Coat of arms of Kneiphof
Postcard of Kneiphöfsche Langgasse
Reconstruction of Kneiphof in Kaliningrad's museum
Kneiphof (; ; ) was a
quarter of central
Königsberg
Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...
(
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
). During the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
it was one of the three
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
s that composed the city of Königsberg, the others being
Altstadt
''Altstadt'' () is the German language word for "old town", and generally refers to the historical town or city centre within the old town or city wall, in contrast to younger suburbs outside. '' Neustadt'' (new town), the logical opposite of ...
and
Löbenicht. The town was located on a 10-hectare (25-acre) island of the same name in the
Pregel River and included
Königsberg Cathedral
Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...
and the original campus of the
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...
. Its territory is now part of the
Moskovsky District of
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
Etymology
Medieval variations of Kneiphof included ''Knipaw'',
[Gause I, p. 37] ''Knipab'',
[Albinus, p. 163] and ''Knypabe''. The name was of
Old Prussian
Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...
origin, referring to a swampy land or area flushed by water; the island was bounded to the north by the '' Neue Pregel'' and to the south by the ''Alte Pregel'' (or ''Natangische Pregel''), branches of the Pregel River. At the start of the 14th century the island was known in
German as ''Vogtswerder'' (
Vogt
An , sometimes simply advocate, (German, ), or (French, ), was a type of medieval office holder, particularly important in the Holy Roman Empire, who was delegated some of the powers and functions of a major feudal lord, or for an institutio ...
's
ait), because it was used by a vogt of the
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
.
The name ''Pregelmünde'' (mouth of the Pregel) was encouraged in 1333, but the German townspeople instead used the Prussian name used in the 1327 charter.
A town seal from 1383 and a 15th-century signet name the town as ''nova civitas'', or new town, but this designation was not used in documents.
History
Foundation
Founded within the
state of the Teutonic Order
The State of the Teutonic Order () was a theocratic state located along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe. It was formed by the knights of the Teutonic Order during the early 13th century Northern Crusades in the region ...
, Kneiphof was the youngest of Königsberg's three towns, each of which had its own charter, market rights, church, and fortifications. Settlement by merchants was intensified in 1324 with construction along the Langgasse and the bridges Krämerbrücke and Grüne Brücke. It was granted
Kulm rights on 6 April 1327 by Grand Master
Werner von Orseln. The new town of Kneiphof encompassed two-thirds of the island; in the same year Orseln granted the eastern third of the island to the
Bishopric of Samland
The Diocese of Samland (Sambia) (, ) was a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Sambia Peninsula, Samland (Sambia) in Prussia (region), medieval Prussia. It was founded in 1243 by papal legate William of Modena. Its seat was Königsberg, ...
to allow construction of
Königsberg Cathedral
Königsberg Cathedral (; ) is a Brick Gothic-style monument in Kaliningrad, Russia, located on Kneiphof island in the Pregolya river. It is the most significant preserved building of the former city of Königsberg, which was largely destroyed in ...
,
which occurred from ca. 1330–80. Kneiphof's coat of arms depicted a blue-clad arm extending from waves and holding a crown, flanked by two golden hunting horns in a green field.
Along with the island, the town of Kneiphof also had jurisdiction over the ''
Freiheiten''
Vorstadt and village
Haberberg in
Natangia. Haberberg and Alter Garten were granted to Kneiphof by Grand Master
Albert for services rendered during the
Horsemen's War. Kneiphof's warehouses were built in Vordere Vorstadt. Other places controlled by Kneiphof included the village
Schönfliess, the estates Fischhof and Anker along the Pregel,
Rosenau, and the tile factory in Genslack near Ottenhagen.
Bridges connecting Kneiphof to Altstadt were the Krämerbrücke (built 1286), the Dombrücke (built ca. 1330, destroyed 1379), and the Schmiedebrücke (built 1379). The Honigbrücke (built 1542) connected Kneiphof to
Lomse, while the town was connected with Vorstadt by the Grüne Brücke (built 1322) and the Köttelbrücke (built 1377). These are five of the bridges in the
seven bridges of Königsberg
The Seven Bridges of Königsberg is a historically notable problem in mathematics. Its negative resolution by Leonhard Euler, in 1736, laid the foundations of graph theory and prefigured the idea of topology.
