Kaliningrad. Host Cities

Kaliningrad is the most westerly of the Russia 2018 host cities. A Russian exclave situated on the Baltic coast and sharing a border with Lithuania and Poland, the seaport town lies on the Pregolya River just upstream from Frisch’s Lagoon on the Baltic coast.

The history of Kaliningrad is as complex as it is diverse. It was originally founded in 1255 as Koenigsburg - meaning ‘King’s Mountain’ in German - and is a former capital of East Prussia. The city was became part of the USSR in 1945 under the Potsdam Agreement and renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. It was more or less destroyed by the Red Army during World War II and was closed to foreigners until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Sights in Kaliningrad include Königsberg Cathedral, which serves Russian Orthodox and Lutheran worshippers and is located in Kneiphof. The cathedral is the original campus of the University of Kaliningrad, which was founded in 1967. The breathtaking Southern portion of the Kurshskaya Spit (Curonian Spit), the 98 km long sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast, is situated in Kaliningrad.

Traces of the city’s German roots can be found in the Brandenburg Gate, much in the style of Berlin’s famous monument. Some of Kaliningrad’s best restaurants can be found inside recreated medieval buildings at the riverside Fishing Village.

Khrabrovo Airport is the small airport of Kaliningrad and, although it serves mainly domestic flights, it is a military base of the Russian Air Force. Fans traveling from mainland Europe can easily travel by car from Poland, with which Kaliningrad shares a border.

The 45,000 capacity Kaliningrad Stadium, also known as Arena Baltika, is built on the city’s Oktyabrsky Island and will be occupied by FC Baltika Kaliningrad play in the Russian First Division, the second tier of Russian football, after the World Cup. Baltika Stadium, the team’s current home, was built in 1892 with a donation from philanthropist Walter Simon, which was named Walter-Simon-Platz in his honour.

Natalia Ishchenko - 5-time Olympic synchronized swimming champion

Aleksandr Revva - Entertainer and stand-up comedian

There will be a total of 4 FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 games played at Kaliningrad Stadium, from groups D, E, B, G.

21.00, June 16 , 2018
Croatia v Nigeria
Group D

20.00, June 22, 2018
Serbia v Switzerland
Group E  

20.00, June 25, 2018
Spain v Morocco
Group B

20.00, June 28, 2018
England v Belgium
Group G

Location: Central Square
Capacity: 15,000

Central Square is a historical site within the city centre located on the scenic bank of the lake. The King Castle was situated here during the German times which was replaced by the classic Soviet architecture building Dom Sovetov in the middle of the last century. Today the square hosts public events, concerts and festivals.