How the Teutonic Order was organized
How the city of Königsberg came into being
Destroyed during the assault of 1945; its ruins were cleared away in the post-war years
Damaged during the fighting within the Pillau fortress in 1945. The ruins were cleared away
The gable was slightly damaged during the fighting in 1945. After the war the church was used as a warehouse
Badly damaged during the Second World War, which later led to its demolition
Badly damaged during the Second World War; all that remains of it is the tower, without its spire
Partly destroyed after WWII. In the 1960s–70s it was dismantled for bricks. Its railings went to make a school fence
It survived the Second World War intact; in the 1970s it housed one of the workshops of the Raduga factory
It came through the Second World War undamaged, but in the winter of 1950–51 it was set on fire by teenagers
It was intact after 1945. In the post-war years it was stripped for firewood and bricks, and what remained was demolished in the 1960s
Popelken church came through the Second World War unscathed and in the post-war years was used as a warehouse and grain dryer
After the Second World War Schakuhnen church was intact; the collective farmers used it to store hay
It came through the Second World War unscathed, but was later blown up and dismantled by the military for building material
It came through the Second World War unscathed and was used as a grain store until 1978–79
The war passed it by, but afterwards it was no longer needed and was dismantled for bricks. Only the tower survived
Built in the late 1930s. After the war it was a military depot. Today the building houses an Orthodox church
Built in the first quarter of the 20th century. After the war it was put to other uses
Of the handsome church built at the beginning of the 20th century, not one stone was left standing on another
One of the few wooden churches in East Prussia
Architecturally striking and famous for its burial monuments. A ruin, yet still standing and waiting
It was built in the last quarter of the 19th century. At the end of the 20th it was used as a storehouse
The Second World War passed Schillehnen by. Until the 1970s the church served as a club, then as a storehouse. It was demolished in 1975
An imposing building of the 1840s. In the first half of the 20th century the village was even renamed after it
Having survived the Second World War and served as a storehouse after it, the church is once again used for its original purpose
Neither the church nor the village of Willuhnen has been on the map for a long time
A church has been known on this site since the 16th century. Rebuilt several times. In ruins since the Second World War
The church, which celebrated its 300th anniversary in 1886, was used as a storehouse after the Second World War
It was built for settlers from Salzburg; after the Second World War it was used as a House of Culture
In the 20th century it sank into oblivion together with the village
Little remains of the large and beautiful church built at the beginning of the 20th century
In the 20th century the village and its church vanished from the maps
All the buildings of the village, the church included, were taken apart for bricks in the 1970s
Until 1889 the place of worship in Eydtkuhnen was the town's famous railway station. And that is no joke
This church had the misfortune of finding itself in the line of fire during both world wars that swept across Prussia
The village had a Protestant church and a Catholic church. The first was demolished after the war; the second still stands
The history remains, but the church is long gone. Its ruins were demolished in the early 1990s
Enzuhnen – Rodebach – Chkalovo: the 20th century and the village's radical renamings wore the local church down
Of one of the most beautiful churches of East Prussia only a fragment of wall and the pastor's house remain
The parish was founded in 1692 by the future first Prussian king, at that time still Elector Friedrich III
The church was destroyed in the First World War but then rebuilt. The Second World War passed it by.
The first church built on the orders of Friedrich I, who ascended the Prussian throne in 1701.
