Insterburg trolleybus

During the boom of tram traffic in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some efforts to organize it were also made in Insterburg. Siegfried Bufe in his book "Tramways of West and East Prussia" (Straßenbahnen in West- und Ostpreußen, — Stuttgart, 1985) reports that the last of them date back to 1926. But none of them had a final result. Possible reasons for the city council's refusal to organize tram traffic in the city were a lack of funds and a modest number of city residents - 30,000 people. The first urban public transport in the city was a bus. At the end of 1935, four old army buses belonging to the local fire brigade began to run in the city. But almost immediately, the city authorities began to consider the issue of creating a trolleybus service in Insterburg. The first Insterburg trolleybus went on the line on November 28, 1936. Incidentally, Insterburg became the seventh city in Germany and the first in East Prussia where trolleybuses appeared.

The contact lines were installed by AEG. Three of the most modern and expensive Mercedes-Benz trolleybuses of that time were purchased. The first trolleybus route, 7.2 km long, started from the airfield on the southern outskirts of the city and along Nordenburgerstraße (now Pobedy Street) via Alter Markt (now Lenin Square) reached the north-eastern suburb of Insterburg, Sprindt. In 1938, the second line was put into operation - from Alter Markt along Hindenburgstraße to the railway station. The contact wires for this route were provided by Siemens. Due to the increased passenger flow (the city's population grew, to which, in addition, a large number of military personnel were added), a third route was launched in 1944: Alter Markt - new cemetery. It should be noted that buses continued to operate alongside the trolleybuses, and they partly followed the same routes. Thus, the bus from the final stop in Georgenburg after the waterworks followed the same route as the trolleybus from Shprindt to Alter Markt.