Mira Avenue and Leninsky Avenue are one of the main, as well as the most visited and interesting streets of the city center of Kaliningrad.
Both streets are carriageways, with pedestrian sidewalks on both sides.
Along the avenues there are some of the most significant historical buildings of the city, there are several squares where you can relax, a park, a zoo, a stadium, theaters, places to relax, fountains, sculptures and monuments, as well as cafes, restaurants and shops.
Prospect Mira, Kaliningrad
The current Mira Avenue used to be called Hammerveg Street, later became known as Stalingrad Avenue and since 1998 has received its modern name.
Mira Avenue is one of the longest streets and city thoroughfares in Kaliningrad. Its length is about 5 kilometers. It stretches from Victory Square to the intersection with Khimicheskaya Street.
The most interesting and, accordingly, the most visited part of Mira Avenue runs from the historical district of Amalienau (intersection with Engels and Karl Marx Streets) and to the central square of the city - Victory Square. The length of this section of the avenue is about 2.5 kilometers.
At the address: Prospekt Mira, 87 is locatedKaliningrad Regional Musical Theater, whose history dates back to 1992. Theater website: muzteatr.
Photo of Mira Avenue in the Amalienau district - a former prestigious suburban quarter (district) Konigsberg (now the city of Kaliningrad). Amalienau is famous for its historic villas and a small pond "Float". More about Amalienau...
Then Mira Avenue stretches along the historic district of Hufen (Hufen). The Central Park of Culture and Recreation is notable here, the main entrance of which faces Mira Avenue.
Many plants and trees that were planted in the pre-war years have been preserved in the park.
In the park: alleys for walks, places to relax, fountains, a children's area with attractions, kiosks with snacks and food, the church of Queen Louise (now the regional puppet theater), sculptures and monuments. More about Central Park...
Photo of Mira Avenue in the historic district of Hufen. Part of the avenue is paved with paving stones.
Monument to fellow cosmonauts, installed in 1980. The work of the sculptor B.V. Edunov. The memorial sign is made of bronze, granite and concrete.
Initially, the monument was called "Conquerors of the near Universe".
Prospect Mira next. The Zarya cinema is located at 41/43 Mira Avenue.
On Mira Avenue is locatedKaliningrad Zoo, which is one of the largest and oldest zoos in Russia.
At the moment, the zoo occupies an area of 16.7 hectares, on which there are aviaries with animals, a bird house, a terrarium, an aquarium, an arboretum, sculptures and monuments, a playground, a square with a fountain, as well as recreation areas, gazebos, ponds, cafes and snack bars.
Entrance to the zoo from Mira Avenue, 26. Learn more about the Kaliningrad Zoo...
Opposite the zoo, at Prospekt Mira, 19, there is a 3-star hotel Moscow with free private parking, free Wi-Fi, a restaurant, a bar and family rooms. Link to the hotel
Near the hotel "Moscow" there is a green zone - square with places to relax and flower beds.
Further along Mira Avenue, the Baltika Stadium and the fountain near the main entrance to the stadium are notable.
Baltika Stadium is one of the oldest stadiums in Europe, which dates back to 1892.
Then Mira Avenue goes slightly to the north, making a small detour to Victory Square beyond which it meets Leninsky Prospekt. And if you follow straight, then Mira Avenue smoothly flows into Teatralnaya Street (the landmark is Dmitry Donskoy Street), which is also brought to Leninsky Prospekt.
At the intersection of Mira Avenue and Teatralnaya Street, there is a Power Engineers' square with places to relax and flower beds.
Notable in the Power Engineers' Square are: the monument to Friedrich Schiller, installed in 1910 at the City Opera House and moved to this square in 1936 (sculptor Stanislaus Gauler, bronze, granite); a musical fountain at the monument to Schiller and the historical building of the labor Exchange built in 1831.
In the courtyard of the Kaliningrad Regional Scientific Library, at the address: Mira Avenue, 9-11 (entrance from the Power Engineers' Square) there is a museum "House of the Whaler" - a museum showing the situation of a communal apartment in Kaliningrad of the Soviet period of 1960-1980. Learn more about all Kaliningrad museums...
