Guide to the town of Yantarny - Palmniken: recreation, attractions, beaches, restaurants, excursions. Amber village, coast of the Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad region

Once on the net I saw a photo of a completely white and, as it seemed to me, endless beach, and I was sure that this wonderful corner located on the other side of the world. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that this is a beach in the village of Yantarny, Kaliningrad region! And this is here, in Russia. From Amber began my acquaintance with Russian Baltic. Arriving here for the first time, I forever fell in love with this unusual, abandoned far to the west, corner of our country.

Yantarny is not such a popular place in the Kaliningrad region as or, but this is precisely what makes it attractive. If you are looking for peace and unity with nature - you are here.

This is perhaps one of the most remote from the airport resort towns(48 km) and there is no rail connection. These two facts limit the flow of tourists, both from Kaliningrad and from other regions of Russia. But for the sake of the beach, it's worth going here - it's definitely the best on the coast.

Amber or German Palmniken, despite its modest size (about 5.5 thousand people live here), keeps amazing stories. They are definitely worth checking out when you come here. It feels like there are more excursion groups here than anywhere else on the coast - not a day goes by without meeting interested sightseers.

Of course, Yantarny is also a unique place in terms of amber mining. Here is the "Amber Combine" - the only enterprise in the world that extracts this stone on an industrial scale. This is not surprising, given the fact that 90% of the world's amber reserves are concentrated here. Rumor has it that the Yantarny beach does not decrease under the influence of the coastal current due to the fact that it is constantly fed by the pulp (a mixture of water and rock) of the Amber Combine.

Don't be surprised if different maps show different street names, or if you don't find them at all. House numbers on the map (as in reality) may also not be. Unfortunately, this is the norm here.

For example, there are no Parkovaya Alley streets on the map of the city, but you will definitely see real corresponding signs and buildings. Agree, there is something in this - to navigate not by addresses, but by significant objects. You immediately start to feel like a local.

How to get there

Yantarny is located in the Kaliningrad region on the Baltic Sea. You will have to get here by train or plane. If you are not afraid of crossing several borders, you can also go by private car.

By plane

Khrabrovo Airport is 48 km away. from Amber. From the airport you can take a taxi. The journey will take no more than an hour. If you want to save money, you can also take a bus from the airport to the Kaliningrad bus station, and from there to Yantarny. On such a road lay (including transfers) 2.5 hours. True, it will be 5 times cheaper (it will take about 1000 rubles for a taxi, and you will spend no more than 200 on a bus trip).

Read more about flights to Khrabrovo.

By train

The option with the railway is suitable to get to Kaliningrad. The train arrives at the Kaliningrad-Yuzhny station, which is literally a few steps from the bus station. At the bus station, take a bus to Yantarny, and in 1.5 hours you will be there. You can also always take a taxi. The journey will take a little over an hour.

The road to Kaliningrad by train has its own characteristics, read more about them.

By bus

There are no direct buses from the central part of Russia to the Kaliningrad region. Sometimes it makes sense to fly to Riga, Vilnius, Gdansk or Minsk, and from there take a bus to Kaliningrad, and from Kaliningrad to Yantarny (by bus or taxi).

Read more about this option.

Clue:

Amber - the time is now

Hour difference:

Moscow 1

Kazan 1

Samara 2

Yekaterinburg 3

Novosibirsk 5

Vladivostok 8

When is the season. When is the best time to go

Amber is located on the seashore, and not just the sea, but the cold Baltic. Therefore, there is no sweltering heat in summer, the temperature will be about + 25 ° C, but the winter is mild - an average of + 2–5 ° C, although winds and storms at sea are not ruled out in winter. The climate is very close to Svetlogorsk (the distance is only 20 km), which I wrote about in detail.

Yantarny - monthly weather

Clue:

Yantarny - monthly weather

Districts. Where is the best place to live

Through the whole village in parallel coastline Sovetskaya Street stretches. Along its central part on the beach, a two-kilometer promenade built of larch was built, opened in 2014. It stands partly on the sand, and partly passes over small lakes-backwaters, which were formed right on the beach on the site of former amber quarries.

In my opinion, the two most successful places to live are the southern and northern ends of the promenade.

• Near south end there is Becker Park, the most fashionable Schloss hotel here, as well as the Becker Hotel, the village administration building, a church (former church), in summer time on Sovetskaya Street, several bars and cafes open in this place.
• On north end On the promenade on the beach there is a beach volleyball court, cafes and apartments "Galera", hotel "Anna", hotel "Aquatoria", apartments "Amber Lake". It is here that the promenade passes through the water part, so you can enjoy leisurely walks, feed the swans that winter here. A significant advantage of living in this part of the village is the equipped beach "Mine Anna", marked with a blue flag (I'll tell you more about it in the "Beaches" section). From here you can quickly get to Sinyavino Lake, which will delight you with its austere beauty and diving opportunities. Hotel Valter is located on the shore of the lake. When booking a room in it, keep in mind that you will have to walk about a kilometer to the sea. In the village of Sinyavino adjacent to the lake, there is also a spring, the water from which is also loved by the inhabitants of Yantarny.

Actually, the hotels listed above are all that is in Yantarny. Other proposed housing are private apartments or houses, located mainly between the southern and northern ends of the promenade (they are marked on the map above). You can search for options and compare prices for them, for example,.

You can also rent an apartment in the southernmost part of the village, the so-called "neighborhood", located behind the military unit. I personally do not recommend this option: contrast with central part the village will be colossal. You will find yourself in an unremarkable sleeping area of ​​any Russian city and the impression will be blurred.

It should also be noted that the Becker Hotel has a second building located about 1.5 km from the sea. It is worth stopping here just to ride a horse, for this activity there are all the possibilities. I would say that the southern end of the promenade is more suitable for a measured fashionable holiday, and the northern one is for an active, wild one. Wherever you decide to stay, it is better to compare prices for hotel rooms in advance (you can do this, for example,.

I will talk about the cost of living in the next section.

What are the prices for holidays

Accommodation

Accommodation in a standard double room of the most expensive Schloss hotel in the season will cost 8,000 rubles per room, out of season - 4,000–5,500 rubles. If you choose a more modest hotel, you can keep within 3000-4000 rubles in the season and half as much out of season. As for apartments, out of season they can be rented for 10,000–20,000 (there is one 100-meter apartment with a good repair for 35,000) per month. In the season everything is rented by the day for 1000-3000 rubles.

Other expenses

As for other expenses, there is not much to spend money on here, with the exception of restaurants, souvenirs, and perhaps excursions. The latter come here from Kaliningrad and Svetlogorsk, it is quite possible to join them by contacting the relevant travel agencies.

For reference: excursion to observation deck An amber quarry, for example, will cost 180 rubles, the same amount you will pay for an excursion to the showroom of the Amber Combine.

You can get an idea of ​​the cost of food below in the section on restaurants.

Main attractions. What to see

Yantarny is a village with a German past and rich amber traditions, as well as a place of tragic events that took place here during the Second World War, so the local sights are somehow connected with one of these themes. The town is quite tiny, so everything interesting can be explored on foot. Leave time to take a walk and breathe in the healing sea air, admire the Baltic Sea, unique beach and local flora.

Top 5

Despite its modest size, you will find something to see in Yantarny. Below I will list the attractions that you will not pass by. After getting acquainted with them, you will be able to get an idea about this small seaside village and its history.

Evangelical church

Founded in 1887 and illuminated in 1892, the church is a smaller copy of the St. George's Chapel built near Berlin on the territory of Montbignon Castle. The author is architect VL Bessel-Lork. The church was built with the money of the Shtantien and Becker company, which since 1870 has been engaged in the industrial extraction of amber in these parts. With the name of Maurice Becker - one of the founders of the company - you will encounter in Yantarny at every turn. After all, it was thanks to him that the village developed as industrial centre, it was thanks to him that the railway was built here (which does not function today).

Previously, there were stained-glass windows and an organ in the church, which, unfortunately, have not survived to this day, as well as two nominal bells from Wilhelm Shtantien and Maurice Becker.

Like many old buildings in these parts, the church survived the Second world war, but fell into disrepair in Soviet times. The church was reconstructed after the transfer of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1990 and consecrated as a temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God in 1991. Today the building has the status of an object of cultural heritage of regional importance.

Address: Sovetskaya street, 67A

The possessions of Maurice Becker: manor and park

The Evangelical Church was built opposite the estate of Maurice Becker, which has a remarkable history dating back to the 17th century, when the hunting castle of Elector Georg Wilhelm was located here. After his death, various state institutions were located in the building, but already in 1703 the first Prussian king Frederick I restored and expanded the hunting castle here. Maurice Becker bought the building in 1780 from the then owner, Mr. Stein. Becker demolished the castle and built a new one on the old foundations. luxury building. Since 1899, the building has been owned by the Prussian state and serves as a hotel called Schloss-hotel, that is, "Hotel in the castle."

Today, after restoration by the new owner, the hotel bears the same name and keeps the history of several centuries - during the reconstruction today, fragments of buildings of the 17th century were found in the basement. We still owe to Maurice Becker the magnificent park laid out around the estate. It still bears the name of its founder today. The park is notable for rare species of trees that have survived here to this day.

Address: Sovetskaya street, 68.

Monument to the victims of the "March of Death" in the area of ​​the mine "Anna"

A memorial in honor of the tragic events that took place here in January 1945 was opened in Yantarny in 2011. Sculptors Frank Meisler and Arieh Ovadiy worked on its creation. The memorial is located below, almost on the beach, closed from the east by a sheer wall of the former Anna mine, reinforced with two massive stone "steps". Once the largest, and now abandoned, the Anna mine, where industrial amber mining began at the end of the 19th century, today is more connected in our minds with the events of 1945 than with its industrial past.

After the Soviet troops entered the Baltic states, the Nazis began to bring prisoners of the Baltic concentration camps to East Prussia. In the fall of 1944, the Nazis felt that the prisoners of the concentration camps in Gerdauen (the village of Zheleznodorozhny) could be released in the very near future, and decided not to wait for this, but to destroy the Jewish prisoners. On January 15, 1945, in twenty degrees of frost, the so-called "death march" began for 6,000 prisoners.

By January 27, the surviving prisoners arrived in Palmniken and were placed in the building of the locksmith shop of the Amber Combine, presumably in the area of ​​the Anna mine. According to various sources, from 2,000 to 3,000 people were shot on the way. On the night of January 31, on the beach of Palmniken, the prisoners who survived on the road were shot. The details of these terrible events have come down to us thanks to thirteen survivors. However, this story is still fraught with many mysteries.

Address: Sovetskaya street, 1.

Amber plant and the observation deck of the plant's quarry

Here you can learn about the history of amber mining, how it is processed, as well as try your hand at this exciting business and take home an item made by you personally.

Many tourists are impressed by the quarry where the sun stone is mined, the scale of mining. If you come to Yantarny, it makes sense to see everything with your own eyes. There is also a showroom and a small museum. You can find out about excursions.

Address: Balebina street, 1 (at this address you can order a tour and get all necessary information, it is not easy to get to the quarry on your own).

Palmniken water tower

The tower is most likely the first thing you will see when you arrive in Yantarny. This elegant building of red brick with white edging, built back in 1920, and today operates as water tower.

After reconstruction in 2007, it received the status of a cultural heritage site. local importance. Address: Zheleznodorozhnaya street, 2

Beaches. Which is better

The location of the two most famous beaches Amber can be seen on the map below.

Wild beach

Yantarny Beach is almost its first attraction, because. This beach is truly unique. The snow-white coastline with a length of 6000 meters reaches a width of 300 meters, which even in season makes it possible to comfortably accommodate anywhere.

As is customary in the Baltic, there are many savage vacationers with their own chairs and rugs. However, you will find toilets and cafes all over the coast.

Blue flag beach "Mine Anna"

But if you want the maximum level of comfort, then you will get it. The fact is that in Yantarny there is the only beach in Russia awarded the blue flag of the FEE Foundation (Environmental Education Foundation). This means that this small piece of coastline (300 by 100 meters) in the area of ​​the Anna mine was evaluated on more than 30 safety and infrastructure parameters. One of the 100 sun loungers with an umbrella and a towel can be rented here for 250 rubles per day.

Beach on lake Sinyavinsky

You can also swim on Lake Sinyavinsky, unique in its the purest water. The lake was formed on the site of the Walther quarry, where amber was mined in German times and until 1976. Today it is a favorite place for divers. It will also appeal to those who are not alien to secluded relaxation. Comfortable slopes there is not much to the water, and as such there is no beach here, but it is worth swimming here.

Churches and temples. Which are worth a visit

In Yantarny you will find only one church - the former Lutheran church, and today the Orthodox church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God. I already talked about it above.

Museums. Which are worth a visit

Museum "Amber Castle"

This museum is interesting primarily for the building in which it is located - completely unremarkable in appearance for a sophisticated tourist. But it's real medieval castle: it was built in the XIV century and was part of the Palmniken fortress.

