Vorstadt (Königsberg)

In 1329 the Teutonic Knights granted land on the southern shore of the Pregel River to the island town of Kneiphof primarily for constructing docks, but also for gardens, agriculture, and pastureland.

The suburb which developed there, the Kneiphöfische Vorstadt, became a Freiheit district with special rights under the control of Kneiphof.

Its Gerichtssiegel, or court seal, depicted a hand descending from clouds holding a weighing scale, flanked by the two hunting horns of Kneiphof.

[2] By the Rathäusliche Reglement of 13 June 1724, King Frederick William I of Prussia merged Kneiphof and Vorstadt into the united city of Königsberg.

In 1753 King Frederick II of Prussia allowed the city's Jews to build a Hasidic synagogue on Vordere Vorstadt's Schnürlingsdamm, which was completed in 1756.