Kant Island is located in the historical center of Kaliningrad. Konigsberg Castle, where the Alstadt was formed, was founded on the right bank of the Pregel River, however, the rectangular Kneiphof island also became its historical part.
Kant Island is named after the great German philosopher, whose grave is located near the altar of the Dome Cathedral. Before WWII, it was called Kneiphof Island (translated from German as "surrounded by water") and had a very dense urban development.
How Kant Island looked like before the 1940s is clearly visible in the preserved pre-war photographs. The island`s territory is 10 hectares. In the eastern part of the Kant island there is a catholic Dom Cathedral of Koenigsberg, which has become a symbol of the city. It is a nice example of Romanesque architecture.
The buildings of the University of Koenigsberg were located close to the cathedral. There was also the Kneiphof Town Hall, which was the main one in Konigsberg. A total of 304 houses were located on 28 streets on Kant Island. The population of the island reached 20 thousand people. The island was connected by 5 bridges to other areas of the city. One of them has survived to this day.
Kant Island during World War II
In 1944, British aircraft began bombing Konigsberg using napalm. As a result, the historical center of the city completely burned out. The skeletons of the Dome Cathedral and the Konigsberg Castle were preserved, thanks to the powerful walls, but the residential buildings were significantly damaged by fires. The storming of Konigsberg by Soviet troops took place in April 1945.
Almost immediately, the Soviet government decided to turn Konigsberg, destroyed by British aviation, into a "quarry". At that time it was still unknown that the city would be transferred to Russia according to the results of the Potsdam Conference in August 1945, so all the ruins of houses were dismantled for stones and other building materials. They were loaded onto barges and sent to St. Petersburg to restore houses damaged during the blockade of the city by German troops.
Since the construction materials were loaded onto barges, first of all, all the houses of Alstadt and the Kant Islands were dismantled. The castle of Konigsberg was also dismantled, only the ruins of the Dom cathedral remained. Contemporaries believed that the cathedral survived thanks to the Kant`s Tomb, which is attached to his altar. The leader of the Soviet revolution, Vladimir Lenin, criticized Kant in his works, but in general he was very respectful of his philosophy. Thus, the Soviet troops, just in case, did not touch his Tomb, and with it the entire cathedral.
These events made it possible to quickly restore St. Petersburg, but, alas, almost completely destroyed the historical center of Konigsberg. Only a few buildings have been preserved here, for example, the Stock Exchange, which now houses the Museum of Fine Arts or the Stadthalle Concert Hall, which houses the exposition of the Museum of Local Lore.
Kant Island after the war
After all the building materials were removed from Kant Island, it was turned into a park. Now it houses the only building of the Dom Cathedral. In 1984, sculptural compositions united by the idea of "Man and the World" began to be installed in the Kant Island Park.
There are monuments to Peter I, Gorky, Blok, busts of Handel, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Gagarin and other famous personalities. There are also many sculptures and monuments dedicated to ordinary people and animals. Some sculptures are made in ancient Greek and Oriental style. Several dozen monuments and sculptures have been installed on the Kant island.
Several monuments dedicated to historical figures have been erected near the cathedral. A monument to Duke Albrecht, the founder of the Albertine University of Konigsberg, was erected near Tomb of Kant in 2005. There is a memorial stone dedicated to Julius Rupp nearby.
