Kȍnigsberg from the early 20th century is depicted in the photograph. This is a south-east view, from the side of district Fordere Forstadt where the house of the philosopher Immanuel Kant was located in the past. This district, being the suburb, was renowned for many sightseeing attractions. One of the first railway stations in the city, a synagogue and a trade exchange were built here. The photographer captured the lane Grosse Krangasse on the southern bank of the river Pregolya. Nowadays an embankment opposite the World Ocean Museum is situated here.

On the foreground of the photo there is a Green Bridge that connected the island with the southern part of the city. Historically, the life of this district was subordinate to trading. A commodity harbor: embankment with quays and a multitude of warehouses from red brick – was accommodated here.

The Green Bridge was built in 1322. Over its long history it burnt to the ground several times. The year 1582 became a fatal one for that wooden structure: a period when Kȍnigsberg сaught a powerful fire. One was forced to rebuild the bridge from scratch. At that very time its pillars were painted into green color and that assigned a new name to it. In XVII century the Green Bridge became a meeting place for merchants – business agreements were reached and commercial plants were discussed there. Possibly, that was the reason why the first trade exchange of Kȍnigsberg was built particularly on this place. The legend has it that the bridge also served as a specific post office where residents of the city of Kneiphof gathered together in order to receive their correspondence.

By the time when the photo presented at the exhibition was made the Green Bridge had been just repaired. At that time a new luxurious stock exchange building was being built and everything around it should have complied with it. During the Second World War the bridge was severely damaged. The Soviet government was engaged with its reconstruction; however, in 1972 the building was nevertheless dismantled.

This photo was one of the series donated to Kaliningrad Museum of Fine Arts by the German foundation Zeit Ebelin und Gerd Bucerius. The public organization acquired photographs from Warsaw Institute of Arts where they in turn got from East Prussia during the Second World War. Once this collection belonged to the Сare of Monuments Association.