The Upper Pond () is a large artificial

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

in northern

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 ...

. It was known as the Oberteich while part 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 ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, until 1945. The pond is elevated 22 metres above the Pregel River and encompasses 41.1 hectares. Freshwater life living in the Upper Pond include perch, roach, carp, tench, pike, and eels.Albinus, p. 228 Located near the water is the Kaliningrad Amber Museum.

History

The Upper Pond, then known as the Oberteich, was created in 1270 by 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 ...

as a fishing pond north of medieval Königsberg. The levee separating it from the southern Schlossteich or Lower Pond eventually became the street Wrangelstraße. Part of the rural district of Königsberg ( Landkreis Königsberg i. Pr.) since 1818, the Oberteich was incorporated into the city limits on 1 April 1882. Quarters of Königsberg in the vicinity of the pond included Hinterroßgarten to the southeast, Hintertragheim to the southwest,

Tragheimsdorf Tragheimsdorf was a Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter of northern Königsberg, Germany. Its territory is now part of Kaliningrad, Russia. History Tragheimsdorf was originally a small village located north of Tragheim along the western shore of ...

to the west, and Maraunenhof to the north. East of the Oberteich were gardens and the Königsberg horse racing track. Along its shores were public baths (Prussia Badeanstalt, KSC-Badeanstalt, Hansa-Badeanstalt), a military bath, and an

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

club. The pond was transferred from Germany to 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 ...

following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in 1945. The German

consulate A consulate is the office of a consul. A type of mission, it is usually subordinate to the state's main representation in the capital of that foreign country (host state), usually an embassy (or, only between two Commonwealth countries, a ...

is located along the northern shore of the modern Upper Pond.

Gallery

file:Oberteichterrasse.JPG, Former restaurant Oberteichterasse in Königsberg file:KB 1982 007.jpg, Upper Pond vicinity, ca. 1982. The Kaliningrad Amber Museum is in the background.

Notes

References

*{{cite book, last=Albinus, first=Robert, title=Lexikon der Stadt Königsberg Pr. und Umgebung, year=1985, publisher=Verlag Gerhard Rautenberg, location=Leer, pages=371, isbn=3-7921-0320-6, language=de 1270 establishments in Europe Geography of Kaliningrad Königsberg Lakes of Kaliningrad Oblast Tourist attractions in Kaliningrad Oblast