Kaliningrad 05-2017 img12 Rossgarten Gate

The Rossgarten Gate (, tr.: ''Rosgartenskie vorota''; ) is one of seven surviving city gates 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 ...

, formerly the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

city of

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 ...

. It is located at the intersection of Chernyakhovskogo street and Alexander Nevsky street, near the Vasilevskiy square and the Kaliningrad Amber Museum.

History

Named after the district Rossgarten, the current gate replaced a previous version of the gate from the beginning of the 17th century. It was constructed between 1852 and 1855 under the supervision of

Wilhelm Ludwig Stürmer Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Wilhe ...

. The gate was damaged after the war, but restored afterwards and currently houses a café-restaurant called Solnetsnyy Kamen ("Solar Stone").

Architecture

The gate consists of only one passage of about four meters wide. On both sides of the passage three casemates are located, so the gate in total has seven openings. On top of the facade of the gate can be found a series of

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s, divided into two parts by the central elevated part of the gate. The gate itself has two high octagonal turrets. Above the main arch of the gate a lookout area is situated, again equipped with merlons. Reliefs of the Prussian generals

Gerhard von Scharnhorst Gerhard Johann David von Scharnhorst (12 November 1755 – 28 June 1813) was a Hanoverian-born general in Prussian service from 1801. As the first Chief of the Prussian General Staff, he was noted for his military theories, his reforms of the Pru ...

and

August Neidhardt von Gneisenau August Wilhelm Antonius Graf Neidhardt von Gneisenau (27 October 176023 August 1831) was a Prussian field marshal. He was a prominent figure in the reform of the Prussian military and the War of Liberation. Early life Gneisenau was born at Schi ...

decorate the main arch. While the city side of the gate is a highly decorated, the outer side does not have any decorative ornaments.

References

* Avenir Ovsyanov, In the casemates of the royal fort. Kaliningrad, «Amber tale», 1999. * Baldur Köster, ''Königsberg. Architektur aus deutscher Zeit'', Husum, Husum, 2000, {{coord, display=title, 54, 43, 19, N, 20, 31, 27, E, type:landmark Buildings and structures in Kaliningrad Gates in Russia Tourist attractions in Kaliningrad Oblast Former buildings and structures in Königsberg Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Kaliningrad Oblast