Königsberg, and the result has been to stimulate the trade of the city. It is protected for a long distance by moles, in which a break has been left in the Fischhauser Wiek, to permit of freer circulation of the water and to prevent damage to the mainland.
The industries of Königsberg have made great advances within recent years, notable among them are printing-works and manufactures of machinery, locomotives, carriages, chemicals, toys, sugar, cellulose, beer, tobacco and cigars, pianos and amber wares. The principal exports are cereals and flour, cattle, horses, hemp, flax, timber, sugar and oilcake. There are two pretty public parks, one in the Hufen, with a zoological garden attached, another the Luisenwahl which commemorates the sojourn of Queen Louisa of Prussia in the town in the disastrous year 1806.
The Altstadt of Königsberg grew up around the castle built in 1255 by the Teutonic Order, on the advice of Ottaker II. King of Bohemia, after whom the place was named. Its first site was near the fishing village of Steindamm, but after its destruction by the Prussians in 1263 it was rebuilt in its present position. It received civic privileges in 1286, the two other parts of the present town—Löbenicht and Kneiphof—receiving them a few years later. In 1340 Königsberg entered the Hanseatic League. From 1457 it was the residence of the grand master of the Teutonic Order, and from 1525 till 1618 of the dukes of Prussia. The trade of Königsberg was much hindered by the constant shifting and silting up of the channels leading to its harbour; and the great northern wars did it immense harm, but before the end of the 17th century it had almost recovered.
In 1724 the three independent parts were united into a single town by Frederick William I.
Königsberg suffered severely during the war of liberation and was occupied by the French in 1807. In 1813 the town was the scene of the deliberations which led to the successful uprising of Prussia against Napoleon. During the 19th century the opening of a railway system in East Prussia and Russia gave a new impetus to its commerce, making it the principal outlet for the Russian staples—grain, seeds, flax and hemp. It has now regular steam communication with Memel, Stettin, Kiel, Amsterdam and Hull.
See Faber, Die Haupt- und Residenzstadt Königsberg in Preussen (Königsberg, 1840); Schubert, Zur 600–jährigen Jubelfeier Königsbergs (Königsberg, 1855); Beckherrn, Geschichte der Befestigungen Königsbergs (Königsberg, 1890); H. G. Prutz, Die königliche Albertus-Universität zu Königsberg im 19 Jahrhundert (Königsberg, 1894); Armstedt, Geschichte der königlichen Haupt- und Residenzstadt Königsberg (Stuttgart, 1899); M. Schultze, Königsberg und Ostpreussen zu Anfang 1813 (Berlin, 1901); and Gordak, Wegweiser durch Königsberg (Königsberg, 1904).
KÖNIGSBORN, a spa of Germany, in the Prussian province
of Westphalia, immediately to the N. of the town of Unna, of
which it practically forms a suburb. It has large saltworks,
producing annually over 15,000 tons. The brine springs, in
connexion with which there is a hydropathic establishment,
have a temperature of 93° F., and are efficacious in skin
diseases, rheumatism and scrofula.
See Wegele, Bad Königsborn und seine Heilmittel (Essen, 1902).
KÖNIGSHÜTTE, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province
of Silesia, situated in the middle of the Upper Silesian coal and
iron district, 3 m. S. of Beuthen and 122 m. by rail S.E. of
Breslau. Pop. (1852), 4495; (1875), 26,040; (1900), 57,919.
In 1869 it was incorporated with various neighbouring villages,
and raised to the dignity of a town. It has two Protestant
and three Roman Catholic churches and several schools and
benevolent institutions. The largest iron-works in Silesia is
situated at Königshütte, and includes puddling works, rolling-mills,
and zinc-works. Founded in 1797, it was formerly in
the hands of government, but is now carried on by a company.
There are also manufactures of bricks and glass and a trade in
wood and coal. Nearly one-half of the population of the town
consists of Poles.
See Mohr, Geschichte der Stadt Königshütte (Königshütte, 1890).
KÖNIGSLUTTER, a town of Germany, in the duchy of Brunswick,
on the Lutter 36 m. E. of Brunswick by the railway to
Eisleben and Magdeburg. Pop. (1905), 3260. It possesses an
Evangelical church, a castle and some interesting old houses.
