Have you been to the Kaliningrad region? If not, be sure to visit this region, and consider your route in such a way as to turn onto Cape Taran. This is a unique place where you can truly feel the unity with nature and relax your soul ...
Briefly about Svetlogorsk
Cape Taran is located in the immediate vicinity of Svetlogorsk - only twelve kilometers, and therefore it is advisable to tell about this beautiful city on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It is in Svetlogorsk that you can stop for the night and leave things before embarking on an amazing journey to the cape and the lighthouse of the same name on it. However, first things first ...
The city of Svetlogorsk is located thirty kilometers west of Kaliningrad. This is not just a city, but a resort city, because, as already mentioned, it lies on the sea coast. There are few local residents in the town - about thirteen (plus or minus) thousand people, but this is a fairly large tourist center in the region.
Before, Svetlogorsk was called Raushen; it got its current name in 1947. The climate in the city is very dependent on the sea - the influence of the latter is strongly felt. The average January temperature (of the coldest month of the year) is minus 2, the average July (of the warmest) temperature is plus 16. The water is warmest in August, during which the peak of tourists falls.
In addition to local beaches, Svetlogorsk health resorts are very popular. The city has a cable car (restored five years ago). The air in Svetlogorsk is fresh and clean due to being in the forest zone - here you can see a huge number of the most diverse trees that grow only in this strip.
Cape Taran
As already mentioned, the aforementioned cape is located twelve kilometers from Svetlogorsk, at the tip of the Kaliningrad Peninsula. This is its north-western ledge, which is known to all seafarers who have ever crossed the Baltic Sea. Very close to Cape Taran lies a small village called Donskoye (among the Germans it was called Gross Dirschheim).
Most of the cape, which, incidentally, is very steep (it reaches sixty meters in height, which makes it one of the highest capes), is known for the lighthouse of the same name, but we will talk about it a little later. For now, let's say something else: what else interesting, besides the lighthouse, can be found on the cape?
Cape features
First of all, of course, these are incredible beauty and spectacular views. Such panoramas unfold before your eyes, if you stand on the cape facing the sea - this calm and greatness is breathtaking. And yet - this is amazing nature. It is not typical for the Kaliningrad region: here, at the end of the Kaliningrad Peninsula, there are a lot of steep cliffs, descents, climbs and other bends. Do not forget that before - in the "ancient times" - Germans lived on this earth, and you can still find many objects reminiscent of the German past of the Kaliningrad land. In addition, various Soviet artifacts have been preserved, which will be interesting not only to a person born in the Soviet Union, but also to someone who was born after its collapse.
Another point is fishing. There is a huge number of species of fish that can be caught right in the sea. For tourists on the coast, guest houses are offered - live for your pleasure. And if you are lucky and have amber washed ashore, you can also pick it up. By the way, to go down to the beach, you need to sweat: as already mentioned, the slopes here are very steep. And despite the fact that in places suitable for descent, stairs are installed, it is quite scary to climb down. Particularly "crazy" tourists often try to go down in the wrong places, despite the warning signs specially installed on the cape. This should not be done - you risk breaking your neck and not getting any pleasure from the rest.
Taran Lighthouse
The lighthouse of the same name, due to which the cape in many respects gained fame, is the most western in Russia. Until 1963, it was called Brewsterort (from the German words Brust - "chest" and Ort - "place"). The lighthouse, whose “birthday” is celebrated on September 24, stands on the cape for a reason, but is a signal warning to the ships that there is a rocky reef nearby. Thus, a lighthouse 95 meters high provides security on the way to two ports at once - Baltiysk and Kaliningrad. Like most lighthouses in Russia, Taran is lit at night. During the day, this is done only if visibility on the water does not exceed four miles.
For the first time, the lighthouse on Cape Taran began to light at the end of the seventeenth century. Today, the lighthouse itself and all its outbuildings belong to the Baltic Fleet, while the territory around it is occupied by the military unit, and therefore it is impossible to get inside the “mere mortal” - entrance is only through passes. But to walk nearby and take a picture against the backdrop of a beautiful attraction, the wave is legal.
How to get to the cape
To get to Cape Taran, you need to take a bus to the village of Donskoye. From there you have to walk two kilometers on foot - and now you have arrived at your destination.
Of course, if you have your own car, it will be easiest to use it - you can get from Kaliningrad in less than an hour.
Tourists reviews
Everyone who visited Cape Taran of the Kaliningrad Region agree on the same opinion: everyone should see this place. It is simply impossible to remain indifferent or disappointed!
People say that this is the most beautiful place on the entire Baltic coast. Silence, tranquility, peace, harmony with nature and the almost complete absence of people - this is what awaits everyone who arrives at Cape Taran.