(Source: https://yandex.ru/collections/card)

The Friedland Gate built in 1862; it was the last link in the defensive ring of Koenigsberg. They covered the road to Friedland, the modern Pravdinsk.

Casemates, ramparts, loopholes and embrasures, a lifting bridge: the gate was thoroughly strengthened. These miracles of fortification were hopelessly outdated already by the beginning of XX century. The military transferred the structure to the city and started to build a new system of forts. Soon the ring of old fortifications turned out to be too small for Koenigsberg. The city authorities began to disassemble the fortifications and fill in the moats with earth.
The new road to Friedland went along the modern Dzerzhinskogo Street, away from the Friedland Gate that became the main entrance of the “Yuzhny” park. After the war the Friedland Gate was used as a vegetable warehouse. The situation changed in the 1980-s, when numerous ponds in the “Yuzhny” park were cleaned. During these works many old things were lifted from the bottom of these ponds, which became the basis for the museum’s collection.

Then the director of the “Yuzhny” park Aleksandr Novik became the founder, visionary and the first guide of the “Friedland Gate” museum. The “Friedland Gate” was based on his enthusiasm, until it received the official status of the municipal museum of local history in 2002.

The Friedland Gate is the only one of the seven surviving city gates of Koenigsberg and the youngest of all these gates. The gate was constructed in the second half of XIX century. The architect is unknown, the style is neo-Gothic, which unusual for the city.

The gate was billed as a defensive structure, but never defended anything: it became outdated already at the beginning of XX century. The facade of the gate was decorated with the two statues: the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order Siegfried von Feuchtwangen and the great commander Friedrich von Zollern, standard bearer of the Battle of Grunwald.
A few years after Konigsberg became Kaliningrad, the Master lost his head, and von Zollern was “lost”, as it is usually said.

Renovators from St. Petersburg restored both knights with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Germany: the Master was restored in 2005, the Great Commander in 2008. There is a museum dedicated to the city life of Koenigsberg inside the gate opening.

The ceiling above and paving stones under your feet are authentic, dating back to the mid-XIX century. In addition to material exhibits, visitors are invited to take a virtual walk through Koenigsberg of the end of XIX - first half of XX century. A ticket to the museum costs 50 roubles, an individual excursion will cost 200 roubles. Benefits for special categories of citizens are applicable. The ticket office is open until 5:30 p.m. Address: 30 Dzerzhinskogo Street 30, Kaliningrad. Tel.: 8 (4012) 644-020.

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