Kant Island and Königsberg Cathedral: Brick Gothic, Organ and Kant's Tomb

Set between the New Pregolya (Neue Pregel) and Old Pregolya (Alte Pregel) branches in the heart of Kaliningrad, the 10-hectare island of Kneiphof, now known as Kant Island, was the youngest of medieval Königsberg's three constituent towns. Granted town rights in 1327, the densely built island was once densely built up and connected to the surrounding riverbanks by five of the historic seven bridges of Königsberg: Krämerbrücke (1286), Grüne Brücke (1322), Köttelbrücke (1377), Schmiedebrücke (1379), and Honigbrücke (1542), whose layout inspired mathematician Leonhard Euler's famous graph theory problem.

Königsberg Cathedral (1330 to 1380)

After Samland Bishop Johann Clare acquired the eastern third of the island in 1322 and signed a 1333 fortification treaty with Teutonic Order Grand Master Luther von Braunschweig, construction of the Brick Gothic cathedral dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St. Adalbert of Prague proceeded from roughly 1330 to 1380 on oak piles driven into the marshy soil. Following the secularisation of Prussia in 1525 and the founding of the adjacent Albertina University in 1544, the cathedral became the spiritual and academic heart of the city.

British Royal Air Force bombing raids in two night raids in late August 1944 burned the cathedral roof and gutted the houses of Kneiphof. Left as a stabilized shell for decades, the cathedral underwent full restoration beginning in 1992: a new spire was lifted into place by helicopter in 1994, a tower clock with four bells weighing 1,180, 700, 500, and 200 kilograms (ringing a Beethoven melody) was installed in 1995, and the roof was completed between 1996 and 1998.

Immanuel Kant's Tomb, Organs and Sculpture Park

• Tomb of Immanuel Kant: Buried in the professors' vault in 1804, the philosopher (1724 to 1804) rests beneath an open stone colonnade at the northeast corner, designed by architect Friedrich Lahrs and unveiled in 1924 for the bicentenary of Kant's birth.
• Cathedral Museum and Concert Organs: Inside are Lutheran and Orthodox chapels, a 1994 scale model of pre-war Kneiphof by Valery Morozko and Olga Dmitrieva, and twin Schuke organs used for regular recitals. Check the official cathedral site for concert programmes.
• Sculpture Park: The surrounding parkland features monumental sculptures and river walks leading across Honey Bridge to Fishing Village and west toward the Museum of the World Ocean.