Cities of the 2022 World Volleyball Championship. A guide to Kaliningrad: the Baltic coast and the Konigsberg past

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The Volleyball World Championship held in 10 Russian cities at once is to be one of the main sporting events of 2022. It’s Kaliningrad that is going to become the westernmost point on the map of the World Championship: on September 2–4, this city will host six matches of the second stage, where the battle for getting into the Final Six will take place.

Do you want to feel the atmosphere of a large sports forum and visit one of the most beautiful cities in the country? Take a flight to Kaliningrad in September 2022 to spend some unforgettable days there with the support of Sport24 Guide.

Cathedral + Kant’s Grave

The Cathedral is the most famous landmark of Kaliningrad, and the fact that it is the only building in the city center that survived World War II adds to its uniqueness. Now there is a museum in the Cathedral: here you can find beautiful stained glass windows, ancient paintings, knight armors, and a scale model of pre-war Königsberg. Be sure to pay a visit to the Cathedral and get timing right to visit one of the organ music concerts — strong impressions are guaranteed.

The most important and most mystical part of the Cathedral is the tomb. Once the masters of the Teutonic Order, bishops, and princes used to be buried here. Later — professors of the Königsberg University (Albertina). The last of them to be buried there was Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher and one of the key masterminds of the Enlightenment.

The area around the Cathedral is called the Kant Island, which is one of the most favorite vacation spots for tourists. There is a large number of unusual benches, sun loungers, lawns for picnics and sunbathing, streetball courts. But in the evening, the atmosphere of the Kant Island turns mysterious due to the unusual illumination coming as if from the inside of small sculptures that grace entire alleys here.

Fishing Village

This is a block on the right bank of the Pregolya River built in 2006. Despite its «young age», the ethnographic complex conveys the atmosphere of pre-war Königsberg perfectly. This is primarily ensured by buildings executed as per traditions of classical German architecture. Do you like hiking, peace, and tranquility? Welcome to the Fishing Village, which will also delight you with several cozy restaurants offering a lot of fish dishes to choose from.

It is the Fishing Village where sightseeing trips on river boats along the Pregolya River start. For an affordable price of 500 rubles you will get an hour-long trip across the water surface of the Pregolya River, learn about the great past of the city of Königsberg, float under the only pedestrian drawbridge in Europe, and admire the magnificent German technology of the early 1930s.

Museum of the World Ocean

Another particular place of Kaliningrad is the Russia’s first comprehensive marine museum. In the Museum of the World Ocean you can find expositions dedicated to navigation and geology, marine flora and fauna. Take a walk around such vessels as «Vityaz» and «Kosmonavt Viktor Patsayev», stop by the B-413 submarine, examine the skeleton of a sperm whale closely — you should reserve at least a few hours for a visit to the museum. There is also the lighthouse with a composite Fresnel lens capable of transmitting light signals over long distances.

Amber Museum

This is a landmark place for Kaliningrad, because it is this city where the world’s largest amber deposit is located as well as the only enterprise processing «the sunstone» on a commercial scale. The museum is located in the city center, in a historic building of the Dohna Tower built in the middle of the 19th century, a part of the fortress complex on the shore of the Upper Pond.

The museum has a huge collection of natural amber pieces of various weight, color, and transparency as well as many items made of amber. The Russia’s largest single piece of amber weighing 4,280 grams is also stored here. After a visit to the exposition ensure to walk around the museum outside: admire the tower itself and the surrounding views.

Homlins

Homlins are mythological house spirits. According to the legend, they have lived next to people for many years making amber items. In total, there are seven bronze figures of these characters in Kaliningrad. Grandfather Karl has a cozy spot on the Honey Bridge, and his wife Marta greets the guests of the Amber Museum. Granddaughter Ulya has settled near the Kaliningrad Zoo, and grandson Vitya — on the Peter the Great Embankment. Leo, the father of the family, can be found next to the Museum of Fine Arts, the homlin mother is on the wall of the Wrangel Tower, and their baby is next to the Altes Haus Museum in Krasnaya Street. In Kaliningrad, they say, «To see seven homlins means to see seven most popular places in the city».

Kaliningrad Zoo

The Kaliningrad Zoo is one of the three historical zoos in Russia, along with the zoos of Moscow and Saint Petersburg. It is located on the territory of the former Königsberg Zoo, which was founded by German entrepreneur Hermann Klaass as early as in 1896. Representatives of all corners of the globe inhabit the territory of 16.5 ha, and there is also the arboretum with exotic trees and shrubs. At the entrance, guests are greeted by a relict tree — ginkgo biloba — of the same age as dinosaurs. In the center of the zoo, there is the largest and most beautiful fountain in the city with the streams rising to the height of 18 meters.

