Poland changes the Polish name of Kaliningrad to the traditional name of Królewiec

15 comments
  1. DeepL translation:

    >The Commission for the Standardization of Geographic Names beyond the Borders of the Republic of Poland, acting under the authority of the Chief Land Surveyor, at its 125th meeting. meeting on April 12, 2023, resolved that for the city with the Russian name Калининград (Kaliningrad), only the Polish name Królewiec is recommended and the Polish name Kaliningrad is not recommended, while for the administrative unit in which this city is located and bearing the Russian name Калининградская область (Kaliningradskaya oblast´), the Polish name obwód królewiecki is recommended and the Polish name obwód kaliningradzki is not recommended.
    >
    >The above amendment shall enter into force as of the date of its promulgation, i.e. May 09, 2023.
    >
    >In making the above changes, the Commission took into account that:
    >
    >the city currently bearing the Russian name Kaliningrad is known in Poland under the traditional name of Królewiec,
    >
    >the current Russian name of this city is an artificial christening unrelated to either the city or the region,
    >
    >the fact of naming a large city close to Poland’s borders after M.I. Kalinin, a criminal co-responsible, among other things, for issuing the decision to mass murder Poles (the Katyn Massacre), has an emotional, negative character in Poland,
    >
    >geographic names, in addition to their identification function, can have symbolic functions, and the current Russian name of the city is an element of Russia’s symbolic space that is also imposed on audiences outside the country’s borders,
    >
    >events related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the imposition of the so-called Russkiy mir, Russia’s waging of an information war, make us take a different look at the issue of imposed names, arousing great controversy, not meeting with acceptance in Poland,
    >
    >each country has the right to use in its language traditional names that constitute its cultural heritage, but cannot be forced to use in its language names not accepted by it.
    >
    >In addition, several other proposals for changes in the Polish geographical nomenclature of the world were discussed, and a list of building names from the Belarusian area was discussed and accepted.

    Translated with [www.DeepL.com/Translator](http://www.DeepL.com/Translator) (free version)

  2. Let’s change Thorn to its proper name, too, while we are at that, so that Copernicus can still find his favourite kebab.

  3. This goes beyond what exonyms traditionally are. It’s as if they went back to call the Norway’s capital Christiania, against the Norwegians will. Or with Leopoldville.

  4. What I like the most about it is how the desision was made some 2 weeks ago but promulgated today, exactly on the Russian ‘Victory Day’.
    There’s going to be a wonderful butthurt in their propaganda tomorrow, I can’t wait.

  5. A symbolically and historically important day in the postwar history of my homeland region, Prussia:

    Remember—in Polish you say “Królewiec” (once again)! 🇵🇱🎉

    I’ve been actually doing it for a few years now, being all that *controversial* to some of my interlocutors, especially those from further away parts of Poland. How the turntables!

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