In the 2010s the local community nurtured the idea of setting up a First World War museum in it
Having come through the Second World War unscathed, it was used as a storehouse in the post-war years until it burned down in 1995
After the Second World War it housed a House of Culture and a cinema until it burned down in 1995
A majestic brick building in the Gothic Revival style
One of the most unusual churches in the region, part of the Kristijonas Donelaitis Museum
Surprised by the shape of the dome on the church tower in Novokolkhoznoye? In German times it looked almost the same
The elegant wooden chapel at the Kaiser's hunting lodge was dismantled after the Second World War
During the Second World War Pillkallen church was destroyed too. The ruins were demolished after the war
In 1945 Ragnit church was undamaged, but in the 1950s it began to be converted into a furniture shop and a hostel
Built in the second half of the 19th century on the high northern bank of the Šešupė, it is used for its original purpose and adorns the town
The first was demolished in the 1950s; the second stands perfectly intact
It has survived to this day. It stands as if in a vacuum: the whole village around it was taken apart for bricks
Undamaged in the Second World War, it stood unused and gradually fell into ruin in the post-war years
The large one is Protestant, the miniature Gothic one is Lutheran
A landmark in the north-eastern part of the Kaliningrad Region. Restoration is under way, but slowly
After the war the church, like all of Heinrichswalde, was in excellent condition. A warehouse was set up in the building
A building untypical of Prussia. A successful example of a blend of the Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Gothic styles
After the Second World War it was intact and was used as a warehouse until 1976–77, then it was demolished
Until the early 2000s it served as a collective-farm canteen. After a fire in 2010 it was completely demolished
The church had a half-timbered tower with two bells and an eagle as its weathervane
The bell tower stood separately. In the mid-18th century the organ was bought from the Tragheim Church in Königsberg
Perhaps the church's fate was an unhappy one because a pagan "Field of the Dead" was chosen as its building site
The local parish took shape in the late 1840s, but it acquired its own church only in 1860
Even a not particularly expressive building of the early 17th century would deserve attention, but it has not survived
It was built at the end of the 17th century. The bell in its tower first rang only a hundred years later, in 1797
A modest plastered brick building without a tower, erected in the early 19th century on a fieldstone foundation
An octagonal plastered brick building with a wooden tower and a gallery on the roof. Demolished in the 1950s
It was built around 1569 on the orders of Duke Albrecht, who died a year before it opened
If a beautiful church stood in Olkhovatka, travellers heading for Lake Vištytis would not just drive straight through
The congregation was founded by settlers from France, Switzerland, Nassau and the Palatinate. Before the church was built, they worshipped in a brewe…
The sad story of an abandoned and crumbling village church
It was built in 1930, was not damaged during the Second World War and afterwards served as a club on the grounds of a military unit
A polygonal building with a portal facing Schillerstrasse. Its pyramidal roof bore a turret
It was built in 1720 on the orders of Frederick William I. In 1810–11 it was skilfully raised and enlarged
The Salzburgers settled here in 1732. In 1839 the foundation stone was laid. On 15 October 1840 the church was consecrated
The church of the community of the settlement that grew up around the Sprindt estate, north of Insterburg
The church had a massive tower with a beautiful spire, which collapsed in 1950 and broke through the roof of the nave
A neighbour of the castle of the same name, north of Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk). It has not survived
After the Second World War this 18th-century church was, in keeping with local "tradition", used as a warehouse
When there are many churches and nobody needs them, who will notice one more or one less? This one was wrecked in the 1960s
In the post-war years the building was divided inside into two floors and converted into a village house of culture
It would have fitted perfectly into the ensemble of the Immanuel Kant Museum (the Pastor's House) in present-day Veselovka
Built by the Frenchman Pierre de la Cave, who in the 17th century rose to be commandant and governor of Pillau
Consecrated in December 1892. Since July 1996 it has served as the Orthodox Church of St John of Kronstadt
In the first quarter of the 21st century it was a sorry sight. All hope rests with the "Guardians of the Ruins"
After the war it was used as a club with a dance floor and as a gymnasium. In 1989 it was handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church
The active Church of St Bruno was built to a design by Friedrich Heitmann at the very beginning of the 20th century
One of the town's architectural symbols, which graced it for more than 400 years. It was demolished in 1975.
It was named in memory of Luther's companion-in-arms, who led the Protestant movement after Luther's death
Having lost its bell tower after the Second World War, it continues tirelessly to serve the people
It was built of fieldstone. The half-timbered bell tower stood separately
High-class eclecticism: a Romanesque-style building crowned by a tower with a Gothic spire
An exact copy of St George's Church in the town of Dessau
Not particularly expressive, but large. Today it is a majestic ruin in the spirit of German Romanticism
The sad story of an old settlement whose fate its church shared
Having survived the war and held out until the mid-1990s, the church began to fall into ruin. In 2010 it was handed over to the Russian Orthodox Chur…