The exposition of the museum does not include anything: there is something from the Middle Ages, something from the Soviet times, there is also an exposition dedicated to Russian folk superstitions. Of course, there was a place for an amber store, how could it be without it? Address: Sovetskaya street, 61 A.

Museum of the Amber Factory

Don't expect anything supernatural from this little museum. This is more of a showroom, an illustration to the guide's story about the history of production, than a collection of outlandish exhibits.

Address: Balebina street, 1

parks

Becker Park

I have already mentioned above about this wonderful park, founded at the end of the 19th century and to this day keeping a collection of unique plants. There are no asphalt paths in it, but the territory is looked after, so here you feel like in a magical forest. Do not be lazy and be sure to look for a tulip tree and red beeches. Both children and adults will be pleased to swing on a swing set at a cliff on a high bank - a stunning view of the sea opens from here. You can dream, slowly swaying and listening to the sound of the waves.

wild park

This green massif has no name on the map, and it’s hard to call it a park - it’s more like a small forest on the very shore. Walk from Becker Park along Parkovaya Alley, behind the house number 2 you will see it. locals picnics are often held here, so you can easily find logs where you can sit and rest. Winding paths will either force you to descend into a ravine or lead you to a tall bank. If you like to take pictures or paint from life, feel free to come here for sunsets, sunrises and the ever-changing sea.

tourist streets

Due to the modest size of this village, you will most likely move along two main streets - the promenade on the beach or Sovetskaya Street, which will take you from one end of the village to the other.

Promenade

I have already mentioned that the wooden promenade, which appeared here in 2014, makes it very comfortable to walk along the beach. But even more remarkable is that part of it runs along the lake formed in the former amber quarry. Here you can go jogging at any time of the year, admire the backwaters, and also observe the local inhabitants. Last winter there lived an otter called Masha. Where she came from - no one knows, but Masha has become a real local landmark.

The promenade is illuminated in the evening, there are benches for relaxing, and such blessings of civilization as special bag holders for walking dogs are also amazing, which (lo and behold!) are usually not empty. Generally Amber for last years is changing before our eyes. Yes, at the end summer season 2016, on the descent to the promenade in the Schloss-hotel area, devices for lowering and raising strollers appeared. If necessary special person in the booth upstairs helps start the mechanism. On the other side of the promenade (near the beach "Mine Anna", which has already been dubbed " blue beach”), the descent to the sea is convenient and gentle, although quite long.

From the promenade, you can easily go down the stairs directly to the beach and continue walking by the sea. The only misfortune is that the promenade is seriously covered with sand, especially in winter, when people come here hurricane winds.

Despite the fact that it is cleaned with special equipment, it is not always effective. Wattle fences appeared here and there to protect the promenade from sandstorms.

Whatever sights you go to, you will have to start your journey from this street. This is a good alternative to walking along the beach - especially in the cold season, when the sea just blows away, but you still want to breathe the air. In addition, there are bus stops here, from where you can both drive around the village and go to other cities.

There is a feeling that the street is getting more beautiful every year. In 2016, sidewalks were repaired and tiled here, although only on one side of the road, but this is quite enough for the local leisurely lifestyle. New shops have appeared, trees are regularly trimmed. It seems that even the old German houses located on the central part of Sovetskaya Street have become newer, and the facades have sparkled with colors, showing their uncomplicated historical beauty.

What to see in 1 day

I suggest a leisurely two-hour walk, but if there is time, visit the observation deck of the Amber Combine or take a walk along the beach. If you want to sunbathe on the equipped beach "Mine Anna", go the route in reverse, then you will just complete it at the beach. For example, if you start at 10:00 the route will look like this:

• 12:00 - further at your disposal is the beach and healing sea air - from the hotel we go down to the promenade.

What to see in the surroundings

Kirkha, a manor house and a bridge in the village of Kumachevo

23 km east of Yantarny is the village of Kumachevo (formerly Kumenen). It will be of interest to tourists because of the church built in the 14th century. At the same time, you can see the manor house from pre-war times that has been preserved here.

The gothic-style church was erected on a foundation of boulders. They, along with bricks, were also used to build walls. For a long time the existence of the building, what happened to it. In 1643, in place of the Gothic vaults that collapsed in 1604, a wooden ceiling appeared, which was painted later, in 1703. The wooden iconostasis by Pfeffer was built in 1676, at the end of the 17th century a pulpit and a baptismal font appeared here, in the 18th century there were bells, and already in 1881 the temple acquired an organ.

Despite the fact that the church suffered from shelling in 1945, a warehouse took root in it until the mid-90s. But further desolation did not contribute to the preservation of these ancient walls - in 2005 the roof collapsed.

In the 2000s, the building received the status of an object of cultural heritage of regional importance and was transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.

I cannot say that the manor house, which I wrote about above, deserves special admiration. In general, he is quite ordinary. But since you have come to Kumachevo, why not look at it and compare it with the old German houses that you saw in Yantarny. In the post-war years, this two-story building with an attic housed the board of the Guardian of the Baltic collective farm and a library. With the beginning of the XXI century, the building was empty.

2.5 kilometers southwest of the village of Kumachevo, you can walk along the bridge over the Nelma River built before the war. Previously, there was a settlement called Pouerstiten, which does not exist today.

Railway bridges, a mill and a church in the villages of Filino and Primorye

Just 13 km from Yantarny is the village of Filino (Klein Kuren), and three kilometers further - Primorye (Gross Kuren).

In Filino, look at two pre-war railway bridges - southern and northern. They are at a distance of 200 meters from each other.

Under the north bridge you can see road to the sea, but under the southern one there is another local attraction - a mill.

It stands on a shallow stream that flows into the sea, which was once full-flowing and set the mill mechanisms in motion.

The church in the neighboring Primorsky (Gross Kuren) was built in 1913, it had an organ and two bells. There used to be a Baptist chapel nearby, whose parishioners belonged to the community of Palmniken (Yantarny). In the post-war years, there was a house of culture here, and since 2007 the building has been given the status of an object of cultural heritage of local importance.

See also what other interesting places can be visited in the area (section "What to see in the vicinity").

Food. What to try

Amber is not a deli. Actually, there are as few restaurants and cafes in the village as there are hotels. As elsewhere in the Kaliningrad region, you will find echoes of Lithuanian, Polish, German cuisines in the menu of almost all establishments, but as such, author's or national restaurants there is no.

In gastronomic terms, Yantarny is a village of contrasts. I think that neither in Zelenogradsk nor in Svetlogorsk you will find such an expensive establishment as here, in Yantarny, at the Schloss Hotel. This is a chic classic restaurant with white tablecloths, napkins, excellent food, amazing desserts, trendy waiters (it’s not even clear where they come from in this wilderness) and an exceptionally professional head waiter.