Its chief manufactures are sugar, machinery, paper and beer.
Near the town are the ruins of a Benedictine abbey founded in
1135. In its beautiful church, which has not been destroyed,
are the tombs of the emperor Lothair II., his wife Richenza, and
of his son-in-law, Duke Henry the Proud of Saxony and Bavaria.
KÖNIGSMARK, MARIA AURORA, Countess of (1662–1728),
mistress of Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of
Poland, belonged to a noble Swedish family, and was born on
the 8th of May 1662. Having passed some years at Hamburg,
where she attracted attention both by her beauty and her talents,
Aurora went in 1694 to Dresden to make inquiries about her
brother Philipp Christoph, count of Königsmark, who had
suddenly and mysteriously disappeared from Hanover. Here
she was noticed by Augustus, who made her his mistress; and
in October 1696 she gave birth to a son Maurice, afterwards the
famous marshal de Saxe. The elector however quickly tired
of Aurora, who then spent her time in efforts to secure the
position of abbess of Quedlinburg, an office which carried with
it the dignity of a princess of the Empire, and to recover the
lost inheritance of her family in Sweden. She was made
coadjutor abbess and lady-provost (Pröpstin) of Quedlinburg,
but lived mainly in Berlin, Dresden and Hamburg. In 1702
she went on a diplomatic errand to Charles XII. of Sweden on
behalf of Augustus, but her adventurous journey ended in
failure. The countess, who was described by Voltaire as “the
most famous woman of two centuries,” died at Quedlinburg on
the 16th of February 1728.
See F. Cramer, Denkwürdigkeiten der Gräfin M. A. Königsmark (Leipzig, 1836); and Biographische Nachrichten von der Gräfin M. A. Königsmark (Quedlinburg, 1833); W. F. Palmblad, Aurora Königsmark und ihre Verwandte (Leipzig, 1848–1853); C. L. de Pöllnitz, La Saxe galante (Amsterdam, 1734); and O. J. B. von Corvin-Wiersbitzki, Maria Aurora, Gräfin von Königsmark (Rudolstadt, 1902).
KÖNIGSMARK, PHILIPP CHRISTOPH, Count of (1665–1694),
was a member of a noble Swedish family, and is chiefly
known as the lover of Sophia Dorothea, wife of the English king
George I. then electoral prince of Hanover. Born on the 14th of
March 1665, Königsmark was a brother of the countess noticed
above. After wandering and fighting in various parts of Europe
he entered the service of Ernest Augustus, elector of Hanover.
Here he made the acquaintance of Sophia Dorothea, and assisted
her in one or two futile attempts to escape from Hanover.
Regarded, rightly or wrongly, as the lover of the princess, he
was seized, and disappeared from history, probably by assassination,
on the 1st of July 1694. One authority states that
George I. was accustomed to boast about this deed; but this
statement is doubted, and the Hanoverian court resolutely
opposed all efforts to clear up the mystery. It is not absolutely
certain that Sophia Dorothea was guilty of a criminal intrigue
with Königsmark, as it is probable that the letters which
purport to have passed between the pair are forgeries. The
question of her guilt or innocence, however, has been and still
remains a fruitful and popular subject for romance and
speculation.
See Briefwechsel des Grafen Königsmark und der Prinzessin Sophie Dorothea von Celle, edited by W. F. Palmblad (Leipzig, 1847); A. Köcher, “Die Prinzessin von Ahlden,” in the Historische Zeitschrift (Munich, 1882); and W. H. Wilkins, The Love of an Uncrowned Queen (London, 1900).
KÖNIGSSEE, or Lake of St Bartholomew, a lake of Germany,
in the kingdom of Bavaria, province of Upper Bavaria, about
212 m. S. from Berchtesgaden, 1850 ft. above sea-level. It has a
length of 5 m., and a breadth varying from 500 yards to a little
over a mile, and attains a maximum depth of 600 ft. The
Königssee is the most beautiful of all the lakes in the German
Alps, pent in by limestone mountains rising to an altitude of
6500 ft., the flanks of which descend precipitously to the green
waters below. The lake abounds in trout, and the surrounding