Baltic Sea

Yes, it is not as warm as the Black Sea or the Azov Sea, but it has a lot of other advantages. Firstly, these are the beaches, sometimes up to 100 meters wide, and you will find nothing like this in any other city in Russia. Secondly, the air is clean and fresh, it fills a person with strength, great mood, and self-confidence. Because of the Baltic Sea influence, there is a shift in climatic seasons onset in Kaliningrad, so if you’re lucky, you can swim in the sea until the end of September. So, at the beginning of the first autumn month, when the Volleyball World Championship comes to the city, you simply have to plunge into the Baltic Sea.

Curonian Spit

The narrow, 98-kilometer long sandy spit separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. On the territory of the Curonian Spit, there are two national parks: a Russian one and a Lithuanian one, both included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Tourists are attracted by long clean sandy beaches and the unique nature of the area: sandy dunes, pine and spruce forests, birch woods, meadows covered with moss and lichen are adjacent on quite a small territory.

And the famous Dancing Forest, which is also on the territory of the Curonian Spit, is still sought by people from all over the world who try to decipher its riddle. Have a try and see whether you can!

Town of Zelenogradsk

This doll town on the seashore is considered the unofficial capital of cats. There is not only the Murarium Cats Museum, but even a special female official — «cats chef»: she is responsible for taking care of homeless animals. Besides, it is worth visiting the Villa Krell once owned by a former mayor of Klaipeda, quenching your thirst with mineral water in the Well-room of Queen Louise, and strolling along the seaside promenade. The list of Zelenogradsk landmarks can be continued for long, and this resort town has only one disadvantage: you really wouldn’t like to leave it.

B-413 Museum Submarine

A unique museum vessel, the only one in the country and one of the few submarines in the world from the pre-atomic period of the submarine fleet. You can not only look at the submarine; the museum staff is ready to organize a role-playing game on board: you will become a crew member for a short time, go into virtual autonomous navigation, take part in preparations of a torpedo attack, and eliminate an emergency in the compartment.

To explore other places to visit, check out the guide from the fashion blogger:

Salt Gastrobar

One of the most popular Kaliningrad gastronomic spots is located at Kosmonavta Leonova Str., 55. The menu can be divided into three main parts: local products, altered dishes of the Asian cuisine, and molecular experiments. People come here for poultry liver pate with plum, venison tartare with sea buckthorn gel and fried onion mousse, halibut with black rice and seasonal mushrooms. The bar offers premium drinks and fancy cocktails.

Borsch & Salo Restaurant

From the name it is clear that this restaurant offers dishes of the Ukrainian cuisine in the interior designed in the style of a tavern. Do you like delicious and substantial meals? You are welcome to visit Pobedy Square, 10. Several types of lard, fragrant borscht, draniki (potato pancakes), dumplings, homemade sausage, eggplant spread are the main menu items. We recommend taking all this with wheat beer or mulled wine Borscht and Salo Restaurant is famous for. The prices in the restaurant are very affordable.

Chesnok Restaurant of Honest Prices

The restaurant operates under the Fair Price System («Chestnaya Tsena»). With an admission fee of 195 to 495 rubles (depending on the day of the week and the time of day), you will be able to buy all dishes at prime cost. Gorkogo Str., 162 is the right place to look for the European, English, or Italian cuisine. Regular visitors advise to try pizza, meat and fish steaks, eggplants, bruschetta and salads as well as to have a look at the bar menu: it is very diverse, and you’ll be pleased with agreeable prices.

Port-o-Coffee

The coffee shop with bar functions is decorated in the loft style, which is conventional for such establishments, but as for the menu, the owners try to go the unusual way. For example, they experiment with alternative ways to brew coffee — AeroPress, Сhemex, siphon. You should definitely try one of the dozens of cocktails: aside from the classics, Port-o-Coffee offers intriguing original blends. The menu here is small: breakfast, sandwiches, Belgian waffles, soups, and some hot dishes. The coffee shop is located at Chernyakhovsky Str., 6.

For residents of Kaliningrad, the center of volleyball attraction is the Yantarny Sports Palace. It unites more than 10 sports facilities for amateur and professional training, matches, tournaments and cups, as well as for arrangement of sports clubs and groups. It was on the floor of the Yantarny where in 2020/2021 season the local women’s team of Lokomotiv advanced to the first title of the Champion of Russia in their history.

Another hotspot for volleyball players in the Kaliningrad Region is the Zelenograd Center for Beach Volleyball with a reverberant name «Skovorodka» (Frying Pan). The Center is located on the territory of the City Park, it is protected from the sea wind by a sand dune. It features quite a lot of playgrounds, and amateur tournaments are constantly held here.

Clocks

The countdown clock was set 365 days before the start of the Volleyball World Championship in Kaliningrad. It is located in the square between Teatralnaya Street and Leninsky Prospect, near the Monument of Mother Russia. The clock’s start button was pressed by the ambassador of the World Championship Ekaterina Orlova, a European Champion and the alumna of the Kaliningrad volleyball.