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2025-09-14T02:01:50Z

Landmarks

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{{Short description|Town in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia}}
{{Infobox Russian inhabited locality
| en_name = Baltiysk
| ru_name = Балтийск
| image_skyline = BaltiyskPillau 05-2017 img07 aerial photo.jpg
| image_caption = Aerial view of Baltiysk
| image_map =
| pushpin_map = Russia Kaliningrad Oblast#European Russia#Europe
| map_caption =
| coordinates = {{coord|54|39|N|19|55|E|display=inline,title}}
| image_flag = Flag of Baltiysk.png
| flag_caption =
| image_coa = Coat of Arms of Baltiysk (Kaliningrad oblast).png
| coa_caption =
| anthem =
| anthem_ref =
| holiday =
| holiday_ref =

| federal_subject = [[Kaliningrad Oblast]]
| federal_subject_ref = <ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" />
| adm_district_jur = [[Baltiysky District, Kaliningrad Oblast|Baltiysky District]]
| adm_district_jur_ref = <ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" />
| adm_inhabloc_jur =
| adm_inhabloc_jur_ref =
| adm_citydistrict_type =
| adm_selsoviet_jur = Baltiysk
| adm_selsoviet_type = [[Town of district significance]]
| adm_selsoviet_jur_ref = <ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" />
| capital_of =
| capital_of_ref =
| adm_ctr_of1 = Baltiysky District
| adm_ctr_of1_ref = <ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" />
| adm_ctr_of2 = town of district significance of Baltiysk
| adm_ctr_of2_ref = <ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" />
| inhabloc_cat = Town
| inhabloc_cat_ref = <ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" />
| inhabloc_type =
| inhabloc_type_ref =

| mun_district_jur = Baltiysky Municipal District
| mun_district_jur_ref = <ref name="KaliningradOBaltiyskyD_mun" />
| urban_okrug_jur =
| urban_okrug_jur_ref =
| urban_settlement_jur = Baltiyskoye Urban Settlement
| urban_settlement_jur_ref = <ref name="KaliningradOBaltiyskyD_mun" />
| rural_settlement_jur =
| rural_settlement_jur_ref =
| inter_settlement_territory =
| inter_settlement_territory_ref =
| mun_admctr_of1 = Baltiysky Municipal District
| mun_admctr_of1_ref = <ref name="KaliningradOBaltiyskyD_mun" />
| mun_admctr_of2 = Baltiyskoye Urban Settlement
| mun_admctr_of2_ref = <ref name="KaliningradOBaltiyskyD_mun" />
| leader_title = Head
| leader_title_ref =
| leader_name = Maksim Brychuk
| leader_name_ref =
| representative_body =
| representative_body_ref =

| elevation_m =
| area_km2 =
| area_km2_ref =
| pop_2010census = 32697
| pop_2010census_rank =
| pop_2010census_ref = <ref name="2010Census"/>
| pop_density =
| pop_latest =
| pop_latest_date =
| pop_latest_ref =
| population_demonym =
| established_date = 13th century
| established_title =
| established_date_ref =
| current_cat_date = 1725
| current_cat_date_ref =
| abolished_date =
| abolished_date_ref =

| postal_codes = 238520–238522, 238525, 238527, 238528
| postal_codes_ref =
| dialing_codes = 40145
| dialing_codes_ref =
| website = http://балтийск39.рф
}}

'''Baltiysk''' ({{IPAc-en|b|ɔː|l|ˈ|t|iː|s|k}} {{respell|bawl|TEESK}}){{efn|{{lang-rus|Балтийск|r=Baltijsk|p=bɐɫˈtʲijsk}}; {{langx|de|Pillau}};<ref>{{cite book | title= Ortsnamenverzeichnis der Ortschaften jenseits von Oder u. Neiße |first= Margarete |last= Kaemmerer|year= 2004| isbn= 3-7921-0368-0|page= 125 |publisher= G. Rautenberg |language= de}}</ref> [[Old Prussian language|Old Prussian]]: ''Pillawa''; {{langx|lv|Pillava}}; {{langx|lt|Piliava}}; {{langx|yi|פּילאַווע|Pilave}}<ref>פּילאַווע, Yiddishland https://www.yivo.org/yiddishland-topo</ref>}} is a seaport [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|town]] and the [[administrative center]] of [[Baltiysky District, Kaliningrad Oblast|Baltiysky District]] in [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], [[Russia]], located on the northern part of the [[Vistula Spit]], on the shore of the [[Strait of Baltiysk]] separating the [[Vistula Lagoon]] from [[Gdańsk Bay]]. It had a population of {{ru-census|p2021=33,946|p2010=32,697|p2002=33,252|p1989= 27,070}}