One of the hardest-to-reach monuments of medieval architecture in the region
A brick-and-fieldstone building from the time of the Teutonic Order. The walls and the tower have partly survived
Built in 1806–1808 of fieldstone and brick. It survived the war and was then used as a warehouse
After the war the village was split in two by the border. The church ended up on the Soviet side. In 1974 it was demolished
The upper part of its tower was handsomely articulated by slender blind windows. Lost in the 1970s
A tall tower with five rows of blind windows and gables to the east and west, at a bend in the road to Zheleznodorozhny
A brick building without a chancel, with a vaulted sacristy to the north and a tower to the west
When it was rebuilt in the 19th century, masonry from the time of the Teutonic Order was partly reused
All that remains from the time of the Teutonic Order is the tower with a fine pointed portal, the plinth and part of the east wall
Since 2000 the church has been used as a gym by the Mozyr school across the road
Founded in the second half of the 14th century, it belonged to a convent of Augustinian nuns established in 1402
One of the most expressive and picturesque ruins in the region
It is hard to count on a happy, peaceful life when you are surrounded by a military training ground
Thanks to the efforts of local enthusiasts, the crumbling church has become a notable cultural centre
After the Second World War the old church stood abandoned for a long time and fell into complete decay
Of the village, whose patron was the King of Prussia, and of its church not one stone was left standing on another
Its pulpit was made in 1690 by the famous Baroque woodcarver and sculptor Christian Klodssey
A contemporary of Ragnit Castle, built towards the end of the Order era. Damaged in 1945, it gradually fell into ruin
A neighbour of Friedrichstein. An annex to it held the richly decorated sarcophagus of the Dönhoff family
A very beautiful church built on the bank of the Pregel in the days of the Order (14th century), now completely lost
War rolled like a steamroller through the centre of the ancient town, but by the will of the Almighty the magnificent church survived
In the second half of the 20th century this village church from the Order era served as a warehouse, and was then abandoned
Lovis Corinth, a native of Tapiau, presented the church in 1910 with the altar triptych "Golgotha" that he had painted
A wood-clad brick building, untypical of East Prussia, met, alas, a typical fate
The war passed it by. It stood intact until 1951. It was used as a warehouse and a net-making workshop
Even outstanding architectural merits counted for nothing in the post-war years
In 1948, when the first settlers arrived here, everything was intact, even the organ was in working order
The best-known church along the Kaliningrad – Polessk road is guarded by a headless German soldier
Ännchen von Tharau, celebrated by Simon Dach, lived in the pastor's house of this church
An architect from Königsberg who went on to become famous left his mark in the Elchniederung with the design of this modest church
Inspired by the Roman basilica of San Clemente in Rome. Stüler realised a similar design in Potsdam
After the Second World War the ancient Christian church stood in ruins for almost forty years
Of the town that once stood where the village of Slavskoye is now, not even the street grid has survived
Damaged in 1945, the massive medieval church stood for more than 30 years after the war before it was demolished
The oldest church in the region
The charming little town has sunk into oblivion, and the ruins of its church are a sorry sight
A church that witnessed an epoch-making battle between the Russian and French armies, now disfigured and consigned to oblivion
The pastor of this church, built on a military training ground in the mid-1930s, was called up into the army in 1941
The church is recalled by trees planted in a circle and the base of the tower
From roughly the end of the 14th century the chief ornament of this church was its Gothic east gable
The sacristy of this medieval church held many carved figures of saints dating from the very beginning of the 18th century
After the war this characteristic brick building on a high boulder plinth found itself in the border no-man's-land
Neither the beautiful medieval tower nor the red granite holy-water stoup could save it
Not the most striking church in the region, with a rather ordinary fate: it was either blown up or taken apart
In the first half of the 1980s it was blown up and taken apart for its bricks
There is a certain logic in the fact that the unremarkable main body has sunk into oblivion while the unusual tower has stood firm
The church's history is linked with the name of Martin Luther: his daughter was married to the local pastor and is buried here
One of the most interesting churches in the southern part of the region — and not only because of its architectural merits
The ruins of the church that stood next to the legendary castle are memorable for a fragment of the west wall with a Gothic portal
Over its history it caught fire more than once. The last time it burned for five whole days, after which the ruins were taken apart
The church and the village around it were taken apart for building materials almost immediately after the Second World War
Traces of the pre-war past of these places survive only on paper
Besides the main Lutheran church, the resort town had a Catholic and a Baptist chapel
It was in the eastern part of the south wing, which ran parallel to the railway along the shore of the lagoon
The forest that grew up around it on the dune has made this church one of the most beautiful in Samland
A famous place, a beautiful church, but what is left of it you could hardly find even if you searched high and low
Like almost everything in Palmnicken, the church was built with money from the Stantien & Becker company
A rebuilt wing of the local castle.
