Art-Guide 2021. Kronprinz Defense Barracks. The History of The Quarter / Texts by: I. Dementev, E. Tsvetaeva, A. Artamonova; transl.: IDEA+ Translation Bureau; design: Y. Vasileev, E. Umansky; photography: А. Matveev. Kaliningrad, 2021.

The Art-Guide presents outstanding personalities, buildings, objects and sites which reflect the historically determined character of the quarter adjacent to the Kronprinz barracks in a triangle bounded by Litovsky Val, Frunze and 9 Aprelya streets in modern Kaliningrad (former Roßgarten and Neue Sorge districts of Königsberg).

The Art-Guide is based on the research of the historian Ilya Dementev (Ph.D. in History) «History of the Kronprinz Neighborhood in Kaliningrad» focusing on the pre-WWII (German) and post-war (Soviet) past of the area, as well as its present-day realities. The Art-Guide also includes information about artistic activities, which were organized at Kronprinz by NCCA Kaliningrad, that became the Baltic Branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in 2020.  

The Kronprinz Defense Barracks (1843–1849) situated in the historic part of Kaliningrad are one of the largest monuments of military architecture (with total over 40 thousand sq. m. floor space). It is a cultural heritage site of federal (national) importance.   

The methodology of working with the history of the city and the specific quarter, on the basis of which the Art Guide was prepared, is unique and innovative. It should be of interest to the museum community due to the fact that most of the museums in Kaliningrad are located in buildings that are monuments. Besides, it makes it possible to outline potential ways of using the historical experience of the territory, of the people who lived and live here for the sake of improving the quality of life of citizens, aestheticizing the urban environment and unlocking tourist potential of cultural heritage sites.  

This book was published under the UrbCulturalPlanning ‘Cultural Planning as a Method of Urban Social Innovation’ Project implemented with the financial support of the European Union and the Russian Federation under the Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Interreg Baltic Sea Region 2014-2020. The content of the book is the sole responsibility of the Baltic Branch of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (NCCA Kaliningrad) and cannot under any circumstances be regarded as representing the position of the European Union, the Governing Body, or the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Interreg-Baltic Cooperation Programme 2014–2020.