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End of the Legend: What's Famous About Kaliningrad's "Villa Edit," Sentenced to Demolition?

Villa "Edith" - house no. 180 on Victory Avenue. Since September, they have begun to spread intelligence about the upcoming demolition, in November they confirmedWhat is the significance of this building, the loss of which is being mourned in Kaliningrad and elsewhere?

🔸 The house, according to local historians, is the prototype of the villa "Edith" from the story of the same name Mark BarinovPublished in 1958, it was read avidly in Kaliningrad and throughout the country. The story tells of German spies and Soviet intelligence officers, and most importantly, the Kaliningrad dungeons where the legendary Amber Room is supposedly hidden. The entrance to the dungeons is located in a villa. The story was reprinted several times, and a play based on it was also staged, which was also very popular.

The description of the "villa" in the story perfectly matched the appearance of house No. 180. Kaliningraders and tourists alike flocked to the house.

"So many legends and mysterious stories are connected with this villa! I remember how my dad used to take my brother and me to this house, telling us how he and his colleagues searched for an underground passage in a well leading to the Royal Castle... All the relatives who came to visit were also brought here and, with the permission of the residents, reverently led around the cottage." recalled Kaliningraders.

🔸In 2015, the building was declared unsafe, and residents of three apartments began to be relocated. In early October of this year, the last residents moved out. The building immediately looted marauders.

🔸Local historians and preservationists tried to defend the house so it could be included in the register of cultural heritage sites and established as a museum. The head of the Cultural Heritage Protection Service Evgeniy Maslov countered: there are no signs of a monument near the building.

January 5, 2025, will mark the 100th anniversary of Mark Barinov's birth. By then, "Villa Edit" may be demolished.

Photo: kgd.ru