Baltiysk, the [[List of extreme points of Russia|westernmost town in Russia]], is a major base of the [[Russian Navy]]'s [[Baltic Fleet]] and is connected to [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]] by [[ferry]].

==History==
===Old Prussian village===
[[File:Atlas of Heinrich Thomé - No 7. Beschreibung von Pillow. Anno 1636.jpg|thumb|left|Map of Pillau in 1636.]]

Baltiysk was originally the site of an [[Old Prussians|Old Prussian]] fishing village that was established on the coast of the [[Vistula Spit]] at some point in the 13th century. The village was named as "Pile" or "Pil" in several documents, possibly taking its name from ''pils'' the [[Old Prussian language]] word for [[fort]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wirdeins.twanksta.org/en/ | title=Prūsisks wirdeīns }}</ref> It was eventually conquered by the [[Teutonic Knights]], with the name evolving into the [[German language|German]] form of Pillau. In 1497, a [[storm surge]] dug a new [[Gat (landform)|gat]] in front of the village, and another large storm created the navigable [[Strait of Baltiysk]] through the gat on September 10, 1510. This fostered the growth of Pillau into an important port of the [[Duchy of Prussia]], a vassal duchy of Poland, and a [[blockhouse]] was constructed in 1537, followed by a system of storehouses in 1543, and the earliest fortifications in 1550. During the [[Thirty Years' War]], the harbor was occupied by [[Swedish Empire|Sweden]] in the aftermath of their victory over the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], and King [[Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden|Gustavus Adolphus]] landed there with his reinforcements in May 1626.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Pillau |volume=21 |page=610}}</ref> After the [[Truce of Altmark]] in 1629, the Swedes retained Pillau and set out upgrading its fortifications, constructing a [[star fort]] which remains one of the town's landmarks. In 1635, the citizens of Pillau paid the [[ransom]] of 10,000 [[thaler]]s, whereupon Swedish forces handed over the settlement to the [[Elector of Brandenburg]].

===Prussian town===
[[File:Karte von Pillau (um 1686).tif|thumb|left|Map of town and fortress (around 1686)]]
[[File:BaltiyskPillau 05-2017 img05 lighthouse.jpg|thumb|left|A lighthouse]]

By the end of the 17th century, Pillau had expanded considerably, and a [[lighthouse]] and a stone church were built. [[Peter the Great]], the [[Tsar of Russia]], visited Pillau on three occasions, the first being in 1697 in connection with his [[Grand Embassy of Peter I|Grand Embassy]] to [[Western Europe]]. A statue of Peter the Great currently stands next to the lighthouse. After Pillau was granted [[town privileges]] in 1725,<ref name=sgk/> the [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]]-style [[town hall]] was constructed and inaugurated in May 1745 but was destroyed at the end of World War II. [[Russian Imperial Army|Russian forces]] occupied the town during the [[Seven Years' War]] and built a small [[Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] church there, with the event commemorated by the equestrian statue of [[Elizabeth of Russia|Empress Elizabeth]], unveiled in 2004. In the late 18th century, the present-day southern part of the town, the part located on the [[Vistula Spit]], was annexed by [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]] in the [[Partitions of Poland]]. In June 1807, Pillau was stormed by [[Napoleon]]'s [[Grande Armée]] during the [[Napoleonic Wars]], although no outstanding events took place during the rest of the 19th century. Records of a [[Scottish people|Scottish]] "colony" established in Pillau in 1815 appeared in an 1890 publication, although their authenticity is questionable. The lighthouse was built up to a height of {{convert|31.38|m|sp=us}} and the entire fortress was updated and rebuilt by the [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussians]] in 1871. In 1886, the town had a population of 3,434, apart from the fortress garrison.<ref name=sgk>{{cite book|author= |title=Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Tom VIII|year=1887|language=pl|location=Warszawa|page=156}}</ref>

