Along the amber shores
The best gift is is. . . right, handmade! The book is also good, but a home-made present is even better : ))
The trip to the Kaliningrad Territories in frosty February 2021 was dedicated to drinking and celebrating my birthday. Well, February was frosty in Moscow, and in the Baltic the weather pleased with the spring mood. Oh, here, I’m lucky with the weather on my February trips! Pah-pah, as they say : ))
Baltic. February 2021
And this happy moment came - my birthday. I never liked this day. In childhood and adolescence, there were some reasons, at the age of 30+ - others. And in the last ten years, on the contrary, I have been looking forward to the wonderful February days. Yeah, and my husband has his October ones : ). It’s just that we began to give each other trips: when to a neighboring district, when to another country... Sometimes with children, if possible, together... So, this time we managed to please ourselves with a change of picture, albeit within the framework of domestic expanses, but with a German bias .
A trip is, of course, wonderful, unforgettable, but the girl, that is, me, needs to be pleased with something significant. Perfume is there, "gold-diamonds", or some kind of vase, at worst.
Jewels, you say, Natasha. . . There will be jewels too! We'll get it ourselves!
We say "Baltic Sea", and immediately remember about amber. We say "amber", and the Baltic countries immediately come to mind. Although there is Brazilian and African amber, but this is so, pampering. The most famous and popular in the world is the Baltic one. Officially, industrial extraction of amber is allowed only in the Kaliningrad region of Russia. We will not delve into the subtleties and nuances of the amber business, but it seemed to me that I once met more amber shops in Vilnius than in Kaliningrad.
So, you can visit the operating amber mining plant.
This is what you need, for boys - production, for girls - yeah, girly, there are different trinkets : ). In fact, I would not mind replenishing my treasury with amber if something so unusual and wonderful comes across.
The building inlaid with amber in Yantarny
I saw the first amber jewelry in the form of huge beads brought by my aunt from a sanatorium in Latvia when I was a child. Terribly disliked, however, as now. And before the trip to Lithuania for the New Year holidays of 2020, I did not understand the admiration for amber jewelry "masterpieces" at all. Well, the amber room and other splendors are from the category seen in the pictures, so it does not apply to the topic under discussion. In general, amber jewelry did not please me and did not interest me in any way. But it was in one of the stores in Vilnius that my ideas about amber jewelry and costume jewelry changed dramatically. So, being in the amber lands, it would be natural to treat yourself to a pretty little thing. But something went wrong. . . Neither in the plant's store, nor in the numerous stalls in Kaliningrad, on the Curonian Spit, did I meet my amber happiness. To be honest, I didn't stubbornly. But when “scanning” the counters, my eyes didn’t cling to anything, everything was somehow ordinary, consumer goods, ugly... Well, okay, I guess I just got unlucky : ). It's not about that.
Amber has been mined by people since prehistoric times. It is known that already in the 7th century. BC e. amber was sold to distant countries. But it was in the 15th century that it acquired special value precisely in financial terms. under the rule of the Teutonic Knights on the territory of Prussia. It was then that a strict scheme of administration and control over the extraction of amber was established, up to the death penalty for illegal fishing. Prey is probably a strong word. In those days, it was a primitive way of collecting stone on the banks and shallow waters. The “catch” was especially rich after strong storms. More and more "solar" stone was required, and storms do not happen every day. But technological progress came to the rescue. In the second half of the 19th century, amber began to be mined using steam excavators, digging the coastal strip into the sea. First, this innovation was tested on the Curonian Spit. When the main reserves were drained there, the Shtantin and Becker company, which was prosperous at that time, moved to the area of the village of Palmniken (modern Yantarny).
Production was no longer carried out only at sea. Amber reserves were also explored on land, where amber mines were opened. Here things went even better, which the state could not miss. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the company was abolished, and the owner Maurice Becker was paid 8 million marks in a penalty for squeezing the business. Co-owner Friedrich Shtantin retired long before those events. By the way, it was he who discovered in the 50s of the 19th century, being a cabin boy and diving into the sea, deposits of amber under water, and Becker came up with the idea of digging with an excavator. The state took full control of this profitable business, creating the "Royal Amber Enterprise". Further, as usual, the owners changed several times. Then the Second World War, the division of the former territories of East Prussia between Poland and the USSR, and the amber deposits come under the jurisdiction of the Soviet state.
In 1947, the reconstruction of the amber farm began, now it is Kaliningrad Amber Combine JSC.
So, at the Primorsky quarry, where, in fact, amber is mined, an observation deck has been organized.
In that period, there were no tours, visitors were allowed only for self-examination. But in our time, everything is changing so rapidly, so it is better to check up-to-date information on official website. By the way, in February, such a beautiful site did not exist yet. And all the data about the work schedule and the cost of visiting was obtained by crooked Internet paths. On the same website you can read both historical references and modern methods of amber extraction. So let's not delve into this topic, but let's go for a walk.
Here is the quarry:
You can look at it both just like that and through binoculars:
And there is also a large monitor on which the work in the quarry is broadcast in real time:
It is, of course, grandiose: toy excavators, tiny trucks, people, in general, are microscopic.
But. . . nevertheless, with a story, this picture would be more exciting. Yes, there are stands with historical references nearby, but live conversation is not a substitute.
I read very enthusiastic reviews about Amber Pyramid.