On the other hand, locals (for obvious reasons) prefer to dine in a small private dining room behind the Victoria store or the dining room of the Amber Combine. Chain establishments (such as Croissant, Kenixbecker, First) have not yet reached here, so the cuisine is exceptionally original and not combed to a single standard. Below are all the options.

Budget

• Private Dining(a simple but tasty lunch will cost 200-300 rubles. It is open on weekdays from 12:00 to 15:00). Address: Zheleznodorozhnaya street, opposite house 12 (behind the Victoria Quarter store, on the right side of the street is the entrance to the gate of a brown blank fence).
• Dining room "Alatyr" for employees of the quarry of the Amber Combine (this convenient option if you go on an excursion to the observation deck of the quarry. Otherwise, getting there is problematic. The price of lunch will be about the same, the dining room is open from 11:00 to 16:00 on weekdays).

Intermediate level

• Pizzeria "Basilik"(pasta from 180 rubles, pizza from 280. There are rolls, soups, salads, sandwiches. Minus - the institution is located in the microdistrict, and not in the historical part). Address: Sovetskaya street, 110 V, the full menu can be viewed in the official group of the pizzeria in Vkontakte.
• "Galley"(excursion groups usually dine here, the menu is varied). Address: Sea Embankment, 9 (very beginning of Sovetskaya Street, down to the beach).
• Cafe Becker(not to be confused with a restaurant. This is a small half-timbered house to the left of the stairs to the promenade. The cafe windows offer an excellent view from the high bank, in summer you can sit on the veranda. If you choose by price-quality ratio, and not by location, "Galera" clearly wins). Important: in winter, the cafe is open only on weekends and holidays. Address: Sovetskaya street, 72.

Expensive

• Restaurant at the Schloss Hotel. Address: Sovetskaya street, 68.

Holidays

In terms of various events, festivals and holidays, Yantarny is far from last in the region. Even international sports competitions are held here. beach views sports (volleyball, football, rugby), swimming and triathlon, stages of Russian championships, music festivals and, of course, holidays associated with amber.

The action plan is posted. Apparently, not all sports competitions are included in it, so it is better to inquire about them on the relevant thematic sites.

I will list a small part of the most notable events.

New Year

It is clear that they decorate the Christmas tree on the Masters Square, hold contests and organize festivities, but I noticed that many sports events are also planned, both for adults and children. These are indoor table tennis, volleyball and basketball tournaments. The plan is posted on the building of the House of Culture (Sovietskaya st., 70).

death march rally

Every year on January 31, government officials and ordinary people from Germany, Lithuania, Poland and Russia come to Yantarny to honor the memory of concentration camp prisoners who were shot on Yantarny Beach in 1945. Participants of the event repeat part of the path of the "Death March" and gather for a mourning rally near the memorial dedicated to this event.

Semi-finals of the international championship for amber fishing Amberfest

The task of the participants is to find as much amber as possible scattered by the organizers. Interestingly, both adults and children can take part in the championship. The final of the competition takes place in Poland.

Music Festival "Amber Beach"

The festival has everything: creative and sports zones, a night cinema, a tent city where you can stay with your tent or rent a roof over your head. European and Kaliningrad performers will delight listeners with works of various musical genres.

Safety. What to watch out for

The village is quite calm. True, street lighting works in a peculiar way - the lights react to movement, but they light up after a person has already passed. If your path lies through courtyards or small streets, get ready for the fact that there may not be lighting. Therefore, in the dark, you need to look very carefully under your feet so as not to fall from some ladder of three steps, treacherously "lurking" in the most inappropriate place. If you choose the main, well-paved streets, there is nothing to be afraid of.

Things to do

Shopping and shops

The only shopping option in the village is to buy amber. According to connoisseurs, the best prices are in the shop of the Amber Plant itself. Although there are many shops scattered throughout the village - choose any.

Bars. Where to go

There is a full-fledged bar at the Schloss Hotel, where you can order cocktails, drink coffee at the bar or warm yourself by the fireplace. There is also a pianist there. In summer, you can sit on the open veranda, from where you can scenic view to Becker Park.

Address: Sovetskaya street, 68

extreme sports

Diving

I already mentioned above that Lake Sinyavinskoe, formed in the former amber quarry "Walter", is considered a great place for diving. Visibility reaches 10–15 meters, and there is nothing at the bottom - a narrow-gauge railway, trees, uneven bottom topography, various building structures and amber ... There are 2 thermoclines (that is, warm and cold water layers do not mix), the difference between water layers reaches 10 °C.

Although there are few convenient approaches to the water, many athletes are attracted beautiful place and sandy bottom. There is even a campsite here. The lake is deep and cold, there are few fish here, so no one is engaged in spearfishing. A nice addition is the purest spring from the village of Sinyavino. People come here specially for water from all over the area.

The most famous diving clubs are Demersus and Poseidon 39

Kitesurfing and windsurfing

There are at least 2 picturesque spots in the vicinity: Yantarnoe and Povarovka. The first is good for convenient access and infrastructure. The second, on the other hand, is wild beach with a difficult entrance, but peace and the absence of vacationers are guaranteed there.

Unfortunately, there is no equipment rental.

Souvenirs. What to bring as a gift

Where, if not in Yantarny, to buy products from amber? The assortment here is quite extensive - from jewelry and paintings to health products (for example, healing beads made from raw stone). Here they mainly sell products of the amber plant, the sellers know the goods, so it’s difficult to run into a fake. Experts say that in the shop at the plant itself you can make the most bargain purchase.

How to move around the city

You should move on foot. You can easily walk around the entire village in 1 day several times, so you will only need transport to travel to the airport or neighboring towns.

Taxi. What features exist

Even if you came here from the airport on Yandex-taxi or used another mobile application, you can most likely go back only by calling a car through a local (Kaliningrad) company. By local standards, Yantarny is far from the airport and Kaliningrad, so the chance to catch a waiting car here is difficult. Try to book a taxi in advance.

It will not be superfluous to look in the navigator whether your location is determined. As I wrote above, there may not be a clear address in the maps. In this case, prepare in advance to give the taxi driver other guidelines.

Buses

A bus runs along Sovetskaya Street (about once an hour according to the schedule, which can be viewed at bus stops). On it you can drive to another part of the village, and on it you can go to or. A ticket to Kaliningrad costs 100 rubles, I personally didn’t go inside Yantarny, but I think that they won’t charge you more than 15–20 rubles.

