Kaliningrad, a gentle land of low plains, wetlands, and soft hills, was once part of East Prussia under German rule. Today, it’s a shining gem on the edge of the Baltic Sea, often called the Amber Capital of Russia. As you exit the modest Kaliningrad airport, one thing becomes instantly clear — amber is everywhere. Lining the terminal are shops filled with amber jewelry and crafts, a nod to the city’s claim of holding 90% of the world’s known amber reserves. Even the legendary Amber Room in Saint Petersburg’s Catherine Palace was crafted from amber mined here.
Walking through Kaliningrad’s streets, it’s impossible to miss the abundance of amber souvenir stores. From necklaces and sculptures to intricate decorations, these shops attract tourists from all over the world. Even local convenience stores showcase amber pieces in their display windows. The city’s deep connection to amber is also celebrated in its dedicated Amber Museum, which holds thousands of crafted artworks. During the World Cup, this cultural venue took on a sporty twist — with photos of football legends like Pelé, Platini, and Maradona prominently featured on its red brick exterior.
Amber, known locally as the “sun stone,” is believed to embody the light and warmth of the sun. In that spirit, Kaliningrad greeted international football fans with both brilliance and hospitality. Once known as Königsberg, the city was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1945 through the Potsdam Agreement and renamed Kaliningrad in honor of Soviet official Mikhail Kalinin. After the Soviet Union’s dissolution in 1991 and Lithuania’s independence, Kaliningrad became a landlocked Russian exclave, cut off from the mainland and bordering Poland and Lithuania.
Despite the scars of war and reconstruction, remnants of German architecture still grace the city center. The most notable is the Gothic-style Königsberg Cathedral, a rare architectural gem in a country known for its onion-domed Orthodox churches. The cathedral also houses the tomb of German philosopher Immanuel Kant, drawing visitors from Germany and beyond. While German heritage is visible, during the World Cup the streets were filled with English and Belgian fans, especially as Kaliningrad hosted the group stage showdown between their national teams.
Tucked between modern, rectangular Soviet-style buildings are flashes of red-brick German structures, subtle yet striking. From the quieter Saransk with its 310,000 residents to this geopolitically unique city, Kaliningrad stood out among Russia’s 11 World Cup host cities. Like Alaska to the United States, it’s a distant exclave — a slice of Russia separated by borders and the sea.
Had Kaliningrad not been chosen as a World Cup venue, many might never have known that Russia, the world’s largest country by land area, possesses a far-flung territory along the Baltic coast. The city lies 1,289 kilometers west of Moscow and requires a flight over Belarus and Lithuania to reach. It shares borders with Poland and Lithuania, and its time zone differs from Moscow’s by one hour. During the tournament, the influx of British and Belgian fans gave the city a distinct Western European flair — a vivid reminder of how football brings the world together, even in the most unexpected corners.