At the address: Prospekt Mira, 4, there is a historical building - Kaliningrad Regional Drama Theater.
The theater opened its first season on November 6, 1947 with a performance based on the play by K. Simonov "The Guy from our City" directed by A.I. Kotlyarov.
The original building of the theater (Luisen-Theater) was built in Konigsberg in 1911-1912 by architect Otto Walter Kukuk. In 1923, the building was rebuilt by Dumont du Voitel - the portal with columns was removed and the theater was named "Comic Opera". In 1925, the theater was bought by the administration of Konigsberg, again subjecting it to reconstruction. It was opened in 1927 as the "New Drama Theater".
During the fighting in 1945, the building was seriously damaged and burned out. Then it was rebuilt using old load-bearing structures and with the addition of the main portal with six Corinthian columns.
Kaliningrad Drama Theater Website: dramteatr.
Drama theatre, between Prospekt Mira and street Grekova is a green area - the square at dramatic theater with a Seating area, flower beds, walking paths and historic buildings, including the building of the Supreme Directorate of post, built in 1914-1916 years and which currently houses the headquarters of the Baltic Fleet; and the buildings of the former land and the administrative court, which was built in 1914.
In the square near the drama theater, the sculpture "Fighting bison", created by the German animalist sculptor August Gaul in 1911 and installed in Konigsberg on Hufen Alley on November 12, 1912, is particularly noteworthy.
The sculptural composition is mounted on a pedestal about a meter high and represents two large male bison, cast in life-size bronze, locked in a fight. In front of the pedestal there is a rectangular water tank (pool, bowl), and from two holes in the pedestal, covered with stylized shells, small jets of water flow into the bowl. More about the square and the sculpture "Fighting bison"...
Victory Square, Kaliningrad
Victory Square in Kaliningrad is the central square of the city and the link between Mira Avenue and Leninsky Prospekt.
The square itself is very beautiful - it is the venue for many public holidays and events.
On the square: places to relax, several fountains, flowers and low trees with lush crowns, a Triumphal column and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Around the square there are administrative and commercial buildings, a special place among which is occupied by: the city administration building, the shopping and entertainment center "Europe", the shopping center "Clover City Center" and the shopping center "Kaliningrad Passage" with characteristic "Kaliningrad" architecture. More about Victory Square...
The Chapel of St. George the Victorious, located on the corner of Victory Square, between Mira Avenue and Guards Avenue.
Teatralnaya Street, Kaliningrad
Teatralnaya Street has a length of about 750 meters.
Along Teatralnaya Street, the historic building of the financial administration of East Prussia, which now houses the Government of the Kaliningrad Region, is noteworthy.
The building was erected on the Alta Pillauer Landstrasse in 1928 by architect Friedrich Lars.
The building is notable for the concave line of the facade and a large double-leaf entrance door made of pressed copper according to a sketch by Herman Brachert.
Building address: Dmitry Donskoy Street, 1.
In front of the side facade of the building of the financial administration of East Prussia, along Teatralnaya Street there is a square called the square near the Government House of the Kaliningrad region.
Since 2005, a memorial sign has been installed in the square in honor of the 750th anniversary of Kaliningrad, which is a milestone from the time of Catherine the Great, crowned with a double-headed eagle. The numbers "782" are stamped in the center of the column - the distance in versts between St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad. A commemorative plaque with the inscription: "St. Petersburg to Kaliningrad for the 750th anniversary" is reinforced on the base of the milestone.
Leninsky Prospekt, Kaliningrad
Leninsky Prospekt is another most significant and visited street in the center of Kaliningrad.
The length of Leninsky Prospekt is approximately 2.8 kilometers. It stretches from Victory Square to the intersection with Kalinin Square, which is near the Kaliningrad Yuzhny railway station. The houses are numbered starting from Victory Square.
The avenue received its name in 1963 as a result of the unification of Zhytomyr and Mayakovsky streets.