The importance of Pillau declined from 15 November 1901, when a [[shipping canal]] was opened linking the Vistula Lagoon near Zimmerbude (now [[Svetly, Kaliningrad Oblast|Svetly]]) to [[Königsberg]]. Pillau's economy was heavily based on large shipping vessels being forced to dock in the town due to the shallow depth of the lagoon near Königsberg, the capital and the largest city of [[East Prussia]], and the goods would then be transported from Pillau to Königsberg by other means. Constructed at a huge cost of thirteen million marks, the canal allowed vessels of a {{convert|21|ft}} [[Draught (ship)|draught]] to moor alongside the city or to sail directly to Königsberg without stopping at Pillau, causing a serious decline to the town's economy.

===World War II===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1989-033-33, Pillau, Hafen, Flüchtlinge.jpg|thumb|left|[[Evacuation of East Prussia|Evacuation of German civilians]] from Pillau, 26 January 1945, fleeing from the [[Red Army]]]]
During [[World War II]], a ''Sammellager'' [[German prisoner-of-war camps in World War II|prisoner-of-war camp]] was located in the town in October and November 1939, following the German [[invasion of Poland]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Megargee|first1=Geoffrey P.|last2=Overmans|first2=Rüdiger|last3=Vogt|first3=Wolfgang|year=2022|title=The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos 1933–1945. Volume IV|publisher=Indiana University Press, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum|page=280|isbn=978-0-253-06089-1}}</ref>

Pillau had a [[U-boat]] training facility, and on 16 April 1945, the {{GS|U-78|1940|6}} was sunk by [[Red Army]] artillery fire while she was docked near the electricity supply pier in Pillau port, and was the only U-boat to be ever sunk by land-based forces in World War II. As the Red Army entered East Prussia, more than 450,000 refugees were ferried from Pillau to central and western Germany. The town was eventually captured by Soviet forces on 25 April 1945, only a few days before the end of the war and as the last part of East Prussia to be abandoned by Germany.

===Modern Baltiysk===
After the war, Pillau was included in the northern part of East Prussia passed to the [[Soviet Union]] that became [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], and the [[Flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50)|German inhabitants were expelled]] in accordance with the [[Potsdam Agreement]]. During the [[Russification]] campaign, the town's name was changed to Baltiysk in 1946.<ref name="gr">{{cite book|title=Энциклопедия Города России|year=2003|publisher=Большая Российская Энциклопедия|location=Moscow|isbn=5-7107-7399-9|page=36}}</ref>

[[File:Bałtijsk.jpg|thumb|Landsat satellite photo taken circa 2000]]
In 1952, the Soviet authorities inaugurated a [[naval base]] for the [[Baltic Fleet]] of the [[Soviet Navy]] at Baltiysk, and as a result, it became a [[closed city|closed town]] with access forbidden to foreigners or those without a permit. During the [[Cold War]] it was served by the [[Baltiysk (air base)|Baltiysk Air Base]]. The town, along with Kaliningrad, remains one of only two year-round [[Ice free port|ice-free ports]] along the [[Baltic Sea]] coastline available to Russia.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

[[File:NASA FIRMS 2025-01-05 Baltiysk.png|thumb|Satellite imagery of Baltiysk port]]
In 2019, on a wave of anti-Western sentiment following Russia's [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|annexation of Crimea]], there were calls to change the town's German-era coat of arms, which features a sturgeon wearing the crown of King [[Frederick William I of Prussia]]. The historic arms had been granted to the town, then known as Pillau, in 1725.<ref>[https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-court-finds-illegal-german-coat-of-arms-of-town-in-far-western-exclave/30169130.html Russian court finds illegal German coat of arms of town in far western exclave]</ref>

