This article analyses the image of Kaliningrad as perceived by residents of other regions of Russia who have visited it. It is argued that impressions, assessments, and opinions of the city represent its symbolic capital. Using interviews in conjunction with mind mapping, we identify the characteristics of social perceptions of Kaliningrad, the main symbolic objects of its historical and cultural landscape, and attitudes toward them. The specificity of Kaliningrad is also determined through respondents' perceptions of its similarities and differences with other cities. It is established that external assessments reveal an imbalance in the perception of architectural and cultural sites from different eras: the German, Soviet, and modern periods of the city's history. This imbalance is most clearly expressed in positive attitudes toward sites from the German past and negative attitudes toward sites of the Soviet heritage. It is argued that this contrast in assessments stems from the fact that the very pragmatics of travel actualises the demand for uniqueness, which in the case of Kaliningrad is most clearly expressed in the presence of traces of its German past in its symbolic space. Furthermore, partly due to the influence of Kaliningrad's media image, it is expected to confirm its status as a "European" city with corresponding standards of living and recreation. However, a direct visit reveals its Russian reality, with its inherent advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, one of the main challenges of symbolisation in the case of Kaliningrad is finding a balance between the demand for otherness, consistent with its status as a tourist destination, and identity with Russian culture. The external image clearly expresses the tourist, natural, and recreational attributes of Kaliningrad's symbolic space, but its military, industrial, and social significance are practically absent. Their promotion can serve as a counterbalance to the commercial vector of symbolisation and will contribute to a deeper understanding of the historical and socio-cultural specifics of the Kaliningrad region and its population.

place image, city, social representations, symbolic capital, urban space, mental maps, Kaliningrad

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