The Queen Louise Memorial Church (Königin-Luise-Gedächtniskirche) — a former Lutheran church built in honor of the Queen of Prussia, the wife of Friedrich Wilhelm III. An architectural monument and one of the city’s landmarks, it is currently the Kaliningrad Regional Puppet Theater.

Queen Louise Augusta Wilhelmina Amalia of Mecklenburg (1776–1810), grandmother of Russian Emperor Alexander II, had a significant influence on the history of her country. Having become a symbol of the struggle against Napoleon and the new rise of Prussia, she was highly revered by her compatriots as a crowned figure even during her lifetime. In 1908–1909, Louise lived with her sons in the Buzoltsky Garden, later named “Luisenwalde” in her honor.

A plot of land over 5,000 square meters in size and 220,000 marks for the construction of the church were donated to the Altstadt community by commercial counselor Louis Grosskopf. The project was designed by the famous German architect Friedrich Heitmann, who actively participated in the development of the Amalienau district. Construction of this church began on the edge of Luisenwalde Park, at the beginning of Lavsker Alley (the eastern part of Amalienau), with the laying of the cornerstone on July 7, 1899. The church was built in the Romanesque style with a tower on the northeast, topped with a spire. On the west side, the church had a vestibule above which sat a figure of Christ. The north side featured three gables and a turret with a spire. The building had buttresses on the north and south sides. Construction was completed, and the solemn consecration took place on September 9.

The church was a three-nave building of asymmetrical form, 47 meters long, 22 meters wide, and with a maximum height of 16.5 meters. The originally planned early Renaissance style was abandoned in favor of Romanticism, which the builders believed better suited the memorial character of the church. Corners and entrances were clad with hydrosandstone supplied by the Berlin firm “Seyer,” while the other surfaces were plastered. On the south side, a small house for the priest and a room for confirmands were attached to the church (these have not survived to the present day).

Inside, the church had a vaulted ceiling. The altar was located on the east side and featured a large beautiful canopy, behind which was a mosaic painting called “Jerusalem.” To the right of the altar was a carved wooden pulpit from which the pastor delivered sermons. On the left was the Kaiser’s lodge. The organ was located in the western part of the church. It was built by a master from Königsberg named Terletzki.

During World War II, the Luisen Church sustained significant damage. After the expulsion of the Germans, it was used by the administration of the newly created park of culture and recreation as a storage facility. By 1958, the church roof was missing, replaced by the vaulted ceiling. The spires of the towers and roofs of the annexes were heavily damaged. The community house building and the pastor’s house, which stood to the south, were completely demolished, the debris cleared, and all traces of these buildings disappeared. The church stood abandoned for a long time and in the 1960s was slated for demolition. It was saved thanks to two people: sapper officer Grigory Zatserkovny, who reported the impossibility of blowing up the church without risking damage to nearby houses.

“The tragic fate of the church was predetermined by a letter from the then chairman of the city executive committee, Comrade Denisov. The letter was addressed to the head of the Kaliningrad Higher Military Engineering School named after Zhdanov, Lieutenant General Viktor Zhigaylo. The task of preparing the building for demolition was assigned to the senior lecturer of the ‘Engineering’ department, Grigory Zatserkovny. A war participant and mortar platoon commander, he knew explosives not only in theory but also in practice. Frontline sapper Zatserkovny assessed the monumentality of the masonry as a specialist and was captivated by the strict outlines of the church and the apparent lightness of its structures as an ordinary person. Of course, it could be blown up... But why? From a sapper’s point of view, the building was in excellent condition and needed more cosmetic repairs than demolition. After inspecting the structure and the surrounding area, Zatserkovny concluded that there were flooded underground facilities around the church that could well be filled with wartime ammunition. The church’s cellars had not been fully examined either, and there was no guarantee that even the gentlest explosion would not trigger detonation of shells. To be more convincing, he artistically piled several empty shell casings in a corner of the cellar as evidence. The military sent a proposal to the city executive committee officials asking them to take responsibility for any damage caused by the explosion. Moreover, they requested that this responsibility be confirmed in writing. As you can imagine, no one wanted to take on this responsibility, and the church was spared.” After this, the church was used as a storage facility, and all its windows were bricked up tightly.

Architect Yuri Vaganov proposed a project to convert the building into a puppet theater. In the 1970s, the church building was restored. It largely retained its former exterior appearance, although some decorative elements were lost, such as the sculpture of Christ above the main entrance. The interior layout underwent radical changes due to the new purpose — partially destroyed vaults were demolished and modern floors were installed, dividing the interior into two levels. The first floor was allocated for administrative and exhibition spaces, and the second was equipped with an auditorium and stage. The main tower of the building features a clock.

Sources:

https://visitprussia.com/map/luisenkirche/

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Кирха_памяти_королевы_Луизы