At the beginning of the 20th century the local half-timbered church gave way to a brick one
Later than many others, but in 2026 this church too was finally remembered
Its entrance was adorned with sculptures by the celebrated sculptor Rudolf Siemering
The length of its nave was striking. The impression was heightened by the height of the walls and the tall, narrow windows
For a long time it was the parish church of the village of Rauschen (Svetlogorsk). Even its ruins look impressive
Until 1989 it was used as a net-making workshop, and by May 1990 it had reopened to believers
After the war it was intact. It was used for utility purposes. It stood abandoned. It is now being repaired
A famous church on the road to Yantarny, with three stork nests on its roof
After the First World War, a mosaic panel commemorating the fallen appeared on the church wall and made it special
It survived the war, but soon afterwards it somehow got in the way of some atheist in power and was demolished in 1958
Where this church once stood in the middle of the village of the same name, the waves of the lagoon now lap
Having survived the war without losses, it fell into decay in peacetime
One of the many East Prussian churches of which not one stone was left standing upon another
A "contemporary" of Königsberg Cathedral
The neo-Gothic tower that appeared in the early 1860s did nothing to embellish it
Having survived the Second World War, the building, except for the tower, dematerialised in peacetime
The last decade of the 20th century proved fatal for the church, when it suffered its greatest losses
On the roof stood a small turret, and above the modest altar a simple cross. The fiery whirlwind of war swept it all away
In the second half of the 2020s, what is left of it is regularly tidied up by volunteers of the Ruin Keepers movement
It is close to Kaliningrad, it has a landmark castle (also falling to ruin), two roads lead here, and still it is an abandoned site
The outstanding Prussian statesman Theodor von Schön was buried in the churchyard
Its surviving tower greets everyone heading for the regional capital from the south at the bridge over the Prokhladnaya (Frisching) River
The neighbour of the castle of the same name, recreated in Guryevsk
A very old and yet beautifully preserved church on the northern bank of the Pregel
It was built for holidaymakers in the early 20th century. Today it houses the House of Culture of the village of Primorye
Built from a wing of the castle that for more than a hundred years was the centre of the amber trade in Samland
After the Second World War Friedland Church fell to the victors intact, but in 1948 it was looted in a single night
It did not survive the region's post-war revival to a new life
In 2014, a striking clock paid for by the community of Allenburg's former residents was installed on the church tower
It stands humbly some three hundred metres north of the little town's main square
The majestic building rising above the former town continues to attract attention
The Second World War spared Gerdauen Church, and until 1961 it was in almost perfect condition
A neighbour of the House of Technology and the Wrangel Tower, it stood between them on the bank of the former fortress moat
Built in the early 20th century on Königstraße, not far from the East Prussian Fire Insurance Society
Like many other churches in the region, it survived the war only to find itself unwanted, and was gradually destroyed
Because of the First World War, the construction of this church dragged on for almost ten years
A cosy city church with three hundred years of history that could not withstand the onslaught of the turbulent 20th century
The church's modest exterior was offset by its original interior, especially the vaulted ceiling of the nave
The last church in Kaliningrad to be demolished by decision of the Party leadership
The wooden altar and pulpit were joined by an old chest bearing a seated Madonna of the 14th century
A neighbour of the observatory and the botanical garden. For a long time its spire was the tallest in the city
In the 1990s the church was handed over to the Russian Orthodox Church and after renovation became the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theoto…
The church held the armour of the legendary Grand Marshal of the Order and Komtur of Königsberg, Henning Schindekopf
The modest church of a small settlement that became part of Königsberg in 1939. It burned down and was demolished in 1968
The church's history divides into before and after the lightning strike of 1845, which caused a devastating fire
In Russian and other languages the name of the church is rendered as the Old Rossgarten Church
In 1531 the local Benedictine convent was turned into a hospital by Duke Albrecht
The only church built on Lomse Island before the Second World War
The story of the Vagonka rock club began in 1977, when the Ritm disco opened in the church building
The Yevgeny Svetlanov Kaliningrad Philharmonic, designed by Friedrich Heitmann
It has served both as a church and as a magnetic and ionospheric observatory
The beautiful church on the border of Hufen and Amalienau is surrounded by a run-down square and park
An envoy of the Holy See in Lutheran Königsberg
With a French Square and a French Street in the city, the appearance of a French church was a foregone conclusion
The Königsberg district with the most dubious reputation was especially in need of a church
It bore the name of the emperor who, under the influence of his English wife, planned to reform Prussia along British lines
The city's principal architectural monument
Until the early 20th century its organ, built by the great Casparini, was considered one of the finest in East Prussia
In the 1930s it was renamed the Duke Albrecht Memorial Church. Its tower rose above the district until the 1960s
The cradle of the Prussian monarchy. There was and is no more important place in the history of the German state
They built and built... and never finished it
The church of the local weavers, brewers and newspapermen, whose home ground was the Löbenicht
What made it special was the number of columns per square metre of the nave
The silhouette of the Königsberg Castle tower, renewed in the second half of the 19th century, was a homage to the legendary church
The oldest church in central Königsberg
The oldest church in the regional capital
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