There are special free parking spaces in the village. There are not many of them, but quite enough for the off-season. In season, especially on weekends, parking can be a problem. Here, as in the old days in Moscow, cars are left under every tree and on the sidewalks (mainly in the central part).

Amber - holidays with children

Amber is beautiful place for holidays with small children due to the climate, mild summers and winters, sea air. But as such, there are no special entertainments - parks, cinemas, attractions - here. The administration arranges a fairly large number of sports and recreational activities, including for children. The schedule can be viewed at the link I gave above. Children will also be interested in the professional sports competitions taking place here and some festivals (for example, Amberfest or the kite festival, which was held here in the summer of 2016). In general, I strongly recommend that you follow the updates on the site.

I also noticed that the children living here calmly walk on the street next to the house without adult supervision, that is, the atmosphere in the village is really calm and conducive to relaxing with children.

Amber, (former Palmniken, German. palmnicken) is a small cozy urban-type settlement in the north-west of the Kaliningrad region. The settlement on the coast of the Baltic Sea, although many call it nothing more than a city, is known throughout the world for its deposit and industrial production of the sun stone - amber.

Yantarny today is one of the most comfortable and beautiful settlements in the region. Clean green streets, cozy houses, respectable hotels, wide sand beach, a cool vintage park and, of course, amber!

Among the main attractions of Yantarny, one can single out the only amber plant in the world that extracts and processes amber. The plant has unique museum, which I will talk about in more detail in the future. Excursions are also conducted directly to the quarry where the stone is mined.

There is also a picturesque lake in Yantarnoye, a beautiful water tower, museum complex"Amber Castle" and the sad ruins of the Anna mine (1873), near which on January 31, 1945, on the shores of the Baltic Sea, about 3 thousand people were shot - prisoners of concentration camps in East Prussia. Not so long ago, a monument was erected here, in memory of this event.

Today I will show you only a small piece of Amber... I will tell you about the ancient temple in honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, and then we will go through the park and go down to the beach to the sea.

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The Evangelical Church was founded on September 8, 1887 (consecrated on January 3, 1892), at the expense of the Shtantien and Becker company, owned by entrepreneurs Maurice Becker and Wilhelm Shtantien, the owners of the Palmniken estate, as well as mines and an amber mine. During the construction of the church, which is a small copy of the St. George's Chapel in the garden of the royal castle of Montbignon on the outskirts of Berlin, large boulders and shaped bricks were used. The architect was V.L. Bessel-Lorca.

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The church had a traditional organ, colorful stained-glass windows and two inscribed bells from Shtantien and Becker. The interior decoration was made in the Romanesque style.

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During the war, the church survived and turned, first, into a Soviet club and a gym, and then into a warehouse, gradually falling into decay ...

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Attention was paid to the church only in 1990 and transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church. And already on January 13, 1991, the church in the name of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was consecrated by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad.

Today, the church does not have colorful stained-glass windows, but, in general, the historical appearance is very well preserved.

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On the facade there are signs in Russian and German, which differ greatly in content. If the real historical dates of the construction and consecration of the church are indicated on the German tablet, then only 1991 is indicated on the Russian one ...

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According to Matushka Olga, the wife of the rector of the church, Father Viktor Kurkin, all the interior decoration of the church was purchased at the expense of the parishioners.

By Decree of the Government of the Kaliningrad Region dated March 23, 2007 No. 132, the church received the status of an object of cultural heritage of regional significance.

08. The church house near the temple has a German foundation.

09. The village has a well-developed information and tourist infrastructure. There are signs, maps and other useful information for tourists.

10. Square of masters, souvenir and amber shops.

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12. Across the road from the temple is a respectable "Schloss-hotel", consisting of two buildings. The hotel building has been restored from old pre-war photographs with great accuracy.

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14. From the hotel, through the old Becker Park, a well-groomed path goes to the sea

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16. You can go down to the beach by a wide wooden staircase

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21. The beach in Yantarny is one of the widest and cleanest on the coast of the Kaliningrad region

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24. Depending on the weather, the Baltic Sea can change light from dark blue to greenish and even lead gray

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IN Lately Amber is increasingly becoming the center of all kinds of major festivals, exhibitions and other cultural events. Among the most famous festivals is, of course, the annual international festival spiritual, moral and folk-patriotic song "Peter and Paul Meetings in Yantarny" (this year it was held for the 9th time), as well as the international music festival of electronic music "Amber Beach".

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On August 24, the after-party of the short film festival "KOROCHE" was held here, which was attended by many eminent Russian actors and producers. I posted a photo report from this event a little earlier.

Sports were not left out. Every summer, qualifying rounds for the Russian Championship and international tournaments in beach football, beach volleyball, rugby, swimming competitions - "Amber Mile" and others are held in Yantarny.

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Hello friends. In the west of the Kaliningrad region is the village of Yantarny. A landmark of world scale - here are the largest deposits of amber and the world's only museum of this ornamental stone. Periodically, "amber storms" occur on the coast and the sea brings tons of "honey stone" ashore. They say that at the end of the 19th century, after such a storm, near the village, so much amber washed up on the shore that the inhabitants of the area collected it for several years.

Now the village of Yantarny is a town immersed in greenery with ancient history. Here, there is an open amber quarry, where industrial extraction of amber is carried out. You should definitely visit Yantarny, especially since tourism is developing well in the town and the service is decent. And we will tell you what to see here.

You can plan half a day / day for the trip, depending on whether you want to walk around the city, walk along the famous promenade, see the Anna mine, visit the museum and dig up amber for yourself, or limit yourself to an excursion to the mine and the museum.

Promenade and Baltic Sea

In good weather, you can stay longer here. Clean air and great beach. By the way, this is the first beach in Russia, 3 hectares long, awarded the Blue Flag in 2016.

The Blue Flag is awarded to the most environmentally friendly clean beaches peace

True, you can swim here only in good weather, when there is no rain and a strong Baltic wind, catching up with a picturesque, but not conducive to swimming, wave. And good for water activities The weather doesn't happen here very often.

There are many countries with beaches where people sunbathe with pleasure, but either do not enter the water at all or dip slightly. These are the beaches of Germany, Portugal. Those planning to come to Yantarny should take into account the weather and the fact that the Baltic Sea here is cold.

A bit of history

These lands were inhabited by Slavic tribes, which are now called by one common name - the Balts. Where Kaliningrad and its region are now, the Prussians (Porus) lived. Since time immemorial, they have been collecting amber ornamental stone and making jewelry from it.

ancient prussian

In those days, the extraction of amber was manual, i.e. limited to what the sea brought.

