Königsberg was founded on the Pregel River in 1255 by the Teutonic Order of the Crusaders as a fortress. Until 1721, only the castle bore the name Königsberg, but the people united under this name and the adjacent towns - Altstadt, Kneiphof and Lebenicht.
To understand the significance of the trade exchange in the history of the city, let us recall that since 1340 Koenigsberg (more precisely, the neighboring cities) was a member of the Hanseatic Trade Union. Hansa - a union of German cities - was created with the aim of protecting the merchants from the rule of feudal lords, as well as from robbers and pirates. At the end of the 16th century, Königsberg de facto seceded from the Hanseatic League, the development of trade was facilitated by the fact that East Prussia, which included Königsberg, found itself on the sidelines of European religious wars. The political and economic influence of the city is evidenced by the fact that the kings of Prussia were crowned not in Berlin, but in Königsberg.
In the 17th century, exchanges began to appear in the city: in 1619 the first mention of the exchange appeared, and then in 1623 a wooden Kneiphof exchange was built on the northern coast of the Kneiphof island (the historical name of one of the island urban parts of Königsberg, now the Kant island). They tried to build trading exchanges above water, on piles, as this exempted them from paying taxes on transactions concluded there. By the end of the 18th century, the wooden exchange building was dilapidated, and in 1798 a new one was built on the same site, which burned down just two years later. Therefore, in 1801, the third exchange building was built, demolished in 1875, because it interfered with the expansion of the street.
German has a long important history
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