In the middle of the Pregel River, in the heart of Kaliningrad, not far from Oktyabrsky Island, Kant Island is located. It used to be called Kneiphof. It is formed by two branches of the aforementioned river. Since the XIV century, there has been one of the three settlements that made up Koenigsberg.
There are several beautiful and interesting sights on the island, the main ones being the Cathedral and the grave of the world famous philosopher. In honor of the great scientist, this place got its name. But before this event occurred, the atoll experienced many events and renaming.
Twists and turns with the name
The modern island of Kant once had its historically established name Kneiphof, from the German Kneiphof. A word was formed from the Prussian term knypabe, which translates as surrounded by a river, water. Before the first settlement appeared on the atoll, it had the name Vogtswerder, descended from the German Vogtswerder, which in turn was formed from Vogt, the vogt - which he was in charge of and Werder, which in Russian sounds like a river island. In 1327, a letter was issued according to which city rights were granted to the island settlement. And at this time, the village was renamed Knipaw.
Already in 1333 the island of Kant again takes on the new name Pregelmünde, sounding in German as Pregelmünde. The formation of this name was promoted by the Germanic words Pregel and Mündung, which means mouth. But this name was not fixed, but gradually the Germanized form of the previous name Kneiphof took root in everyday life.
Island development
Kneiphof (now the island of Kant) has an extremely advantageous location. It is built at the intersection of land and water trade routes. Therefore, since its inception, it has developed as a center of shipping and trade. By the beginning of the last century, the atoll was densely built up, and five bridges connected it with land. There was even an interesting task regarding these structures: it was a task about the seven bridges of the city of Koenigsberg. He was unleashed by the famous mathematician Leonard Euler. He proved that it is not possible to cross all bridges if you do not cross one of them twice. This example served as the beginning of graph theory.
By 1944, the island of Kant (Kaliningrad) consisted of 28 streets, 304 houses, the Cathedral and the town hall. Trams ran in the city. But the bombing of British aviation in August 1944 almost completely destroyed the historic building of the atoll. Only the Cathedral managed to survive partially. In the postwar period, the ruins of the city were dismantled into bricks, which were sent by barges to revive Leningrad.
In the early 1970s, an overpass bridge was laid across the atoll, which became one of the main transport arteries of the whole of Kaliningrad. Trying to improve the territory adjacent to the bridge, a sculpture park was laid on the island and the arboretum was destroyed. The cathedral was reconstructed only in 1998. This object has become a business card and the most important attraction of the village. It is near the walls of this church that the most popular resident of Koenigsberg, the outstanding philosopher and thinker Emanuel Kant, is buried .
Outstanding attraction
It is believed that the cathedral on the island of Kant (Kaliningrad) began to be built in 1333. After all, this date is engraved on the weather vane of the North Tower. The local bishop was allowed by the Teutonic Order to build a new cathedral on the Kneiphof island when it became clear that the old Lutheran church was no longer able to accommodate all parishioners. The construction of the cathedral lasted for 80 years. It was originally planned that a fortified cathedral would be built, but after 5 years after the start of construction work, the plans changed, some changes were made to the project and then the cathedral began to be built as an exclusively religious building.
Inside the cathedral
If you are on the island of Kant, the cathedral is a must see. Today, however, it does not function, and services are carried out only in the evangelical and Orthodox chapels, which are located inside the facility. The rest of the Cathedral is equipped with a concert hall and a museum. A gigantic concert hall is located on the ground floor. It has one of the largest organs in Europe. In the old days, the storyteller Hoffmann played music on it.
Climbing the spiral staircase, you can see the unique museum exhibition, which is dedicated to Emmanuel Kant.
Sculpture Park - another attraction of the island
Kant Island (Kaliningrad) is famous for its unusually beautiful sculpture park. It is located in the western part of the atoll and is a kind of open-air museum. There is a landmark since 1984. The park’s collection contains approximately 30 sculptures, among which there are pedestals for cultural figures - composers, writers and poets, united by the theme “Man and the World”.
Interest in the park is also caused by plants growing here. This is almost 1030 different types of shrubs and trees.