• In the XIII century - the knights of the Teutonic Order began to seize the lands of the Balts and build their fortresses on them. They declared all the amber to be their property, and those who did not agree were held "amber courts" and hanged.
• In the XIV century, the village of Palveniken was first mentioned, which in translation from Prussian means "treeless swamp, wasteland."
• In the 16th century, a new way of extracting stone appeared - fishing. Algae were caught from the boats with nets, and large amber was selected from them.
• XVII century - the second mention of the village, now under the name of Palmeniken.
• XVIII - the first experiments in the extraction of amber by digging. These shafts along the coast were simple pits up to 20 meters deep. To prevent the sand from falling asleep, they were reinforced with boards.
• XIX - the technology of amber mining improved significantly: open pits appeared, where miners, divers worked, and the first steam engines- excavators.
• The name of the village was transformed into Palmniken.
• In 1946, the village was renamed Yantarny.

You can see how amber is mined now by visiting the observation deck of the amber quarry. I will tell about it a little further.

Talking about the village, it is impossible not to mention two people - Bekker and Stantien. These German entrepreneurs in the 60s of the XIX century became the owners of the land and the absolute masters of the amber industry.

The memory of one of them is preserved to this day. Amber has Becker Park and Hotel Becker.

Hotel Becker

If the park is related to the estate of this entrepreneur, then the hotel is not. It is new, built relatively recently. But Hotel Schloss is the former home of Maurice Becker. Which he built on a historic site.

Once there was a hunting lodge of the Elector Georg Wilhelm, later the Prussian King Frederick I expanded it. He came here from and to hunt. And then Moritz Becker became the owner. Amber King demolished hunting lodge, and on its foundation he built his large manor house, laying out a park in front of it.

Please note that there are many types on the Internet. tourist maps where everything is confused. Probably because the error was on the map itself. There is a map with errors in the miniature (for comparison), and the map below in the article is correct.

Let's finish the story about Becker's manufactory. Apparently, the businessman's intuition did not let him down, and in 1899 he very profitably sold his possessions and business to the state.

Friends, now we are in Telegram: our channel about Europe, our channel about Asia. Welcome)

Attractions

The map is clickable, opens in a large size

This map with the correct designations of points of interest

I'll start with those for which bus tours come here.

• Museum of the Amber Factory

You can come here with a sightseeing bus, mainly from Svetlogorsk or Kaliningrad (maybe there are also from other cities).

You can come here on your own, but go to the territory of the plant only as part of organized excursion with a guide. This is an operating enterprise and the entrance to it is only through the checkpoint.

Tours run every day and every hour. The first one starts at 9:00 am and the last one starts at 4:00 pm.

The ticket can be bought at the checkpoint of the plant (checkpoint). Address st. Balebina, 1

• An adult ticket to the museum costs 180 rubles
• Children's 100 rubles

To avoid disappointment, you should know that you will not see the process of mining and processing amber. You will see a documentary film, unique exhibits: stones of different sizes and shades, magnificent products of amber masters.

The guide will tell you about the amber itself and how it is mined, about the Anna mine, where the tragic events of 1945 took place - the execution of 3,000 Jewish prisoners of concentration camps. There is a monument to the Holocaust in the mine. Traces of the famous "Amber Room" are also lost here.

You can learn more about amber at the Amber Museum in Kaliningrad. These two museums are unique because they are the only ones in the world dedicated exclusively to amber and amber products.

• Amber quarry and observation deck on it

The quarry is located at the entrance to Yantarny Settlement. Landmark - a monument to the Mermaid. From the monument, stomp through the mud for about 2 kilometers. Therefore, it is more convenient to get to the site by car or bicycle. But the work is worth it.

The scope of the action is huge: from a height of 60 meters, truly lunar landscapes open up, along the hills of which bugs-excavators move.

Of pleasant entertainment. On the observation deck there is a "sandbox" for adults. Everyone can feel like a prospector, digging amber pebbles out of the sand with a spatula or hands (which is more convenient). Every day, the museum workers pour a new portion of amber into it for tourists.

Whatever you dig up, you can take with you as a souvenir. You will also be given a document stating that you are a miner-prospector, in which you enter your last name.

A ticket to the observation deck costs 180 rubles. for adults, 100 rubles. for children.

• Museum complex "Amber Castle"

This is a 14th century castle. Naturally restored. Everything inside has been remodeled. The castle houses a variety of expositions - a little bit of everything. In general, the sensations are very pleasant. What's inside?

Crockery, household items, traditional Prussian costumes sewn by modern craftsmen, an amber pyramid, inside which you can sit on a chair and recharge your batteries.

Grinding machines from production, amber cosmetics.

"Red Corner", photos of famous people.

Torture room (not a single cultural European castle can do without it - the Inquisition left its ugly mark everywhere), maps and models of Balts houses and, of course, amber jewelry.

Museum opening hours: from 10:00 to 18:00. No weekends or breaks.

Ticket price 100 rubles.

• The next important attraction of the village is the promenade.

This walking path is located on the coast itself and goes along the coastline of the sea. The length of the promenade is 2 km.

For the convenience of walkers, it is raised above the ground (on piles) and from boards. Therefore, neither puddles nor sand threaten you.

Walks along the sea are especially useful for those who have respiratory diseases or asthma.

I talked about the beach at the beginning of the article. Now I want to add that both the promenade and the beach are equipped with good toilets, there are sun umbrellas and cafes (not cheap and not as many as we would like, so you can take food with you).

You can go down to the beach different places. The beach is very wide, you will not often see such beaches all over the world. The sand is yellowish, not fine. The central descent / ascent to the beach along a wooden staircase leading to the Maurice Becker Park and the Schloss Hotel.

The hotel is comfortable and beautiful. On its territory there is a swimming pool - a small glazed light building like a veranda.

Path from the sea to the hotel Schloss

• Church

The former evangelical church, the architecture of which has not been changed. Built in 1892. Now it is the temple of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.

Take a shoulder wrap with you. Handkerchiefs are issued inside.

• Sport

In Yantarny there is a lake where divers train and dive.

You can also rent a catamaran there.

There is a bicycle rental in the village.

• Another attraction is the Water Tower.

This structure, preserved from the time of Prussia, can be seen if you move from the church towards the sea along the right road.

• Masters Square

Modern square with nice shopping arcades. Nearby there are eateries, cafes, restaurants, toilets.

I really liked the city. Quiet, pleasant, clean.

Although it can be noisy here when music festivals and holidays are held. It's worth coming here.

Where to stay

Places a lot of. Fine hotels: Schloss hotel, Hotel Becker are the most famous. There is a hotel for divers on the lake. There is a private sector. You can, as I understand it, rent an apartment or even a house and live in the air.

