765 years ago, on September 1, 1255, the fortress of Königsberg was founded.

On this day, German knights of the Teutonic Order and King of Bohemia Přemysl Otakar laid the foundation of the fortress of Königsberg at the place where the Pregolya River flows into the Baltic Sea. Over time, a city grew here that bore this name for more than seven centuries.

As a result of the Potsdam Conference, held in the summer of 1945, Königsberg and the surrounding territory (about a third of the former East Prussia) were handed over to the USSR. On July 4, 1946, after the death of Mikhail Kalinin, the city was renamed Kaliningrad in his honor. After the war, efforts began to adapt the German population to the new authorities: a newspaper in German was published, and schools were opened with instruction in German. However, a decision was soon made to deport the Germans to Germany, and Soviet citizens moved in their place. The city quickly became populated, and production was restored.

Due to its strategic location, Kaliningrad had a semi-closed status. The authorities paid no attention to the German cultural heritage: the old town was not restored, and the ruins of the Königsberg fortress were demolished in the late 1960s, despite protests from architects, historians, and local historians.