KÖNIGSBERG (in Polish Krolewiec) t chief town of α government district in the province of East Prussia, and since 1843 a fortress of tho first rank, is situated on the Pregel, 4⅜ miles from its mouth in the Frische Haff, 25 miles from the sea-coast, and 397 miles north-east of Berlin, in 54° 43' N. lat. and 20° 30' E. long. It consists of three formerly independent parts—the Altstadt (old town) to the west, Lobenicht to the east, and the island Kneiphof, together with numerous suburbs, embraced in α circuit of 9⅛ miles. The Pregel, spanned by many bridges, flows through the town in two branches, which unite below the Green Bridge. Its greatest.breadth within the town is from 80 to 90 yards. It is frozen from November to March. Although an old town, Königsberg does not retain many marks of antiquity. The Altstadt has long and narrow streets, but the Kneiphof quarter is roomier. Of the seven market-places only that in the Altstadt retains something of its former appearance. Among the more interesting buildings are the schloss, a long rectangle begun in 1255 and added to later, with a Gothic tower 277 feet high, and the chapel (built 1592) in which Frederick I. placed the Prussian crown on his own head in 1701; and the cathedral, begun in 1322, restored in 1856, a Gothic building with a tower 164 feet high. Behind the schloss is the parade-ground, with the statue of Frederick William III. by Kiss. To the east is the Schlossteich, a long narrow ornamental lake covering 12 acres, with beautifully laid out tree-shaded banks. The north-west side of the parade-ground is occupied by the new university buildings, completed in 1873; along with the new exchange on the south side of the Pregel, they are the finest architectural feature of the town. The university was ...founded iu 1544 by Albert L, duke of Prussia; it possesses a library of 200,000 volumes. Among its famous professors have been Kant (born iu Königsberg in 1724), to whom a monument was erected in 1864, Herder, Herbart, Bessel, Voigt, K. E. von Baer, F. Neumann, and others. In the summer session of 1880 it had a teaching staff of 88; in the winter session 1880-81 its students numbered 808. Königsberg has also four gymnasia, two commercial schools of the first rank, an academy of painting with a public picture gallery, and a school of music, besides other educational establishments. The hospitals and benevolent institutions are numerous. The protected position of its harbour has made Königsberg one of the important trading cities of Germany. Ships of more than 1500 tons have to discharge cargo at Pillau, at the entrance to the Haff, connected with Königsberg by rail; and the grain trade with the interior is carried on by barges. The chief imports and exports of Königsberg are grain, spirits, colonial wares (especially tea), petroleum, coal, iron, herrings, flax, hemp, and wood. The exports by sea for the third quarter of 1881 amounted to 46,508 tons, and the imports from Russia alone to 42,479 tons The number of ships that entered Königsberg and Pillau in 1879 was 1653 (278,000 tons); the number that cleared was 1656 (299,000 tons). The corresponding figures for 1880 were not so large. The manufactures of Königsberg are not very important. They include iron, machinery, beer, spirits, sail-cloth, cloth, oil, flour, leather, and its specialty “marchpane.” There is also yarn-spinning, cloth-printing, dyeing, tanning, and tobacco manufacture. The population, in 1858 only 83,000, was 140,896 in 1880.
The Altstadt of Königsberg grew up around the castle built in 1255 by the Teutonic Order, to restrain the neighbouring heathens. Its first site was near the fishing village of Steindamm, but after its destruction by the Prussians in 1263 it was rebuilt in its present position. By 1327 all three parts, which were only united in 1724 by Frederick William I., had acquired city rights. In 1340 Königsberg entered the Hanseatic League; and in 1361 it was in direct alliance with England. From 1457 it was the residence of the grand master of the Teutonic Order, and from 1525 till 1618 of the dukes of Prussia. The trade of Königsberg was much hindered by the constant shifting and silting up of the channels leading to its harbour; and the great northern wars did it immense harm. By the end of the 17th century it had almost recovered; and during the 19th century the opening of the railway system in East Prussia and Russia gave its commerce a new departure, making it the principal outlet for the Russian staples—grain, seeds, flax, and hemp. It has now regular steam communication with Memel, Stettin, Kiel, Amsterdam, and Hull. The local shipping is unimportant.
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