How to get there

From Kaliningrad. The most convenient way to get there is by bus 120 route Kaliningrad - Sinyavino (via Yantarny). It departs from the South Station. Departs every hour/30 minutes. The journey takes about an hour and a half.

The first bus leaves Kaliningrad at 6:30. Last from Yantarny at 21:05. The schedule may change for sure.

From Svetlogorsk to Yantarny by bus number 282 or 286 from the stop "Children and Youth Center" (DYuTS). Buses leave from 5:41 (No. 286). Return from Amber at 19:17 (No. 282).

Don't miss the storks! Their nests can be seen directly from the bus window to the left and right of the road, on poles. Before entering the village and in the village itself.

The village on the map

Thanks for reading our blog. We wish you memorable good travels. See you!

Yantarny is an urban-type settlement located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The settlement is famous for the extraction and processing of valuable amber. Every traveler after visiting Yantarny can confirm the uniqueness of the place, where the grandeur of nature is felt and the excellent facets of history are revealed.

The history of Yantarny has more than seven hundred years, and amber has been successfully mined since the 17th century. Merchants and landowners could appreciate the rich deposits of valuable amber. Nowadays, many tourists are ready to visit a small urban-type settlement in order to make sure that the settlement is still unique.

So, what attractions are available to tourists?

The unique museum is located in the central part of Yantarny, or rather, in the castle of the XIV century. The castle is part of the Palmniken fortress.

The exposition is devoted to the history of the city, as well as to the extraction and processing of amber. Some exhibits are devoted to Slavic mythology, superstitions, spirits. It regularly hosts exhibitions of artists and musical events.

Location: Sovetskaya street - 61a.

Near the Anna mine there is a Monument erected in honor of the dead prisoners of concentration camps. In wartime, prisoners were shot near the mine and thrown into its adits.

The monument is a raised hand carved from granite. The height of the monument reaches seven meters. At the same time, the numbers of the dead prisoners can be seen on the hands. Such a performance contributes to the fact that each person thinks about the value of life.

Location: Soviet street.

The amber quarry operates today. The main task is the extraction of amber in an open way. It is here that about 90 percent of the total volume of amber is mined. Previously, a narrow-gauge railway worked in the quarry, but now it is possible to limit by car. Nearby is an amber factory.

Mermaid in sea ​​waves- an interesting symbol of the Yantarny urban-type settlement. The object opens the border of the settlement, so every visitor sees the local landmark.

It should be noted that until 1946 Yantarny was called Palmniken (“Swamp Village”). sculptural composition is an original pointer that allows you to orient yourself with the territorial boundaries of Yantarny and find evidence of the rich history of the village.

The building was built in 1892 as an evangelical church. At that time, boulders and figured bricks were used for construction activities. Previously, thematic stained-glass windows and an organ were installed in the church. However, valuable exhibits, stained-glass windows and an organ, were broken.

In the post-war period, the building was used for a club, a billiard room, and a warehouse. At present, the temple again performs its original function and was consecrated by the Metropolitan of Kaliningrad and Smolensk, His Eminence Kirill.

Location: Sovetskaya street - 69 a.

Moritz Becker is a well-known amber manufacturer, thanks to whom the development of amber mining in an urban-type settlement became possible.

The park complex was laid out in 1881 on the initiative of Moritz Becker. The gardener Levner was involved in the implementation of the project.

It should be noted that the park was created on the basis of the manor garden. Here it was possible to preserve the old powerful lindens, poplars, and ligatures. Moreover, the age of linden reaches two hundred years.

From different countries The world managed to deliver valuable ornamental plants for the development of the Moritz Becker Park. Such a move made it possible to diversify the collection of plants, thanks to which many people note the amazing diversity of the park.

As a result of walking park complex make the best impression. Maurice Becker Park is located between the coast of the Baltic Sea, as well as Sovetskaya Street.

Location: Sovetskaya street - 40.

The amber pyramid was built in honor of the 65th anniversary of the local plant. The attraction is located on the territory of the plant, not far from the observation deck.

The amber pyramid is a symbol of the amazing skill of the company's personnel. Its features are amazing:

• Height - 3.3 meters.
• Surface area - 25 square meters.
• Facing each of the four walls with a thick layer of amber weighing 500 kilograms.
• The pyramid can accommodate 10 - 12 people at the same time.

You can imagine how attractive the attraction is for tens of thousands of tourists who want to discover the beneficial effects of real amber.

The amber factory, located in the village of the same name on the coast of the Baltic Sea, is the largest amber deposit (up to 90 percent of the world's reserves). For the production of products in the summer of 1947, on the basis of the Koenigsberg amber factory, it was possible to create Kaliningrad Combine. In 1951, an art workshop began to operate. Products are exported to America, Europe, Asia, Middle East.

The museum exposition includes amazing exhibits created on the basis of amber:

• Watch.
• Paintings.
• Caskets.
• jewelry: beads, pendants, brooches, necklaces.
• Inclusions.
• Souvenir products (figurines of birds and animals).

To create jewelry and souvenirs, the natural form of amber, which is distinguished by its rich palette, is used in an interesting way.

Today, the plant produces mass products and offers unique exhibits created on the basis of individual orders.

Location: Balebina street - 1.

One of the most worthy places for walking is the Square of Masters. Here you can not only buy paintings, souvenirs, amber jewelry, but also book a tour or rent a bicycle. It is not surprising that many tourists try to enjoy a walk on the Masters Square.

Location: Sovetskaya street - 72.

From the Observatory open great views. From here you can see the amber quarry from a height of 50 meters. In addition, you can try yourself in the role of an amber catcher, because in the “mini-career” the tourists are engaged in mining on their own. The lucky ones, who caught a large number of drops of precious resin, receive a diploma of "Amber Prospector".

The construction of the water tower dates back to 1920. The height of the object reaches 35 meters, diameter - 11 meters.

In 2006-2007, repairs were carried out to restore the facade and roof. In addition, a unique weather vane in the form of a unicorn was installed. In 2012, the water tower functions for its intended purpose.

Location: Zheleznodorozhnaya street - 2.

Several staircases lead to the sea, and a wide strip of the beach goes beyond the horizon in two directions at once. The length of the promenade reaches two kilometers, and it was created on the basis of Siberian larch. Part of the promenade runs through salt lakes left over from mining the unique Sunstone.

Every tourist can be convinced that the Yantarny urban-type settlement still has interesting sights. Such a journey can leave the most vivid impressions, allowing you to believe that in Russia there are beautiful corners which will continue to gain popularity.

Location: Park them. Becker.

