attempt was made to hold a competition, the results of which were to determine the developer. But at this point all passions subsided, and only in 2011 a commission was created at the level of the governor of the Kaliningrad region, which was supposed to collect data for the referendum. Which should decide the fate of Königsberg Castle.

Königsberg Cathedral Royal Castle Konigsberg Museum of the World Ocean, photo of the museum embankment

In the Soviet Union, no one knew how to build castles, but there were people who could destroy them.

Date of photography: September 2008

The history of the city of Königsberg begins with this castle. The Royal Castle of Konigsberg (German Konigsberg, translated into Russian as the Royal Mountain, also known as the Royal Castle) was founded in 1255 by the Czech king Ottokar II Přemysl and existed until 1968. This castle of the Teutonic Order gave the general name to the city that arose near the castle walls.

The royal castle was beautiful:

Königsberg Castle evolved from a wooden structure to a brick fortress and a castle, which at different times was the residence of the leaders of the Teutonic Order, the Duke of Prussia, and later became the site of coronations of Prussian kings.

Coats of arms of Königsberg

Below you can see all the coats of arms of Königsberg from the very foundation of the city to the present day.

This is where my patriotism ends. I like the Prussian coats of arms better (and not only me, by the way). Obviously, any Prussian coat of arms looks more respectable than the coat of arms of Kaliningrad, approved in 1996. Many people find it more pleasant to observe the grandeur and significance of royal symbols compared to the standard and primitive coats of arms of Russian cities.

Royal Königsberg Castle after the war

During the war, the Royal Castle received great damage, but survived. Its condition was even better than the condition of the Cathedral, which suffered more significantly during the bombing and storming of the city.

The ruins of the Royal Castle of Königsberg were a real treasure. The ruins of the castle were not guarded, so everyone was engaged in treasure hunting here: children, adults, local party workers, and visiting expeditions.

The Royal Castle is also famous for the fact that from 1942 to the spring of 1944 there was an amber room in it, which disappeared without a trace after the Soviet troops stormed Koenigsberg in April 1945.

From the memories of Kaliningrad residents:

“We, as children, also climbed in the ruins, looked for mysterious passages, treasures, found something, broke something, but the atmosphere around the castle was always magical, mystical and romantic.”

However, the Royal Castle of Koenigsberg, as “a stronghold of the Prussian military and militarism,” haunted the leadership of the Kaliningrad region.

From “Information on proposals for the conservation of the ruins of the Royal Castle in the city of Kaliningrad” dated December 3, 1965:

“The Royal Castle in the former Königsberg was founded in 1255 by the knights of the Teutonic Order as a stronghold for aggressive campaigns against the Slavic peoples on the shores of the Baltic. For centuries, this castle, being the residence of the highest ranks of the order, and later of the Prussian kings, was the personification of the predatory aspirations of the Teutonic-Prussian conquerors against the Polish, Russian, Lithuanian lands and peoples.

During the Hitler period, it repeatedly hosted Hitler, Himmler, Goering and other prominent Nazis. All this determines the special attitude towards him on the part of apologists of fascism. Currently, revanchists in West Germany are writing scientific treatises on the role of the castle in the history of the creation of Prussia, regretting its destruction.

Considering this, the thesis that the ruins of the castle are of cultural and historical value and deserve to be immortalized in the ensemble of the new socialist city of Kaliningrad is extremely doubtful.

...Restore castle ruins, which was a symbol of the Teutonic Order, and later of Prussian militarism, Hitlerism, investing huge investments, in fact, in the construction of a new building, we consider it inappropriate. The draft of a new master plan for the city center developed by Giprogor provides for the demolition of the castle ruins and the construction in their place of a new public building that will truly decorate Soviet Kaliningrad.”

In short, the fate of the Royal Castle was tragic. The castle, which stood for 700 years, was completely destroyed in 1969.

Today, on the site of the Royal Königsberg Castle there is an observation deck of its ruins and the House of Soviets. Among German tourists this House of Soviets is called the “new Königsberg castle”.

To the left of the entrance to the observation deck of the Royal Castle you can see a memorial plaque to Immanuel Kant.

There are many signs in German at the entrance, 2008

The observation deck of Königsberg Castle consists of mountains of stones, each of which has a sign indicating which part of the castle these stones and debris were.

Photo 1. Concrete lining of the balustrade of the southern promenade of the Royal Castle
Photo 2. A group of brick blocks remaining from the destruction of the castle walls (16-18 centuries)
Photo 3. Step to the castle church (18th century). In the background is the House of Soviets

Warhead of a (possibly French) siege gun 1914-1918.
Exhibit of the military-historical exposition of the Muscovite Hall (4th floor of the western wing)