The city of Königsberg in Prussia ...
mathematics problem.
Euler's proof that
no solution is possible provides the foundations for
graph theory
In mathematics and computer science, graph theory is the study of ''graph (discrete mathematics), graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of ''Vertex (graph ...
and the application of
topological understanding to exploring real-world questions.
As a member of the
Hanseatic League
The Hanseatic League was a Middle Ages, medieval commercial and defensive network of merchant guilds and market towns in Central Europe, Central and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Growing from a few Northern Germany, North German towns in the ...
, Kneiphof took part in the
Confederation of Cologne against King
Valdemar IV of Denmark in 1367.
Thirteen Years' War
In February 1440, representatives of both Altstadt and Kneiphof took part in a convention in
Elbląg
Elbląg (; ; ) is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 127,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County.
Elbląg is one of the ol ...
, at which a decision was made to establish the
Prussian Confederation. Both were founding members of the Confederation in March 1440, while Löbenicht was not. In 1454, the Confederation asked Polish King
Casimir IV Jagiellon
Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...
to incorporate the region into the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
, to which the King agreed and signed the act of incorporation in
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...
, and the towns rebelled against the
Teutonic Knights
The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
at the beginning of the subsequent
Thirteen Years' War and recognized the Polish King as rightful ruler. The rebellion in Königsberg was supported by the merchant class and led by Altstadt's
Bürgermeister,
Andreas Brunau. Based upon the example of Danzig (
Gdańsk
Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...
), Brunau hoped to turn Königsberg into an autonomous city within Poland with control over all Samland. On 19 June Kneiphof's Bürgermeister,
Jürgen Langerbein of
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish language, Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German language, German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklen ...
, paid fealty to the Polish chancellor,
Jan Taszka Koniecpolski.
Brunau lost the support of Altstadt and Löbenicht on 24 March 1455 due to spontaneous opposition from craftsmen and workers, with the rebels retreating to Kneiphof.
[Armstedt, p. 97] The workers in Kneiphof were too weak to defeat Brunau's rebels. Komtur
Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, supported by
Old Prussian
Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...
freemen bringing 300 horses, approached the city on 15 April, with Altstadt and Löbenicht paying homage in the following days.
Kneiphof remained in rebellion, however, protected by water and walls. Langerbein's forces consisted of 1,000 men, including 400 from Danzig. Plauen had the support of Altstadt, Löbenicht, 300
Sambian freemen, and soldiers led by Silesian and Saxon nobility, including
Balthasar of Żagań, Hans and Adolf von Gleichen, Johann von Wartenburg, and Botho von Eulenburg.
Plauen led an unsuccessful
attack on Kneiphof from Haberberg on 13 April, followed by indecisive fighting between Kneiphof and Altstadt from 18 to 19 April. After nine ships from Danzig arrived to aid Kneiphof, Plauen's forces took two bridges and protected them with blockhouses to prevent further reinforcements. When another fifteen ships arrived the Danzigers were able to recapture one bridge, but took heavy losses trying for the second and retreated after four days of fighting. Plauen resisted sorties from Kneiphof and his forces steadily grew in number; the Landmeister of
Livonia
Livonia, known in earlier records as Livland, is a historical region on the eastern shores of the Baltic Sea. It is named after the Livonians, who lived on the shores of present-day Latvia.
By the end of the 13th century, the name was extende ...
provided 500 troops and King
Christian I of Denmark
Christian I ''(Christiern I)'' (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), King of Norway, Norway (1450–1481) and King of Sweden, Sweden (1457 ...
sent a ship. The rebels in Kneiphof surrendered out of hunger to Plauen on 14 July, with soldiers and citizenry receiving amnesty. Kneiphof remained distrustful of Plauen and the Teutonic Knights, but resented the lack of Polish assistance. Kneiphof continued to conspire with Danzig against the Knights, leading Plauen to replace the entire town council and eleven burghers. In 1455 Plauen reaffirmed Kneiphof's town rights. The war ended in 1466 with a
peace treaty
A peace treaty is an treaty, agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually country, countries or governments, which formally ends a declaration of war, state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an ag ...
