Karamsin

The 23 year old Russian writer and historian Nikolaj Mihailovich Karamzin (1766-1826) came to Königsberg on the 19th June 1789. He told about the impression of the town in “Letters”: Yesterday at 7 o’clock I came here…Königsberg, the capital of Prussia is one of the biggest European cities. It has about 15 versts in circle. Once he had been one of the main Hansa cities and it’s trading is very important now. The river is however so deep, that big merchant ships can float there. There are 4000 houses and 40 000 citizens- not so much for a city. But today it seems to be crowded because lots of people came here to fair…” and on another day Karamzin had left the city.