Kaliningrad

Rossgarten Gate

General Visa information 
Kaliningrad is an enclave; it is a part of Russia that has no common border with the rest of the Federation of Russia. To travel there one needs a Russian visa. To travel there from Russia, one needs to fly or to obtain a double or multi entry visa. The latter type of visa is more difficult to obtain now, but the former is relatively easy.

For a double entry visa, either business or tourist, one does need to indicate both sets of entry and departure dates. A 30 day tourist visa can be used if the date of first entry to the date of last departure does not exceed 30 days, otherwise, it is better to obtain a 90 day business visa.

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Travel information 

• There are several flights per day from Moscow to Kaliningrad and there is at least one or two flights per day from St. Petersburg. Flight costs are subsidized now that travel through Lithuania requires visas for Russian citizens not residing in Kaliningrad. Cost is not much more than traveling by train, especially if you factor in the cost of a Belarussian transit visa.
• There are several trains to Kaliningrad from Moscow that pass through Belarus and Lithuania. There is also one train per day from St. Petersburg which passes through Lithuania. See Your Train -: CIS railway timetable
• There are trains from Poland, and there is a bus from Gdansk which costs about 28.0zl and leaves at 07:00 and 15:30. Gdansk, Transport.
• There are buses; two daily (NOT Sundays), the Polish one leaves at 7.00 from Gdansk and 16.30 from Kaliningrad, MUST reserve. Bus arrives in Kaliningrad at 13.00. from the big bus station just behind PKP (Polish train station.) The RUS bus does the reverse; it leaves Kaliningrad at 6.30, arrives in Gdansk 10.00, leaves from there 15.30, to arrive back 21.00. You canNOT reserve in Gdansk. First the returning RUS passengers are boarded, then any empty seats are sold by driver. This bus also makes a stop in Elblag.
• There is NO longer direct train from Gdansk, but a SLEEPER only comes from Berlin, gets shunted to another train at TCEW=just 30 mins south of Gdansk, where you should be able to board it. check the Polish train website PKP for further details.
• During summer there is boat service between Kaliningrad, and Frombork, Krynica Morska and Elblag, Poland. Zegluga Gdanska There is both a slowboat and RAKETA=fast boat, ONLY in summertime, from early May until mid October, (daily in High season, about 4/week at the season beginning and end).
  
  IF you book at least 4 days advance, then you can do daytrip by slowboat to Baltika (electrichka trains to Kaliningrad) for just 10 PLN or 2.50 euro and without visa. The former is a taxfree shopping tour.
• There is a ferry which operates between Gdynia and Kaliningrad. See Bialaflota.
• Door to Door service can be arranged for many European destinations: Privet. Recent reports did not indicate any sign of minivan service from Gdansk where there used to many. It is assumed that this and several other services have stopped, now that visa are needed on both sides and Poland is the EU outer border!
• At some point there was a ferry operating between Petersburg and Kaliningrad. It was operated by Baltic Lines and traveled from St.Petersburg to Kaliningrad to Sassnitz to Lubeck. It departed Petersburg on Wednesdays at 19:00 and arrived in Baltiisk (Kaliningrad) at 06:00 on Fridays. Of course, this information is from 2004 and thus needs to be verified. Unfortunately, no current information seems to be available. Contact information:
  Address: Morskoy Slavy Square,1
  199106 St. Petersburg, Russia
  
  Tel.: 7 (812) 322 1616
  Email: bl@baltics.ru
  Website: http://www.balticline.ru/
  
  Passenger booking:
  Tel.: +7 (812) 322 6001
  Fax.: +7 (812) 322 6005, +7 (812) 325 6611
• There was reportedly a ferry operating from Karlshamn (Sweden) to Klaipeda (Lithuania) to Baltiysk (Kaliningrad, Russia) which was operated by Lisco Baltic Service, but their website: http://www.lisco.lt/ does not appear to be active as of June 2006.

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14th Century Cathedral before Reconstruction

General tourist information 
Although there is nothing spectacular, must see, Kaliningrad is an interesting place for a few days. Most of the things worth visiting are old buildings from before communist times as Koenigsburg, as it was formerly known, was the capital of East Prussia from the 13th century until 1945. To get a sense of the old German days stroll the area between Prospekts Pobedy (Victory) and Mira (Peace) and check out the neighborhoods old villas, tree lined streets and cobblestoned avenues.

