To understand the special atmosphere of the Baltic region, when visiting the Kaliningrad region, it is important to visit the coastal cities. Previously, the best resorts of East Prussia were located on the coast. Historical streets, houses, parks and a special European spirit are still preserved here. And walks along the beach and promenade under the fresh Baltic wind, as before, bring calm and tranquility. Today we will take a walk around Svetlogorsk – the former Rauschen.
How to get to Svetlogorsk
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The flight from Moscow to Kaliningrad will take about two hours. Ticket price – from 5200 rub. round trip*.
You can get to Svetlogorsk from Kaliningrad by train from the South or North stations and by bus, which departs from the stops “Avtovokzal”, the “Kaliningrad” hotel and “North station”. The trip will take about an hour, the ticket price is about 100 rubles. Buses run every 20 minutes, trains several times a day, the schedule can be found here.
Svetlogorsk forest and Lake Tikhoe
Usually city guests get to the final stop “Svetlogorsk-2”, but I recommend getting off earlier – at the “Svetlogorsk-1” station, see the historical wooden station Rauschen-Ort and start a leisurely walk through the Svetlogorsk forest lake called Quiet.
This route is not entirely typical, but it is so nice to get into the city, enjoying the solitude and beauty of nature, and not immediately find yourself among a stream of people and souvenir shops with amber on the main street. A walk to the lake will allow you to feel the unique landscape of Svetlogorsk and understand its main idea – the connection of forest and sea. You can wander along the paths among the ferns and admire the pattern of the pine trees.
Besides, this forest has an amazing history – it is man-made! Several centuries ago there was not a hill surrounded by greenery, but a sand dune. Experts have been landscaping the area for many years to strengthen the soil and prepare the space for a garden city. Methods of crown formation were applied to the trees; they were created as an elaborate decoration. It seems that the city has appeared in the middle of the forest.
Next we will go down to Lake Tikhoy (in the past – Mill Pond). It was from here that the development of the city began – here, and not on the seashore, in the 19th century, on the site of an old Prussian village, the resort of Rauschen was born.
The first vacationers, looking for secluded and quiet places on the coast, appeared here in 1813. They occupied simple fishing huts, which were ceded to them by local residents, who temporarily moved into barns and outbuildings. Boarding houses and country villas appeared here only a few decades later.
One of the main attractions of the forest is the 400-year-old linden trees, listed in the Guinness Book of Records. From there, paths with viewing platforms were laid along the pond and a promenade was built, and a pier was built for lovers of fishing and boating. Several years ago, the infrastructure of the lake was reconstructed, bicycle paths, playgrounds and an outdoor amphitheater appeared here. In the summer, just like centuries ago, you can go boating.
Historic villas, social and cultural center and Baltic restaurant
For a long time, the development of the resort towards the sea was hampered by a second sand dune, blocking free access to the water. The situation changed only in 1906, when a new branch of the Rauschen-Dyuna railway was opened (now the Svetlogorsk-2 station), and it became safe to erect small buildings on the slopes strengthened by trees. Since that time, active construction of hotels and boarding houses, restaurants and cafes began on the coast, a promenade and a pier were laid out.
Let’s go up to the upper part of the city along the ornate Gagarin Street. On the way, I recommend stopping by the Telegraph social and cultural center (Ostrovsky St., 3). There is a cafe-lounge where you can drink good coffee, listen to records and look through books and magazines, and also work in a quiet co-working space, buy souvenirs or send a postcard. In the park next to Telegraph every Sunday from 10:00 to 14:00 there is a farmer’s market, where produce is brought from different parts of the region and dishes are cooked over an open fire.
Behind the “Telegraph” there is a historical lavender-colored villa “Rosenhaus” with a tiled roof, preserved original entrance doors and a semicircular dormer window (Gagarin St., 6). I recommend pointing your phone camera at the QR code sign located on the fence and looking at historical photographs of this building.
Next, you can explore the wooden buildings of boarding houses of the early 20th century – the summer villa “Ilse” (Oktyabrskaya St., 5a), renovated boarding house “Valdez Rand” (later “Hartmann”), located at st. Oktyabrskaya, 1/10). The new owners of the Hartmann Hotel even received a letter from the descendants of the creator of this boarding house: “My great-grandfather Willi Hartmann, the former owner of the hotel, would be very proud to see what you, its new owners, have created from the hotel. I would like to express my deepest gratitude from the Hartmanns of Oregon and Vermont, of Rostock and Berlin, for the wonderful restoration of the house and its re-opening as a hotel. Tobias Schwabe.” On Gagarin Street there is a rest house “Tannenhof” (Gagarina St., 12) and a private boarding house with a wooden carved balcony (Gagarin St., 17).
You can stop for lunch at the Local restaurant (Gagarina St., 15) and try the signature cuisine of the Baltic region, taking a seat on the glassed-in terrace. Then I recommend taking a walk among the pine trees and resort houses preserved from the time of Rauschen along the streets of Mayakovskaya, 8 March, Bach Lane – I consider them one of the most atmospheric hidden corners of the city.
Central Park and the seashore
Photo: Gvozdovskaya Anna/Shutterstock.com
We go out to the central park and head towards the sea – in Svetlogorsk there is a unique opportunity to look at its grandeur from the high shore. Walk along the paths along the sea or near the Amber Hall building, rent recreational cars for children and adults; there are special bicycle paths in the park for them. Previously, Rauschen had several beaches and slopes to them: men’s, women’s, family . Unmarried men and women rested separately. There was an amazing atmosphere on the coast – a wide strip of sand, wicker beach baskets that protected both from the wind and the sun, baths on wheels. On the website of the Svetlogorsk Museum “Wheel of History” you can watch a unique short film “The Shore” with historical chronicles and photographs.
Water tower and organ hall
After a walk through the park, go to the main symbol and architectural dominant of Raushen-Svetlogorsk – the Water Tower, adjacent to the building of the mud baths, built in 1908. It served as one of the main observation platforms of the city. Unfortunately, you can’t get inside now – it’s part of a military sanatorium. It is interesting that the maiden grapes entwining the building are a monument to wildlife.
Photo: Anna Golant/Shutterstock.com
In Svetlogorsk there is another hidden gem – a small organ hall in the former wooden Catholic chapel Santa Maria Stella Mare (“Holy Mary – Star of the Seas”; Kurortnaya str., 3) with a secluded square. The schedule of daytime concerts can be viewed on the website.
In this place, having already felt the atmosphere of the city, filled with the peace of quiet streets and trees, having been face to face with the sea on the steep shore, you can continue your way to the center, walk along Lenin and Oktyabrskaya streets, go down to promenade, wander along a narrow strip of beach, take the funicular to the Svetlogorsk-2 station and start the journey back to Kaliningrad. You will remember this Svetlogorsk not for the bustle of the central streets, but for its natural beauty, regularity and tranquility.
Photo: Belikart/Shutterstock.com
*Prices valid at time of publication
Main photo: Alex Tihonovs/Shutterstock.com
