Zelenogradsk trip planner

Zelenogradsk, prior to 1946 known by its German name '', is a town and the administrative center of Zelenogradsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located 34km north of Kaliningrad, the administrative center of the oblast, on the Sambian coastline near the Curonian Spit on the Baltic Sea. Population:HistoryThe site of today's Zelenogradsk was originally an Old Prussian fishing village, in the proximity of Kaup, a Prussian town on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the Viking era. The area became controlled by the Teutonic Order and settled with Germans. The German name Cranz, originally Cranzkuhren, derives from the Old Prussian word krantas, meaning "the coast". For most of its history it remained a small village in East Prussia.During the 19th century, Cranz became the primary seaside resort for the Kingdom of Prussia on the East Prussian coastline, especially after the construction of a railway line connecting it with Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in 1885. From 1816 to 1895, it was known as das königliche Bad, or "the royal bathing resort". Despite the increasing numbers of tourists, the fishing industry remained strong; smoked flounder was a regional delicacy. Although Cranz had over 6,000 inhabitants by the start of World War II, it never received a town charter.