Zelenogradsk

Zelenogradsk, prior to 1946 known by its German name Cranz, is a town and the administrative center of Zelenogradsky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located 34 kilometers north of Kaliningrad, on the Sambian coastline near the Curonian Spit on the Baltic Sea. Population figures: 13,026; 12,509; 10,786.In its heyday, Zelenogradsk was a popular seaside resort on Germany's eastern Baltic coast, comparable to Bognor Regis in England. However, at the end of World War II, the Soviets took over the town, and much of its tourist traffic has been diverted to nearby Svetlogorsk, formerly called Rauschen.