As you know, the oldest snapshot of Koenigsberg dates back to 1860, which is incredibly late for the cities of Germany, which began filming since 1839. Moreover, officially Koenigsberg was considered the "Eastern Capital", where the emperors were crowned (that is, approximately had the status of Moscow in imperial Russia).
Tilsit (now Sovetsk) was the second most important city in the region (the territory of the modern Kaliningrad region).
I had never seen his pictures before the end of the 19th century, and when I set out to find something, the earliest ones found were the views of the 1870s.
Perhaps some of the readers have met Tilsit's photographs of the 1860s?
German street (Deutsche Strasse) and the main church of the city, 1870s:
German Street again, 1870s: 
Again she, 1878-79: 
Tilsit. Port and view of the old bridge over Memel, 1878-79: 
I found a short chronology of Tilsit on the page on the history of the city.
1289 - the possible date of the foundation of the fortress by the Livonian Order;
1313 - construction of the first crossing of the Memel (Neman) river;
1410 - construction of the Order's fortress at the mouth of the Tilse;
1552 - the settlement near the fortress received the city law and the coat of arms;
1562 - construction of a dam on Tilsa and formation of a pond;
1612 - construction of the city church, destroyed after 1945;
1679 - Swedes at Tilsit;
1709 - the plague raged for two years, the city lost half of its inhabitants;
1757 - construction of the Land Kirk (Lithuanian Church), destroyed in 1945;
1758 - the stay of Russian troops in the city (until 1762);
1782 - the population of Tilsit was 7,700;
1783 - the poet Max Schenkendorf was born in Tilsit (died 1817);
1805 Tilsit Castle was handed over to merchants (casino, then prison);
1807 - Tilsit is occupied by French troops, the emperors Napoleon I Bonaparte, Alexander I, King Frederick William III with his wife Louise visited here;
1865 Tilsit is connected by railway with Insterburg;
1875 - construction of a railway bridge across the Neman;
1876 \u200b\u200b- the castle burned down on December 27;
1891 - opening of the Tilsit-Königsberg railway line;
1892 - writer Wilhelm Vidunas-Storosta (1868-1953) came to Tilsit, left the city in 1944;
1893 - the city theater was built in Tilsit;
1895 Tilsit left the subordination of Ragnit and became a district city;
1907 - completion of the Queen Louise Bridge across Memel;
1914 - Russian occupation of Tilsit;
1917 - the writer I. Bobrovsky was born in Tilsit (died in 1965);
1921 - the air service Danzig - Königsberg - Tilsit - Memel was opened;
1926 - the air traffic Berlin-Königsberg-Tilsit-Revel-Leningrad and Berlin-Königsberg-Tilsit-Moscow were opened;
1939 - the population of Tilsit was 55,000;
1941 - bombing of Tilsit by Soviet aviation;
1944 - Soviet and British air raids on Tilsit;
1945 - the capture of Tilsit by units of the Soviet army;
1946 - Tilsit was renamed Sovetsk;
1990 - the population of the city was about 43,000 people.
He continues to talk about the first victories of the Red Army on the territory of Nazi Germany. Today, January 20, marks the 70th anniversary of the capture of the city of Tilsit (now Sovetsk, Kaliningrad region).
In the evening of January 19, 1945, the Red Army went to the eastern outskirts of the city of Tilsit. At night, three rifle regiments of the 54th corps fought street battles, making their way to the city center. From the right northern bank of the Memel River, the 115th Kholmsk Red Banner Division was advancing. On the morning of January 20, after a powerful artillery preparation with a swift throw on the ice, they crossed the river and made a counter strike. From the south, the city was stormed by the 89th tank brigade under the command of the colonel Andrew Sommer, whose name is a street in the center of Kaliningrad.
The enemy was in a semi-encirclement, and panic broke out among the enemy soldiers. By two o'clock in the morning, January 20, the Germans began to surrender in large groups. By 10 o'clock in the morning, Tilsit was taken.
In honor of the successful completion of the assault on Tilsit at 22:00 on January 20, 1945, a salute was given in Moscow with 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns.
On the same day, the city of Heinrichswalde (now Slavsk) was occupied without a fight.
