Fort No. 1 "Stein"

Fort No. 1 "Stein" (German Stein am Lauther Muhlenteich) is a military fortification located in the suburbs of Königsberg, built between 1875 and 1879. Originally, the fort was called Laut, after the nearby former German settlement (German Lauther; now the village of Bolshoye Isakovo). Since 1894, the fort was renamed in honor of Baron Heinrich Friedrich Karl von Stein, a prominent Prussian political figure of the early 19th century. Heinrich Friedrich Karl von und zum Stein – this is the full name of the Prussian statesman after whom Fort No. 1 "Stein" is named, which recently opened its doors to guests and residents of the Amber Region.

It is known that the Königsberg forts mostly bear the names of Prussian kings, generals, and statesmen from the Napoleonic Wars era. The Prussian Minister of Finance, Baron von Stein, was one of them. He abolished serfdom in Prussia and, during the difficult time after Prussia's defeat by Napoleon in 1807, headed the Prussian government. Respect for Baron von Stein in Russia was so great that Emperor Alexander I entrusted him to represent Russia at the Congress of Vienna in 1814-1815 as part of his delegation. This congress established a Europe-wide peace after the prolonged and bloody Napoleonic Wars. He was awarded the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called – the highest state award of the Russian Empire. Such an interesting crossroads of history: a German statesman and recipient of Russia's highest state award, whose name is borne by a Prussian fort in the now Russian city of Kaliningrad.

Fort No. 1 "Stein" is surrounded by a moat, to which bastion-like sections of the fort’s walls closely approach. The moat was up to two meters deep, and at the rear, a small bridge crossed it, connecting the fort with the adjacent territory.

During the storming of Königsberg by the Red Army from April 6 to 9, 1945, as part of the East Prussian operation during the Great Patriotic War, the fort was on a secondary axis of the Soviet troops' advance. As a result, the main Wehrmacht forces were redeployed to more important sectors. The forces withdrawn from this direction were used to break through German troops on the western front (Metgethen area). The fort’s garrison was significantly weakened and could not offer substantial resistance to units of the 44th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 51st Rifle Division and the 58th Reserve Army Regiment.

By the morning of April 9, 1945, the fort and the surrounding areas were captured. The commandant of Fort No. 1, reserve Major Vogel, was shot by his own sergeant for refusing to surrender.

Due to weak resistance in 1945, Fort No. 1 "Stein" suffered the least damage from military actions.

In Soviet times, Fort No. 1 "Stein" was used as a vegetable storage facility for the Kaliningrad "Gorplodoovoshtorg" (City Fruit and Vegetable Trade). Since 1994, the casemates of Fort No. 1 "Stein" have been home to the family of Stanislav and Svetlana Laurushonis with their three children, who were born and raised in the fort. According to Svetlana Laurushonis, her family leased the fort back in 1991 for a term until 2058. Since then, family members have maintained the fort at their own expense, saving the building from looters and regularly conducting tours of the fort.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_No._1_—_Stein