Well, don't know, don't know, a pyramid is like a pyramid. I didn’t feel any Force inside, and I didn’t observe a magical radiance, although it was quite sunny.
I guess I'm too. . . uh. not soft enough and wet stale and dry (“Office Romance”). But I am human, because human weaknesses are not alien to me, in particular, greed. There is a huge sandbox where you can dig in search of amber. The kids take great pleasure in mining. Watching their happy faces, I so wanted to get amber too, but it was somehow awkward, embarrassing. An adult aunt - and there, in the sandbox. But the baby left, and we were left alone. Yeah, and immediately into the sandbox.
I must say, there is plenty of amber there, so you can’t leave without wealth : ).
And, after all, it captures, it really itches: “More and more! ” Of course, it’s indecent to choose a tourist sandbox somehow. And then an idea arose.
Having received the practical skills of prospectors, we decided to try it all out in practice. Frankly, no matter how much we walked along the coast until that day, we never found the pebble we needed. Or they just didn't notice. Here, and here we already looked at how and what, and the rocks in the district are especially amber-bearing - we went to mine amber at sea. Your own! Precious!
Initially, there were no plans to visit the village of Yantarny, they wanted to confine themselves to an observation deck. Therefore, its infrastructure, so to speak, was not studied. We looked at the map where to park the car - and that's it. And we will stomp to the sea.
We stopped in front of the Church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God.
Formerly a Catholic church, built during the prosperity of Shtantin and Becker. In the Soviet period, it was plundered and adapted for household needs. In the 90s. of the last century transferred to the ROC
We should go through Becker Park. There, it seems, everything is beautiful, ennobled and conveniently descending to the sea. But our legs carried us in the opposite direction, along Park Alley. At first everything was beautiful too. . .
. . . but then. . . very inconvenient in terms of access to the beach.
What to do? ! Amber must be mined. Yes, yes, the very one, your own : ). But we managed. Just think, climb a little and jump over. In addition, there is an almost beaten "folk" path.
This is greatness! This is beauty! Here is the boundlessness!
I remember that upon arrival in Zelenogradsk, I "complained" about the lack of wind. Immediately, they fully plunged into the strength and power of the Baltic winds. It blew so that it seemed that one's own thoughts could not be heard. And the waves, at the same time, gently splashed at the feet, not at all stormy. Here is such a contrasting Baltic.
The beach was not empty. It, of course, is not a summer influx, but there were enough strollers.
Judging by the traces of the protectors, they come here, I don’t know whether to try the strength of the car, or, to experience amber happiness in the water. Yes, scuba divers were seen in the depths of the sea, perhaps comrades of that company seen in the distance, with a boat.
Well, where is our prey? Yes, here they are, right under your feet, so inconspicuous, but also standing out among the same type of grains of sand.
First, one pebble, then another, then again.
And you already begin to distinguish very small specimens.
That's how I got myself a birthday present : )). Yeah, on beads : ))
Of course, these "placers" do not represent any value. And in whole bags and trays, such "riches" are sold in souvenir shops for three kopecks. But there is an inexplicable pleasure here. Oh, like picking mushrooms in the forest, or like fishing.
And it's time for us to go back to the place of lodging for the night, before it gets completely dark. in Zelenogradsk. Prey is prey, gifts are gifts, and a glass of delicious and with bubbles for my beloved on the seashore, albeit frozen, is not to be missed. Or, on the contrary, it is absolutely necessary to skip, in the sense of yourself : )). Damn, confused, urgently need a drink!
Well, a little more about another pearl, or rather amber, of the Baltic Sea - Svetlogorsk (before 1947, the Prussian Rauschen). The date of foundation is considered to be 1258. But the settlement of fishermen was here before that, of course. In general, its history is closely connected with the history of Zelenogradsk (Kranz). And today we know it as a fashionable resort.
Svetlogorskis not in our plans either. Well, don't cram the unimaginable into a four and a half day trip. And yet, they couldn't slip past him. We stopped at Svetlogorsk already at sunset on the way from Yantarny to Zelenogradsk.
The meeting was quite fleeting, I couldn't even put a normal check mark. But I remember something. Firstly, this, of course, is the relief, which is especially impressive when you are not used to it in the twilight. That's for sure. . . Gorsk. And the situation with parking: wherever there are prohibition signs, there are cars. How is that?!
Spin around a bit. There was catastrophically no time to look for a more legal parking place, and succumbing to the general trend, they left their car, like everyone else, under a prohibition sign. Outrageous!
We didn't go very deep. But yes - fashionable!
There are simpler options. Apparently, a "modernized" legacy.
I really wanted to go down to the embankment:
I dreamed of trying the old funicular:
Photo from the Internet
Eh, a modern elevator had not been opened at that time, otherwise it would have been tested for sure.
Photo from the Internet
And, in general, one could feel some respectability of the resort city by imposingly strolling back and forth among the mansions.
Still, "our" Zelenogradsk seemed simpler, but not worse because of this simplicity. But the car left in the wrong place, although in extras with many, did not give rest. Let's move on.
What we have as a result: the theme of Amberand, moreover, Svetlogorsk, is not disclosed in our filmography of the trip. And many more villages scattered along the Baltic coast, like pieces of amber. And not only along the coast. So there is something to do on your next trips : )
From the same trip:
