The house of the caretaker of the High Bridge is a monument of history and architecture in Kaliningrad, included in the lists of attractions of the city.
Nevertheless, the house is little known among the guests of the city.
The High Bridge caretaker's house was built during the time of Konigsberg (now the city of Kaliningrad) in 1899 on the river bank near the High Bridge. Today there is a postcard museum in the building.
Originally, the High Bridge (Hohebrücke) was built in 1520 and served as a connection between the districts of Lomze and Forstadt. In 1882, the bridge was rebuilt. A caretaker's house was erected next to the moth, which had a small size.
In 1938, by that time the "old" High Bridge was dismantled and a new bridge was erected, located near the former bridge, just upstream of the Pregel River. It is this bridge that has survived to the present time. The high bridge has a movable middle part for the passage of masted vessels. The pillars of the old destroyed bridge have survived to this day, and are located opposite the caretaker's house.
The bridge was named "High" not because of its size (height), but because it was located upstream of the river, relative to all other bridges.
The building of the caretaker of the High Bridge is made of red brick in the Neo-Gothic style, has an observation tower. It was renovated in 2000.
Today, the museum of postcards is located on the walls of the former house of the bridge caretaker. The museum space, located on two floors of the building, presents a collection of postcards from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. On the stands with postcards you can see the historical streets of Konigsberg-Kaliningrad.
There is also a cultural space in the building, you can drink coffee and buy marzipan. Admission is free. Opening hours are from 10:00 to 21:00.
There are plans to launch a post-crossing in the House. This is when you can fill out a postcard, drop it into the mailbox right at the museum, and your message will go to the address you specified.
So, you can admire the attraction from the inside, while you can see and climb the spiral staircase.
The High Bridge Caretaker's House is located on the bank of the Pregolya River, near the High Bridge, at 4 Bagration Street; in the center of Kaliningrad, near the ethnographic complex "Fish Village" and Kant Island with The cathedral.
Coordinates of the house: 54°41'56" (54.699086) S.sh., 20°31'1" (20.517145) V.D.
The house of the caretaker of the High Bridge is also popularly known as the "house of Baron Munchausen". Munchausen (Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Baron von Munchausen, 1720-1797) is a real historical figure from the aristocratic Lower Saxon family of Munchausen and the prototype of a literary hero who traveled from Bodenwerder (a city in Germany) to St. Petersburg, where he went to serve in the Russian army, and, among other things, visited Konigsberg.
One version of the legend says that Munchausen, when visiting Konigsberg and walking around the city, got so carried away that he did not notice how he came to the High Bridge. He was tired and hungry, saw a tavern nearby and went into it, but had too much alcohol and realized that he could not go back and needed to spend the night somewhere. The caretaker of the High Bridge let him into a small monastery with a howl for the night. The bed in the house was small, and the baron had no choice but to stretch his legs straight out of the window located above the river. And he went to bed in his boots. While sleeping, one boot flew off his foot and ended up right in the waters of the river.
Another legend says that on his way to serve in Russia, Munchausen was passing through Konigsberg and in the city, his orderly Silantiy Sivukha, to whom the baron gave his boots, fell drunk from a bridge into the river. The orderly was rescued, and the boots were lost in the waters of the river.
That's how, according to the versions of "legends...", Munchausen left his boot in Konigberg!
As a sign of this event, as a symbol of the baron's stay in the city, in 2011, initially on the embankment of the Fishing Village, a sculpture was installed - a large forged boot of Baron Munchausen and his sword.
Currently, the boots with the sword are located on the territory of the Friedrichburg Gate (formerly the Friedrichsburg Fortress). So it's still calmer that they will remain intact, since the territory of the gate on which the monument is located is guarded, unlike the embankment of the Fishing Village. And the Russian tsar Peter I himself visited Konigsberg and the fortress.
Anyone can try on a boot - and suddenly the size is yours! The museum - historical and cultural center "Ship Resurrection" is now located in the remains of the Friedrichsburg fortress and on the adjacent territory.
In the central park of Kaliningrad is a monument to Baron Munchausen, donated to Kaliningrad by the German Bodenwerder (Munchausen's hometown), and installed on June 18, 2005.
The composition is a vertical steel plate in which the silhouette of Munchausen flying on the core is carved. The inscription "Konigsberg" is stamped on the pedestal of the monument on one side, and "Kaliningrad" on the other.