The most interesting part of Leninsky Prospekt stretches from Victory Square to the square with a singing fountain, located near the building of the former stock exchange. The length of this section of the avenue is about 1.8 kilometers.
At the beginning of Leninsky Prospekt there is a remarkable square with a memorial park "Motherland", which is officially called the monument "Mother Russia".
The monument was erected in Kaliningrad in 1974. The work of the sculptor B.V. Edunov.
The large monument in the form of a sculpture of a woman in a long dress and a fluttering shawl holding the coat of arms of the RSFSR in her left hand is mounted on a granite pedestal. On the monument there is a stone plaque with the inscription: "By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in 1946, the Kaliningrad region was formed as part of the RSFSR."
In the park there are also places to relax, flower beds and a fountain. And in the building of the Europe shopping center, located behind the square, there is a 3-star EUROPE Hotel and Apartments with a 24-hour front desk, free Wi-Fi and private parking. Link to the hotel
Further Leninsky Prospekt to the intersection with Shevchenko Street, which is near the Kaliningrad Plaza shopping center and the Kaliningrad Hotel, stands out with the facades of houses, previously unattractive 4-5-storey Khrushchev buildings that run along the avenue and whose facades were restored in the "Hanseatic style" before the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
In the place where Leninsky Prospekt meets Shevchenko Street, and where the Altstadt Church was located, now stands the famous 3-star Kaliningrad Hotel with 2 international restaurants and free parking. Link to the hotel
From the Kaliningrad Hotel, Leninsky Prospekt turns sharply to the right (to the south) and runs along the Central Square, where there are small remnants of the once majesticRoyal Castle (Konigsberg Castle) and the "House of Soviets" stands tall - the most famous Soviet "unfinished" in Kaliningrad, the construction of which began in 1970.
Photos of the ruins of the Royal Castle
Photo of the House of Soviets
Further Leninsky Prospekt passes throughThe trestle bridge, built in 1972 on the site of two old German bridges and which runs well above the level of the Pregolya River.
On the eastern side of the Trestle Bridge there are such famous sights as Kant Island with The cathedral and the ethnographic and trade and craft complex "Fish Village".
View from the bridge to the island of Kanta, the Cathedral and the Fish Village
And on the west side of the bridge, the Peter the Great Embankment originates and the Museum of the World Ocean is located. There are also: the 4-star Holiday Inn - Kaliningrad Hotel with a fitness center, a shared lounge and a bar; and the 3-star Ibis Kaliningrad Center Hotel with a bar, restaurant and free Wi-Fi.
Behind the Trestle Bridge is the building of the former Konigsberg Stock Exchange (Königsberger Börse), which now houses the Museum of Fine Arts. Address: 83 Leninsky Prospekt. More about the exchange and the museum...
Behind the building of the former stock exchange there is a small "square on Leninsky Prospekt", also known as the "square at the Stock Exchange", which attracts by the fact that a light-musical (singing) fountain functions in its center (in the warmer months).
Following further along Leninsky Prospekt, you can walk to the Southern Railway Station and Kalinin Square, the center of which is decorated with a monument to M.I. Kalinin, installed in 1959.
The work of sculptor B. Edunov and architect A. Gulyaev.
The sculpture of M.I. Kalinin is cast in bronze. It is installed on a pedestal of pink granite, on which the coat of arms of the USSR and reliefs of fifteen flags representing the Commonwealth of the Union republics are carved.
Photo of the Southern Railway Station
Near Kalinin Square there are such sights of the city as, The Brandenburg Gate, the Church of the Holy Family (now the E.F. Svetlanov Philharmonic), the quartermaster barracks building, the Yuzhny Park and the Friedland Gate, in the walls of which the museum of the same name is now located.
Photo of the Brandenburg Gate
Photo of the Holy Family Church
Photo of the Quartermaster barracks
Photo of the Yuzhny Park
Photo of the Friedland Gate
Photo of the museum in the Friedland Gate
All accommodation facilities in Kaliningrad (hotels, apartments, guest houses, etc.), including in the city center and more remotely from it, can be viewed and booked here