Soviet troops on one of the central streets of Tilsit. February 1, 1945 Photo: Victory.rusarchives.ru.
By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the honorary title "Tilsit" was given to several regiments. On January 21, 1945, Krasnaya Zvezda published a poem by the poet A. Zharov “Tilsit Regiment”:
Volleys thundered ten ... twenty ...
And then the fireworks of Moscow fell silent.
From now on, my infantry regiment
Tilsit will be called.
It's dark in the eyes of Germany:
The gate at the fortress is split! ..
Tilsit was the first Prussian city,
Whose name has been awarded to us.
It is well deserved
Forever a memorable battle
Everywhere will be with respect
To meet me in my country ...
Veteran of the Great Patriotic War from Kaliningrad, 89-year-old Boris Petrovich Pirozhkov, who took Tilsit. Photo from the NewsBalt archive
Veteran of the Great Patriotic War from Kaliningrad Boris Petrovich Pirozhkov, who took Tilsit as part of Sommer's 89th Tank Brigade, recalls in an interview with Baltic Plus radio station:
- Everyone wanted to live. Just imagine - you go on the attack and everyone is shooting at you. The sniper hits! In Sovetsk, only our Pohitkoleaned out - once, a bullet immediately in the forehead. Pokhitko was a good guy, he was a Ukrainian himself, he was older than us. He was buried in a mass grave somewhere near Sovetsk. Do you think it's so easy to go on the attack? The gunners will definitely shoot at you. Two or three guns are aimed at you. And anti-aircraft guns, and mortars! We even had such a soldier's rumor: the Fritzes have better mortars than ours. But our artillerymen are better than Fritz's. This is our soldier's bike ( laughs).
To be continued…
- Velau (Znamensk) The city was taken on January 23, 1945 during the Insterburg-Königsberg operation.
- Gumbinnen (Gusev) Having launched an offensive on January 13, 1945, the soldiers of the 28th Army were able to overcome the enemy's resistance and by the end of January 20, break into the eastern outskirts of the city. At 22:00 on January 21, by order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the capture of the city was announced, gratitude and salute were announced to the troops who distinguished themselves and the 12th art. volleys from 124 guns.
- Darkemen (Ozersk) The city was captured on January 23, 1945 during the Insterburg-Königsberg operation. In 1946 the city was renamed Ozersk. After the Second World War, the city was badly damaged, but the city center still retains its historical appearance.
- Insterburg (Chernyakhovsk) Troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, 22.1..45. led the offensive along the entire front. On the Königsberg direction, with a decisive blow, they broke the fierce enemy resistance on the Pregel River and took by storm a powerful stronghold, a communications hub and the vital center of East Prussia, the city of Instenburg ... ... Seventh: 6 The army continued its attack on Instenburg. As a result of decisive actions of the right flank and center, they broke through the resistance of the enemy's Instenburg lines. On the left flank, by the end of the day, they were still fighting ...
- Krantz (Zelenogradsk) Krantz was occupied by Soviet troops on February 4, 1945. Fierce battles were fought on the Curonian Spit, but Krantz himself practically did not suffer during the war. In 1946, Krantz was renamed Zelenogradsk.
- Labiau (Polessk) The city was captured on January 23, 1945 during the Insterburg-Königsberg operation. In 1946 it was renamed Polessk in honor of the historical and geographical region of Polesie.
- Neuhausen (Guryevsk) On January 28, 1945, the village of Neuhausen was taken by the 192nd Rifle Division under the command of Colonel L. G. Bosanets. On April 7 of the same year, the Königsberg district with the center in Neuhausen was formed, and on September 7, 1946, the city was renamed in honor of the Hero of the Soviet Union, Major General Stepan Savelyevich Guryev (1902-1945), who died during the assault on Pillau
- Pillau (Baltiysk) The city was captured on April 25, 1945 by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front and the forces of the Red Banner Baltic Fleet during the Zemland operation. The 11th Guards Army of Colonel General Galitsky took part in the assault on Pillau. On November 27, 1946, Pillau was named Baltiysk.
- Preussisch-Eylau (Bagrationovsk) The city was captured on February 10, 1945 during the East Prussian operation. On September 7, 1946, the city was renamed in honor of the Russian commander, the hero of the Patriotic War of 1812, General Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration.
- Ragnit (Neman) The fortified city of Ragnit was taken by storm on January 17, 1945. After the war, Ragnit was renamed Neman in 1947.
- Raushen (Svetlogorsk) In April 1945, Rauschen and the adjacent settlements were occupied without fighting. In 1946 it was renamed Svetlogorsk.
- Tapiau (Gvardeysk) The city was captured on January 25, 1945 by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front during the Insterburg-Königsberg operation: 39 A - part of the 221 SD forces (Major General V.N. Kushnarenko), 94 Sk (Major General Popov I.I.)
- Tilsit (Sovetsk) The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, decisively developing the offensive, defeated the enemy's Tilsit grouping and cut all the routes connecting Tilsit with Insterburg. Subsequently, with a swift blow of units of the 39th and 43rd Army at 22h. 30m. On January 19, 1945, they captured the powerful German defense center in East Prussia, the city of Tilsit.
- Fischhausen (Primorsk) The city was captured on April 17, 1945 during the Zemland operation.
- Friedland (Pravdinsk) The city was captured on January 31, 1945 by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front during the East Prussian operation: 28 A - part of the forces of the 20 SD (Major General Myshkin A.A.), 20 SR (Major General Shvarev N.A.)
- Hazelberg (Krasnoznamensk) On January 18, 1945, the city was taken by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front during the Insterburg-Königsberg operation. In 1946 it was renamed into Krasnoznamensk.
- Heiligenbeil (Mamonovo) The city was captured on March 25, 1945 during the destruction of the Heilsberg enemy group.
- Stallupenen (Nesterov) The city was captured on October 25, 1944 by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front during the Gumbinnen operation.
As you know, the oldest snapshot of Koenigsberg dates back to 1860, which is incredibly late for the cities of Germany, which began filming since 1839. Moreover, officially Koenigsberg was considered the "Eastern Capital", where the emperors were crowned (that is, approximately had the status of Moscow in imperial Russia).
Tilsit (now Sovetsk) was the second most important city in the region (the territory of the modern Kaliningrad region).
I had never seen his pictures before the end of the 19th century, and when I set out to find something, the earliest ones found were the views of the 1870s.
Perhaps some of the readers have met Tilsit's photographs of the 1860s?
German street (Deutsche Strasse) and the main church of the city, 1870s:
German Street again, 1870s:
Again she, 1878-79:
Tilsit. Port and view of the old bridge over Memel, 1878-79:
I found a short chronology of Tilsit on the page on the history of the city.
1289 - the possible date of the foundation of the fortress by the Livonian Order;
1313 - construction of the first crossing of the Memel (Neman) river;
1410 - construction of the Order's fortress at the mouth of the Tilse;
1552 - the settlement near the fortress received the city law and the coat of arms;
1562 - construction of a dam on Tilsa and formation of a pond;
1612 - construction of the city church, destroyed after 1945;
1679 - Swedes at Tilsit;
1709 - the plague raged for two years, the city lost half of its inhabitants;
1757 - construction of the Land Kirk (Lithuanian Church), destroyed in 1945;
1758 - the stay of Russian troops in the city (until 1762);
1782 - the population of Tilsit was 7,700;
1783 - the poet Max Schenkendorf was born in Tilsit (died 1817);
1805 Tilsit Castle was handed over to merchants (casino, then prison);
1807 - Tilsit is occupied by French troops, the emperors Napoleon I Bonaparte, Alexander I, King Frederick William III with his wife Louise visited here;
1865 Tilsit is connected by railway with Insterburg;
1875 - construction of a railway bridge across the Neman;
1876 \u200b\u200b- the castle burned down on December 27;
1891 - opening of the Tilsit-Königsberg railway line;
1892 - writer Wilhelm Vidunas-Storosta (1868-1953) came to Tilsit, left the city in 1944;
1893 - the city theater was built in Tilsit;
1895 Tilsit left the subordination of Ragnit and became a district city;
1907 - completion of the Queen Louise Bridge across Memel;
1914 - Russian occupation of Tilsit;
1917 - the writer I. Bobrovsky was born in Tilsit (died in 1965);
1921 - the air service Danzig - Königsberg - Tilsit - Memel was opened;
1926 - the air traffic Berlin-Königsberg-Tilsit-Revel-Leningrad and Berlin-Königsberg-Tilsit-Moscow were opened;
1939 - the population of Tilsit was 55,000;
1941 - bombing of Tilsit by Soviet aviation;
1944 - Soviet and British air raids on Tilsit;
1945 - the capture of Tilsit by units of the Soviet army;
1946 - Tilsit was renamed Sovetsk;
1990 - the population of the city was about 43,000 people.
