旅人る - Tabibito

 

Zheleznodorozhny

 

A small village in Kaliningrad oblast near the Polish border, known prior to 1946 as Gerdauen. Last time I've been here in 2015 and then the village looked completely desolated as if it will become ruins in a nearest future. But I was wrong. Few years ago the local authorities launched a full-scale restoration effort aimed to make Zheleznodorozhny a tourist magnet. One street is done.

 

The rest are on the way.

 

Restored doors.

 

 

This three storey building was built in 1993 but also received a «historic» overhaul.

 

Funny frames with QR-codes on the walls, if you follow the link you can see how the house looked before the renovation.

 

At least there will be one cute european-looking town in the region.

 

There is still a lot of work. For example, the half-timbered warehouses continue to fall apart. However in November 2022 they got a new owner.

 

The old church is also empty, but now there is a decent playground in front of it. And the bell tower will house a small museum next year.

 

Zheleznodorozhny has become unexpectedly good and, I hope, will be even better.

 

Oh forgot about the local cat.

 

Getting in (as of September 2022): direct road from Kaliningrad. The last few kilometers is an old beautiful German tree-lined highway. Hourly buses from Kaliningrad. Zheleznodorozhny is not included into border zone, so no special permit is required.

Where to eat: the Patefon cafe with a small phonograph museum.

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