On This Day
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Königsberg (modern day Kaliningrad) founded by Teutonic Knights and named in honor of the Bohemian King Ottokar II

Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland (663 kilometres (412 mi) west of...

Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland (663 kilometres (412 mi) west of the bulk of Russia). Located on the Pregolya River at the head of the Vistula Lagoon, it is the only ice-free Russian port on the Baltic Sea. Its population in 2020 was 489,359. Kaliningrad is the second-largest city in the Northwestern Federal District, after Saint Petersburg, and the seventh-largest city on the Baltic Sea.

The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement Twangste by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and named Königsberg ("king's mountain") in honor of King Ottokar II of Bohemia.

Historical Significance

Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland (663 kilometres (412 mi) west of the bulk of Russia).

Events Before

  1. Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the torture of heretics in the Me

    Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition

  2. -May 7th) Utrecht destroyed by fire

    -May 7th) Utrecht destroyed by fire

  3. Battle at Westkapelle - Floris de Voogd 'the Guardian' defeats Guy of Dampierre

    Battle at Westkapelle - Floris de Voogd 'the Guardian' defeats Guy of Dampierre

  4. Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania

    Mindaugas (1203 – 12 September 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only crowned King of Lithuania.

  5. University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hi

    University of Salamanca granted a royal charter by Alfonso IX. Third oldest university still operating and the oldest Hispanic.

Events After

  1. Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensi

    Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongol offensive in Southwest Asia

  2. The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

    The Grand Union of the Augustinian order formed when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

  3. Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae

    Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

  4. Kraków, Poland, receives city rights

    Kraków, Poland, receives city rights

  5. Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, with tens of thousands sl

    Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, with tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age

More from the 1250s

Michael VIII Palaiologos is formally proclaimed Emperor of Nicaea in Nymphaion

Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261.

Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, with tens of thousands sl

Baghdad, then a city of 1 million, falls to the Mongols as the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed, with tens of thousands slaughtered, ending the Islamic Golden Age

The Seventh Crusade is defeated in Egypt, and Louis IX of France is captured

The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France.

Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the torture of heretics in the Me

Pope Innocent IV issues the papal bull Ad Extirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on September 1, 1255?
Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland (663 kilometres (412 mi) west of the bulk of Russia). Located on the Pregolya River at the head of the Vistula Lagoon, it is the only ice-free Russian port on the Baltic Sea. Its population in 2020 was 489,359.
Why is Königsberg (modern day Kaliningrad) founded by Teutonic Knights and named in ... significant?
Kaliningrad (known as Königsberg until 1946) is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland (663 kilometres (412 mi) west of the bulk of Russia).

Explore More

September 1 in HistoryYear 1255