The last day of our short trip made it possible to visually feel how changeable the weather is in the Baltic. The rain that fell at night ended in the morning, but the sky was in clouds. Having breakfast at the Croissant cafe, we watched the city residents rush to work, many put on light jackets, it was cloudy and not at all hot.

Today we had to "take" another "height" -.

The village of Yantarny in the Kaliningrad region is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea. The population of Yantarny is 5.5 thousand people. The distance from to the village of Yantarny is 50 km. We drove along the so-called old roads. We drove through different villages and settlements, managed to see a little bit of the life of the "non-urban" residents of the Kaliningrad region. This road from Kaliningrad is quite busy, with good coverage, but narrow and winding. We begin to meet the famous roads with rows of trees standing on the sides - "", in dry and sunny weather the road along them looks very picturesque. At the entrance to the village meets a mermaid:

Rest in the village of Yantarny, Kaliningrad region

In Yantarny for tourists there are several hotels and a bunch of accommodation offers in apartments. In the short Baltic season, almost everything is booked. Locals say that Yantarny village is not oversaturated with tourists. We were only one day, and even then - all day on the beach, but the village (in its coastal part) seemed to me quiet, not noisy.

Becker Park in Yantarny

Here, on an elevated terrace by the sea, is the Moritz Becker Park. Becker is a German, owner of amber quarries. By his will, on the site of the old garden in 1881, a park was laid out with lindens, maples, oaks, chestnuts and rare plants brought specially from Japan and America. On the territory of the park (13 hectares) residents and guests of Yantarny walk. Becker himself was one of the owners of the Shtantin and Becker company, which developed a quarry method for extracting amber back in the 19th century. By the way, the name of the park in honor of its founder was given only in 2007, that is, in recent history Russia.

Festival "Amber Beach"

Yantarny organizes various bright events every summer. For example, a couple of days ago (we were in Poland at that time) there was an electronic music festival "Amber Beach". Concert pavilions, large screens, campsites, food courts are organized on a special territory. Musicians from Poland, Russia, Lithuania, Iceland, etc. performed there. Later we talked with the bartender on, he told how everything went - there were a lot of people, there was also a lot of good music. This year, on the last day (the festival runs for three days) in the evening went heavy rain, but none of the spectators was "washed away". It's all over in the morning.

Amber plant Kaliningrad region

In the Village there is an Amber Combine - an enterprise for the extraction and processing of amber. The Palmniken settlement on the site of today's Yantarny settlement arose in the 17th century, and the first inhabitants, in addition to traditional fishing, were engaged in the extraction of amber. And the settlement received development at the end of the 19th century, when a railway was laid here from the German Fishhouse (modern Primorsk Russia), along which the mined amber was taken away for processing to other parts of Prussia.

Amber in the Baltic pursues at every turn, and in the Baltic part of Poland, and in Lithuania, and, of course, in the Kaliningrad region.

The enterprise for the industrial extraction of amber was founded in 1947 on the basis of the former Königsber amber manufactory. On the basis of the German manufactory in Palmnikin, two stone mines were opened - "Henrietta" and "Anna". The Anna mine is also infamous for the fact that Jews who were driven here in 1945 from concentration camps in East Prussia were shot near it. In memory of this event, a monument to the victims of the Holocaust was erected in Yantarny. The Nazis flooded the quarries in Palmniken at the end of the war. The Soviet government already in 1947 took measures to restore mining, and in 1948 the first hundred tons of amber were mined! In the 90s, the amber plant changed the status of the enterprise several times, acquired debts. But it seems that the bad times are over, and now the Amber Plant is working stably, with a profit. Now there is a special hall-museum with historical data on the extraction of amber, excursions are held, there are special excursion to the quarry, where you can watch the extraction of amber. And in October 2016, Svetlogorsk will host the first Economic Forum amber industry of the Russian Federation, it is organized by the Amber Combine.

What is amber, how is it formed?

I read a lot about this stone and so I realized that there is no consensus on how amber was formed. There are many myths and legends about this. Even the Egyptian pharaohs and priests wore pieces of yellow stone for decoration or for something else. There is a certain scientific version, which is considered official.

About 50 million years ago there was dry land in some part of the Baltic Sea. Pine trees grew there, which, unlike modern ones, were more resinous. Pine trees, under the influence of special physiological and various other physico-chemical processes, released resin (gum), which flowed from the trunk and formed literally clusters on the trees. Under the influence of the wind, the trees bent and broke, the resin flowed to the ground. Or birds, in search of insects, hollowed out the bark of trees, leaving holes through which the resin flowed out. One way or another, pieces of resin fell to the ground, oxidized and crusted. Then there was climate change, global warming, the convergence of huge glaciers. As a result, part of the land with pieces of amber became the sea.

There are deposits of stone in Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Mexico, Azerbaijan, Romania, Sakhalin (!), in Japan, in the Dominican Republic. And in the area of ​​​​the village of Yantarny in the Kaliningrad region in Russia, it turns out that there is one of the most big places deposits of amber. 90% of the world's amber reserves are mined on its territory, you think about it - 90%! Stone deposits (layers) are located at a depth of fifty meters, the main part of this layer is in the sea, but part is on land, on the coast. It is possible to get amber before and now in Yantarny, just walking along the coast and picking up pebbles.

Amber mining methods

There were several ways of extracting amber: from simply "catching" pieces with a net from a boat from the depths of the sea to the construction of such peculiar amber mines or pits. Since the middle of the 20th century, amber mining has become more technologically advanced. Amber is found in nature in various forms and types. In Kaliningrad in the Amber Museum there is a specimen weighing more than 4 kg, and in London, in the Museum of Natural History there is a "pebble" weighing more than 15 kg. By the way, in July 2016, a piece of amber weighing about 2.5 kg was found in the Kaliningrad region, which has not happened in recent years. And the most expensive specimens are inclusions: in the stone there are insects or small animals frozen thousands (or maybe millions) years ago. Presumably, insects or animals literally stuck to the pieces of resin and stayed there forever. The cost of such a piece with a frozen lizard, for example, reaches several tens of thousands of dollars.

The deposit in Yantarny is unique in that raw materials are mined here in the marine and coastal-marine parts, and here, in the village, it is processed at the Yantarny plant. In addition, it is curious that amber is washed ashore by storms on its own: about two tons were carried out near the village of Yantarny at the end of the 19th century, and in Solnechnogorsk in 1914, after a storm, about a ton of amber was found on the shore. Statistics show that in the Kaliningrad region about 40 tons of amber is taken out of the sea per year. But, of course, the main part is mined in an industrial highly mechanized way.