==Administrative and municipal status==
Within the [[subdivisions of Russia#Administrative divisions|framework of administrative divisions]], Baltiysk serves as the [[administrative center]] of [[Baltiysky District, Kaliningrad Oblast|Baltiysky District]].<ref name="KaliningradO_admlist">Resolution #640</ref> As an administrative division, it is, together with two [[types of inhabited localities in Russia|rural localities]], incorporated within Baltiysky District as the '''[[town of district significance]] of Baltiysk'''.<ref name="KaliningradO_admlist" /> As a [[subdivisions of Russia#Municipal divisions|municipal division]], the town of district significance of Baltiysk is incorporated within Baltiysky Municipal District as '''Baltiyskoye Urban Settlement'''.<ref name="KaliningradOBaltiyskyD_mun">Law #274</ref>

==Geography==
The town is located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separating the Vistula Lagoon from Gdańsk Bay.

===Climate===
Baltiysk has a temperate [[oceanic climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]] ''Cfb'' borders on ''Dfb'').<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=592439&cityname=Baltiysk%2C+Kaliningrad%2C+Russia&units= Weatherbase Climate Summary]</ref> Winters are cold to mild, while summers are warm. In July and August, the warmest season, high temperatures average {{convert|21|C}} and low temperatures average {{convert|15|C}}. In January and February, the coldest season, high temperatures average {{convert|3|C}} with low temperatures averaging {{convert|-2|C}}.

{{Weather box
|location=Baltiysk
|metric first=yes
|single line=yes
|Jan record high C=14.5
|Feb record high C=17.1
|Mar record high C=14.9
|Apr record high C=25.0
|May record high C=27.1
|Jun record high C=29.4
|Jul record high C=31.7
|Aug record high C=31.3
|Sep record high C=26.7
|Oct record high C=22.6
|Nov record high C=17.1
|Dec record high C=17.0
|year record high C = 31.7
|Jan high C = 2.5
|Feb high C = 2.5
|Mar high C = 4.6
|Apr high C = 9.7
|May high C = 14.9
|Jun high C = 17.8
|Jul high C = 20.6
|Aug high C = 21.0
|Sep high C = 16.8
|Oct high C = 12.4
|Nov high C = 6.4
|Dec high C = 3.5
|year high C = 11.1
|Jan mean C = 0.3
|Feb mean C = 0.4
|Mar mean C = 2.5
|Apr mean C = 7.0
|May mean C = 11.7
|Jun mean C = 15.0
|Jul mean C = 17.9
|Aug mean C = 18.4
|Sep mean C = 14.4
|Oct mean C = 10.1
|Nov mean C = 4.6
|Dec mean C = 1.4
|year mean C = 8.7
|Jan low C = -1.8
|Feb low C = -1.6
|Mar low C = 0.3
|Apr low C = 4.0
|May low C = 8.2
|Jun low C = 11.8
|Jul low C = 14.8
|Aug low C = 15.6
|Sep low C = 12.1
|Oct low C = 8.1
|Nov low C = 2.9
|Dec low C = -0.4
|year low C = 6.2
|Jan record low C = -20.8
|Feb record low C = -17.6
|Mar record low C = -12.9
|Apr record low C = -4.0
|May record low C = -0.2
|Jun record low C = 1.4
|Jul record low C = 7.8
|Aug record low C = 8.1
|Sep record low C = 4.3
|Oct record low C = -1.4
|Nov record low C = -8.8
|Dec record low C = -14.8
|year record low C = -20.8
|Jan precipitation mm = 65
|Feb precipitation mm = 54
|Mar precipitation mm = 50
|Apr precipitation mm = 41
|May precipitation mm = 53
|Jun precipitation mm = 71
|Jul precipitation mm = 78
|Aug precipitation mm = 69
|Sep precipitation mm = 73
|Oct precipitation mm = 62
|Nov precipitation mm = 66
|Dec precipitation mm = 73
|year precipitation mm = 752
|source 1 = Kaliningrad-meteo.ru<ref name="Kaliningrad-meteo.ru">{{cite web | url = http://kaliningrad-meteo.ru/en/baltijsk/pivot/temperature | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200526152143/http://kaliningrad-meteo.ru/en/baltijsk/pivot/temperature | url-status = dead | archive-date = 26 May 2020 | title = Kaliningrad-meteo.ru | access-date = 17 April 2012 }}</ref>
|date=April 2012
}}

