It’s quite simple, really: If you love marzipan, this is where to go
23 January 2025 ~ Resort Shop Zelenogradsk a Must for Marzipan
The reason why many people have never heard of Königsberg is that in 1945 it ceased to exist. Very few people make the connection between the Königsberg that was and the Kaliningrad that is.
One chap, for example, on espying my Königsberg baseball cap perched on my head in the pub, insisted that Königsberg is a city in modern-day Germany twinned with the UK seaside town of Cleethorpes, and he wouldn’t take ‘niet’ for an answer. Learning something new every day is an occupational hazard when drinking in English pubs.
But even those who are acquainted with Königsberg, who know something of its history, the existence of its cathedral, that it was once home to the German philosopher Kant, and that it was, in WWII, reduced to ash and cinders, are probably none the wiser regarding the city’s reputation as an erstwhile-prized production centre for an exceptional kind of marzipan.
For the uninitiated everywhere, marzipan is a sweet whose primary ingredient is almonds. It is a versatile confection, taking many shapes and forms, and is more likely than not these days when found in general retail outlets to be a chocolate-coated version companioned by other candy bars.
Two more specialist shops >
House of Honey, Kaliningrad
Cultura Bottle Shop
Königsberg’s marzipan history
Königsberg’s marzipan history kicked off in the first decade of the 19th century. The main players were the Pomatti brothers, who, because of the exceptional quality of their marzipan goods, were among the first confectioners in Königsberg to be granted a Royal Warrant of Appointment, effectively establishing them as approved suppliers of marzipan products to Königsberg’s royal elite.
As the taste for marzipan grew, Königsberg’s stable of marzipan makers increased in line with trends in neighbouring countries, leading to the production of different kinds of marzipan each endowed with their own regional character, each prepared and baked in a style which identified their origin, and which eventually became the trademark of a particular type or variant.
Although traditional Königsberg marzipan does not share the elaborate traits of marzipan originating from the German city of Lübeck, its scrolled ‘C’ and ‘S’ shaped sweets, tartlets and jam-filled confections are immediately identifiable by the toasted, crispy, golden-brown finish imparted to the marzipan’s surface by preparations and techniques that remain a secret to this day.
In taste, Königsberg marzipan is further distinguished by the incorporation of less sugar and a dash or two of rose water to the quality almond paste, which, together with the toasted topping, infuses Königsberg marzipan with an unmistakeable flavour.
Resort Shop Zelenogradsk a Must for Marzipan
Today, Königsberg’s successor, Kaliningrad, continues to purvey an eclectic range of marzipan products in many different forms and flavours. However, whenever I need my marzipan fix, I toddle along to the simply named, but not to be underestimated, specialist ‘Resort Shop’ (Kurortnaya Lavka as it translates in Russian), which is located in the high street of the pretty Baltic coastal town named Zelenogradsk.
Unassuming but attractive, this cozy and compact shop is a shrine for marzipan pilgrims. Its diverse array of almond-based goodies, in ready-to-eat chocolate-bar form and presentation gift packs, many of which are slanted towards a nostalgic Königsberg theme, offer a spoilt-for-choice selection that any marzipan addict will find difficult to resist.
Putting it another way, if it’s marzipan you’re after, either for yourself, or as a souvenir for a special other, Zelenogradsk’s Resort Shop is the place to find and buy it.
Another feather in Resort Shop’s cap is that offers you the opportunity to augment your confectionary purchases with novel souvenirs and ~ surprise, surprise ~ items of silver jewellery, as well as walking away with, after you’ve paid, of course, one of several or even several exciting tea and coffee blends.
And then there’s the economics of it. For an independent retail outlet geared to the tourist market, the prices at Resort Shop are really rather reasonable.
Resort Shop Zelenogradsk
I cannot walk Zelenogradsk high street without responding to the urge to call into this shop to furnish myself with a marzipan treat and, as I become notably fussier about the coffee that I drink, to unite my marzipan fetish with my rediscovered beverage hedonism.
For marzipan hunters anywhere, Zelenogradsk’s Resort Shop takes an awful lot of beating, which is why I am banging its retail drum.
Time for a coffee, methinks; pass the marzipan, please.🙂
Copyright © 2018-2025 Mick Hart. All rights reserved.
Image attributions:
Königsberger Marzipan: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/K%C3%B6nigsberger_Marzipan.jpg [Sendker, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]:
Königsberg marzipan outlet: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/ID003115_A022_SchlossplFranzoeStr.jpg [Herausgeber:Landsmannschaft Ostpreußen e.V.Parkallee 84/8620144 HamburgHRA VR4551Ust-ID-Nr.: DE118718969Bundesgeschäftsführer: Dr. Sebastian Husen, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]