Worth seeing primarily because it is a spectacular example of the worst in Soviet era architecture is the House of Soviets. This building was constructed on the site of the city's 13th century castle which was destroyed during World War II and razed in 1968. The concrete House of Soviets was never completed, has never been occupied and is considered by many to be amongst the ugliest of Soviet buildings.

The old stock exchange, which became the Seamen's Palace of Culture, was built in the 1870s. The 14th century cathedral, which was completely destroyed in WWII, was rebuilt in the 1990s. At the cathedral is Immanual Kant's grave and nearby sits a large stone commemorating the opening of the university here on August 17, 1544.

The Germans built fifteen forts between 1872 and 1892, one of which is open and several of which are parks. Plus there are city walls and several gate towers. The Amber Museum is located in one of the town's towers and contains over 6000 pieces of amber. The Bunker Museum, location of the 1945 German command post, is another place perhaps worth visiting.

There are several museums in Kaliningrad including the Museum of World's Oceans, the only museum of its type in Russia. It is also possible to board the legendary research ship 'Vityaz' and see the underwater device 'Mir', with whose help the film 'Titanic' was made. The History and Art Museum occupies the site of the old concert hall and has some interesting exhibits and erratic hours. Also in the are are a botanical gardens and a zoo, which is over one hundred years old. Plus there are several parks that were the constructed on the sites of old Germanic forts.

The state university is the same school at which Immanuel Kant taught and was originally founded in the mid 16th century.

In additon to visiting the city, one should arrange a visit to Svetlogorsk, and/or Zelenogradsk to see one of these seaside towns and their sanatoria, perhaps even get a health treatment and collect some amber on the beach. Do not expect a beautiful white sandy beach or warm water though.

Also you can visit the Kurshkaya Kosh or 'Kurish Spit', a Russian National Park which is one of Russia's first national park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As the smallest of Russia's national parks, its sand dunes and pines cover only part of the narrow strip. The spit is from 400 to 2000 meters wide and stretches almost 98 kilometers between the Baltic Sea and Kurish gulf. Part of the territory is Russian and the remainder is Lithuanian reached from Klaipeda.

In order to visit the military port of Baltiisk, one needs to make prior arrangements, at least three to four days prior to the proposed visit. This port is the planned location for the ferry that is proposed to operate between Petersburg and Kaliningrad. Contact Baltma Tours:
Location: prospect Mira 49/51-30
Tel: +7 0112 211 880 (228 419)
Fax: +7 0112 211 840
E-mail: postmaster@baltma.koenig.su

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Accommodations 

Chaika Hotel - (spring 2006)
It's an inn situated in an old part of town - it's surrounded by mansions mostly built by germans. It's a quiet and ecologically fine location. Besides, you can easily access any point of the city from there by bus or taxi. Concerning service - reportedly it's not impressive but neither is it too upsetting.
Address: Pugachova street 13.
Reservation +7 0112 210729

Cherepakha (Turtle) Hotel - more of a guest house than a hotel with only 11 rooms; also a bit more expensive but you get what you pay - there is a sauna, billiards table, bar and restaurant. It's about 110 USD per night including breakfast.
Address: Zoologichesky tupik, 10
Tel.: +7 4012 957 500
Email: info@turtle-hotel.ru

Kaliningrad Hotel - the biggest hotel in the city center.
Address: Leninskiy prospekt, 81.
Reservation +7 0112 536021

Moskva (Moscow) Hotel - (June 2006) a 2 star hotel, UK£44 per night (80+ USD), relatively expensive but there is NOTHING budget in Kalinigrad and they will register visa plus it is centrally located. Rates might be lower on various internet sites.
Address: prospekt Mira, 19.
Tel.: +7 0112 352333

Oberteich Hotel - a mini hotel, also a little more expensive but also a little nicer. Located on the bank of Lake Verkhnee, not far from center city.
Address: Verkhneozernaya Str., 11
Tel.: +7 4012 365020
Email: oberteich@km.ru

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Weather and Climate for Kaliningrad 
Temperatures

Average Number of Days of Precipitation

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Other Resources 
There is a small section about Kaliningrad in the LP Guide, but most guidebooks don't cover it at all.

If you need more help with housing or restaurants in Kaliningrad, check out:

• Baltma Tours
• Kaliningrad inyourpocket guide
• Svetlogorsk inyourpocket guide
• the website of the Kaliningrad City Hall

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