, according to which the town became a part of Poland as a
fief
A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...
held by the Teutonic Knights.
Modern era
Kneiphof became part of the
Duchy of Prussia
The Duchy of Prussia (, , ) or Ducal Prussia (; ) was a duchy in the region of Prussia established as a result of secularization of the Monastic Prussia, the territory that remained under the control of the State of the Teutonic Order until t ...
when the Teutonic Order's Prussian branch was secularized in 1525, and remained a fief of Poland. The
University of Königsberg
The University of Königsberg () was the university of Königsberg in Duchy of Prussia, which was a fief of Poland. It was founded in 1544 as the world's second Protestant Reformation, Protestant academy (after the University of Marburg) by Duke A ...
, the Albertina, was founded just east of the cathedral in 1544. A new campus, the ''Neue Universität'' at the
Paradeplatz north of Altstadt, was dedicated in 1861 as its replacement.
Kneiphof became part of the
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...
in 1701. In the same year the three towns resisted the efforts of
Burgfreiheit to form a proposed fourth town, Friedrichsstadt. By the ''Rathäusliche Reglement'' of 13 June 1724, King
Frederick William I of Prussia
Frederick William I (; 14 August 1688 – 31 May 1740), known as the Soldier King (), was King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg from 1713 until his death in 1740, as well as Prince of Neuchâtel.
Born in Berlin, he was raised by the Hugu ...
merged Altstadt, Löbenicht, Kneiphof, and their respective suburbs into the united city of Königsberg. Königsberg Castle and its suburbs remained separate until the ''
Städteordnung'' of
Stein on 19 November 1808 during the era of
Prussian reforms.
[Gause II, p. 334]
Kaliningrad

Kneiphof was devastated by the 1944
bombing of Königsberg in World War II. Conquered by the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1945, Königsberg was renamed to
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...
in 1946. Material from former Kneiphof's buildings was used for the reconstruction of cities such as
Leningrad
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. In the 1970s the island began to be converted into a park with numerous sculptures. Reconstruction of the cathedral commenced in the 1990s. Former Kneiphof is now known as Kant Island (), in honor of the philosopher
Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant (born Emanuel Kant; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German Philosophy, philosopher and one of the central Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works ...
.
Locations
Königsberg Cathedral rose high above the island town.
Kneiphof Town Hall served as city hall for all of Königsberg from 1724 until 1927, when the administration moved to the
Stadthaus. The island's secondary school,
Kneiphof Gymnasium, was located north of the cathedral and later hosted the combined
Stadtgymnasium Altstadt-Kneiphof. Königsberg's municipal
library
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
and
archive
An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located.
Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...
were located in the original campus of the university.
Kneiphöfische Langgasse was one of the busiest thoroughfares in the city. Banks with locations along the street in the 20th century included
Dresdner Bank
Dresdner Bank AG () was a German bank, founded in 1872 in Dresden, then headquartered in Berlin from 1884 to 1945 and in Frankfurt from 1963 onwards after a postwar hiatus. Long Germany's second-largest bank behind Deutsche Bank, it was eventually ...
,
Commerzbank
The Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft (shortly known as Commerzbank AG or Commerzbank ) is a European Financial institution, banking institution headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany. It offers services to private and entrepreneurial c ...
, Landesbank der Provinz Ostpreußen, Stadtsparkasse, and Ostbank für Handel und Gewerbe.
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*Köster, Baldur. ''Königsberg. Im Anhang
Der Kneiphof, zeichnerische Rekonstruktionen und Gedanken zur Wiedergewinnung eines historischen Stadtbildes' – Husum 2000;
*
*
*{{cite book, editor-first=Erich, editor-last=Weise, title=Handbuch der historischen Stätten Deutschlands, Ost- und Westpreussen, year=1981, publisher=Alfred Kröner Verlag, location=Stuttgart, pages=284, isbn=3-520-31701-X, language=de
1327 establishments in Europe
1945 disestablishments in Germany
Former subdivisions of Königsberg
Members of the Hanseatic League
Populated places established in the 1320s
River islands of Russia