==Landmarks==
{{multiple image |align=right |caption_align=center |perrow=2 |total_width=370
| image1=Балтийск (726).jpg
| image2=BaltiyskPillau 05-2017 img04 StGeorge Church.jpg
| image3=Здание реальной гимназии (июль 2019).jpg
| image4=BaltiyskPillau 05-2017 img03 Baltic Fleet Museum.jpg
| caption1=Fortress
| caption2=Saint George church
| caption3=Sailor's club
| caption4=Baltic Fleet Museum
}}
Historical buildings in and around the town include the pentagonal {{ill|Pillau Citadel|de|Festung Pillau}}, founded by the Swedes in 1626, completed by the Prussians in 1670, renovated in 1870, and currently holding a naval museum; the ruins of the 13th-century Lochstadt Castle; a maze of 19th-century naval fortifications; the Naval Cathedral of St. George (1866); the {{convert|32|m|sp=us|adj=on}} [[German Expressionism|Expressionist]] observation tower (1932); the [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]] building of the [[Baltic Fleet]] Museum (1903); and an elegant lighthouse, dating from 1813 to 1816. A stone cross, erected in 1830 to commemorate the supposed spot of St. [[Adalbert of Prague]]'s martyrdom, was destroyed by the Soviets and restored a millennium after the event, in 1997. There is a seaside monument of Empress [[Elizabeth of Russia]], erected postwar by the Russian sculptor [[Georgy Frangulyan]].

==Notable people==
*[[Karl Heinrich Barth]] (1847–1922), German pianist
*[[Otto Dempwolff]] (1871–1938), German linguist and anthropologist
*[[Fritz Gajewski]] (1885–1965) a German businessman with [[IG Farben]]
*[[Renate Garisch-Culmberger]] (born 1939), East German athlete
*[[Manfred Schaefer]] (born 1943) a former association football defender
*[[Grigoriy Korchmar]] (born 1947) a Russian composer and pianist.

==International relations==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Russia}}

===Twin towns and sister cities===
Baltiysk is [[twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
*{{Flagicon|Poland}} [[Nysa, Poland|Nysa]], Poland
*{{Flagicon|Sweden}} [[Karlskrona]], [[Sweden]]

===Former twin towns===
*{{Flagicon|Poland}} [[Elbląg]], Poland

On 28 February 2022, the Polish city of Elbląg ended its partnership with Baltiysk as a response to the [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{cite web| url = http://elblag24.pl/miasto-elblag-zrywa-wspolprace-z-rosyjskimi-miastami-partnerskimi/ |language=pl |title=Miasto Elbląg zrywa współpracę z rosyjskimi miastami partnerskimi |date=28 February 2022 |access-date = 5 March 2022}}</ref>

==References==
===Notes===
{{Notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kgd|adm|list}}
*{{RussiaAdmMunRef|kgd|mun|list|baltiysky}}
*Baedeker, Karl, ''Northern Germany'', 14th revised (English-language) edition, Leipzig, London, and New York, 1904.

==External links==
*[https://baltijsk.gov39.ru/ Official website of Baltiysk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220209044803/https://baltijsk.gov39.ru/ |date=9 February 2022 }} {{in lang|ru}}
*[http://gorbalt.ru Information site of Baltiysk] {{in lang|ru}}
*[https://baltijsk.jsprav.ru/ Directory of organizations in Baltiysk] {{in lang|ru}}
*[http://www.tiwy.com/pais/rusia/baltiysk-zima-2011/eng.phtml Winter trip to Baltiysk]

{{Kaliningrad Oblast}}
{{Baltic fleet}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Kaliningrad Oblast]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Russia]]
[[Category:Russian and Soviet Navy bases]]
[[Category:Germany–Soviet Union relations]]
[[Category:Port cities and towns of the Baltic Sea]]
[[Category:Baltiysky District, Kaliningrad Oblast]]

Baltiysk - Revision history

imported>Altenmann: /* Landmarks */