Place:Zelenogradsk, Kaliningrad, Severo-zapadny, Russia

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Zelenogradsk, prior to 1946 known by its German name (Lithuanian and Old Prussian: Krantas), is a town and the administrative center of Zelenogradsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located north of Kaliningrad, on the Sambian coastline near the Curonian Spit on the Baltic Sea. Population figures:

In its heyday, Zelenogradsk (as Cranz) was a popular seaside resort on Germany's eastern Baltic coast, comparable to Bognor Regis in England. However, at the end of World War II, the Soviets took over the town, and much of its tourist traffic has been diverted to nearby Svetlogorsk, formerly called Rauschen.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

The site of today's Zelenogradsk was originally an Old Prussian fishing village, in the proximity of Kaup, a Prussian town on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the Viking era. The area became controlled by the Teutonic Order and settled with Germans. The German name Cranz, originally Cranzkuhren, derives from the Old Prussian word krantas, meaning "the coast". For most of its history, it remained a small village in East Prussia.

During the 19th century, Cranz became the primary seaside resort for the Kingdom of Prussia on the East Prussian coastline, especially after the construction of a railway line connecting it with Königsberg (now Kaliningrad) in 1885. From 1816 to 1895, it was known as das königliche Bad, or "the royal bathing resort". Despite the increasing numbers of tourists, the fishing industry remained strong; smoked flounder was a regional delicacy. Although Cranz had over 6,000 inhabitants by the start of World War II, it never received a town charter.

The area was overrun by the Soviet Red Army during World War II and annexed to the Russian SFSR, although it suffered minimally through warfare. The German population fled during the evacuation of East Prussia or was subsequently expelled by force. Cranz was renamed Zelenogradsk in 1946 and was granted town status in the subsequent years.

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