{"id":505,"date":"2020-02-13T11:34:40","date_gmt":"2020-02-13T11:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/?p=505"},"modified":"2021-01-02T10:58:45","modified_gmt":"2021-01-02T10:58:45","slug":"kaliningrad-architectural-contrasts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/expatkaliningrad.com\/ru\/kaliningrad-architectural-contrasts\/","title":{"rendered":"Kaliningrad Architectural Contrasts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kaliningrad a Place of Architectural Contrasts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

February 8th<\/sup> 2020 was a big day in Kaliningrad, to be more precise, it was Big Sausage Day*. Reputedly, it is the day that the ladies of Kaliningrad walk around with smiles upon their faces and quite a lot of the men most sensibly stay at home (source: anonymous). But not me. Unfazed by the reports of a giant object of cylindrical length being disported on the open streets, I set out, in defiance of the Vegetarian Society, one day late as usual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Big Sausage fest has become so popular here in\nrecent years that it has undergone an extension, turning it effectively from a\nBig Sausage Day into a Big Sausage Weekend. Unfortunately, the huge and\neponymous object makes its debut on Saturday morning. This year we had been\ninvited to attend on Sunday and last year both I and our invitee were too\nhungover to attend. So, instead of reviewing how the Big Sausage went and where\nit went, I am going to make a few comments instead on the much-vaunted subject\nof \u2018Kaliningrad: a place of contrasts\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This expression is a stock-in-trade of most\ntravelogues where Kaliningrad is concerned, and why not? It is a good one. The\nterm is often applied to the striking and very often incongruous juxtaposition\nof architectural forms here in Kaliningrad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kaliningrad architectural contrasts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The connection between a whopping great sausage and\narchitecture is not as obtuse as first it may seem. On the second day of this\nweekend\u2019s event, the Big Sausage, understandably exhausted from Saturday\u2019s\nexertions, goes into hiding, allowing the festivities to continue in a more\ncircumscribed place. The venue this year was in the paved area surrounding one\nof Konigsberg\u2019s restored monuments, the King\u2019s Gate (more of which at another\ntime).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kaliningrad
K\u00f6nigsberg ‘s KIng’s Gate & Kaliningrad’s Soviet flats ~ a City of contrasts. Notice the old tram tracks!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Kaliningrad King’s Gate<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can see from the photograph supplied, the red-brick Gothic structure of the King\u2019s Gate in the foreground (photographed from the back) and there in the background a long row of 1970s\u2019 Soviet-built flats. Needless to say, the world\u2019s most renowned architects eschew these rather than applaud them, but, like them or not, they are all part and parcel of K\u00f6nigsberg-Kaliningrad\u2019s diverse and rich history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my humble vegetarianskee opinion, these flats could be employed to good purpose this time next year. By attaching a giant inflatable sausage from the rooftops, running from one end to the other, the venue for Second Sausage Day would be unmissable and the advertising potential for certain types of products phenomenal. Food for thought?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kaliningrad
A view of the King’s Gate from the rear surrounded by Big Sausage Day event stalls<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

*The Long Sausage holiday has a long tradition. The medieval holiday was first held in K\u00f6nigsberg in 1520. K\u00f6nigsberg’s butchers cooked 16 metre’s of sausage and carried it around the city. The participants then ate the sausage, drank beer and danced. Today, the people of Kaliningrad continue the old tradition and enjoy the holiday of old K\u00f6nigsberg . <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Copyright \u00a9 2018-2021 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kaliningrad a Place of Architectural Contrasts February 8th 2020 was a big day in Kaliningrad, to be more precise, it was Big Sausage Day*. Reputedly, it is the day that the ladies of Kaliningrad walk around with smiles upon their faces and quite a lot of the men most sensibly stay at home (source: anonymous). […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":506,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[123,40],"tags":[128,127,126,124,129],"class_list":["post-505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kaliningrad-photogallery","category-visitors-guide-to-kaliningrad","tag-big-sausage-kaliningrad","tag-kaliningrad-place-of-contrasts","tag-konigsberg-architecture","tag-konigsberg-kings-gate","tag-mick-hart-kings-gate-konigsberg"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t