The resort village of Yantarny was called Palmnicken in East Prussian times. Here is the world`s largest Deposit, where the Sunstone amber is extracted. In addition, it is the only beach in Russia that has been awarded a Blue flag.
The village of Palmnicken was founded in 1654. Residents were engaged in fishing and catching in the sea of amber. There was so much of it that amber was used as fuel. In 1893, Stantien&Becker company founded an industrial amber mining plant in Palmnicken. Development was carried out in the Anna and Henrietta mines, as well as in the Walter quarry.
A very wide Beach of Yantarny village (in some places its width exceeds 100 meters) stretches for more than a kilometer in the Central zone of the village of Yantarny. The sand is very fine and has a beautiful white color. There are no dunes like on the Curonian spit, but the beach is better here. This white sand is saturated with white pulp from an Amber quarry. North beach with white sand is located on the site of the former mine "Anna". In summer, the beaches of Yantarny host major competitions in beach volleyball and beach soccer, including the qualifying rounds of the Russian Championships. Along the beach there is a Promenade where vacationers can walk.
The place flooded amber`s career in the Northern area of the village of Amber was formed Sinyavinskoe lake. Here is the same pure white sand as on the sea, but the water is warmer, and at the same time, it is very transparent. The depth of the lake in some places reaches 28 meters, and the visibility is about 15 meters. This gives excellent opportunities for training divers.
The unique attraction of the village of Yantarny, of course, is the Amber quarry and the Amber factory. Industrial amber mining has been carried out here for two centuries. World amber production ranges from 500 to 800 tons per year. At the same time, the Amber plant in the Kaliningrad region produces about 300-400 tons per year on average.
This plant accounts for more than 60% of the world`s amber production. In Russia, there are two more deposits of amber in the Khatanga depression (a hard-to-reach place on the Taimyr) and in the Far East. There is no commercial extraction of amber. According to experts estimation, about 90% of the world`s amber reserves are concentrated in the Kaliningrad region, which is more than 100 thousand tons.
In the village of Yantarny there are not many hotels, if compared with Svetlogorsk. Therefore, the rest here is more intimate. The village has interesting sights: the Amber castle, the Amber Chamber Museum, the Becker Park, and the Kazan Church.