In the spring of 1289, on the left bank of the Neman River, at the confluence of the Tylzha (Tilse) River, on the site of the destroyed Prussian settlement, Landmaster of the Teutonic Order Meinhard Querfurt (Kuerfurt) founded the Tilsit fortress, which became the center of a large administrative region stretching from the Curonian Lagoon to the possessions of the Litvinines. Knight Berthold Bruhaven became the first commander of the new komturia. In 1313 the first crossing of the Neman River was built.
In February 1365, the army of the Lithuanian prince Olgerd and his brother Keistut captured and burned the castles of Splitter and Kaustritten (located within the modern city of Sovetsk), destroyed the castle of Schalauerburg. Tilsit Castle withstood the attackers, but was badly damaged.
In 1397, the Order's Grand Master Konrad von Jungingen ordered the rebuilding of the castles of Ragnit and Tilsit in stone. In May 1409, the new Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, Ulrich von Jungingen, together with the Grand Marshal of the Order Friedrich Wallenrodt, Grosskomtur Kuno Lichtenstein and a large retinue arrived in Tilsit to consecrate the castle. On July 15, 1410, the Tilsit Banner took part in the Battle of Grunwald.
During the First World War, during the East Prussian operation, the city of Tilsit was occupied by Russian troops from August 26 to September 12, 1914. From September 8, the 270th Gatchina regiment of the 68th division was stationed in the city. On September 13, 1914, during a bloody battle that unfolded on the western outskirts of the city, the regiment suffered serious losses. After the end of hostilities, the dead Russian and German soldiers were buried in 12 city cemeteries.
In 1921, the Danzig-Königsberg-Tilsit-Memel air link was opened, in 1926 the air link connected Tilsit with Berlin, Revel, Leningrad and Moscow. In 1939, the population of Tilsit exceeded 55 thousand people.
During the Second World War, Tilsit suffered greatly. In 1941, the city was subjected to air raids by Soviet aviation, in 1944 - by Soviet and British bombers.
On the evening of January 19, 1945, the soldiers of the 263rd Sivash Rifle Division (division commander Colonel K.G. Cherepanov) and the 235th Rifle Division (division commander Major General I.L. Lutskevich) of the 54th Rifle Corps (corps commander General- Lieutenant A.S. Ksenofontov) of the 43rd Army, reached the eastern outskirts of the city of Tilsit. At night, three rifle regiments of the 54th corps fought street battles, making their way to the city center. From the right northern bank of the Memel River (Neman River), the 115th Kholmsk Red Banner Division (division commander Colonel A.I. Blinov) of the 103rd Rifle Corps and parts of the 90th Rifle Corps advanced. On the morning of January 20, 1945, after a powerful artillery preparation, they crossed the Memel River with a swift throw on the ice and struck a counter blow. From the south, the city was stormed by the 89th tank brigade under the command of Colonel A.I. Sommer. Having overcome the stubborn resistance of the 69th German Infantry Division defending the city, by 10 o'clock in the morning on January 20, 1945, the city of Tilsit was taken. In honor of the successful completion of the assault on Tilsit at 22:00 on January 20, 1945, a salute was given in Moscow with 20 artillery volleys from 224 guns.
By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR dated September 7, 1946, the city of Tilsit was renamed Sovetsk.
In 1946, the population of Sovetsk was 6.5 thousand people, in 1990 - 43.0 thousand people, in 2002 - 41.0 thousand people, in 2011 - 44.7 thousand people.
