Designed by renowned German church architect, Arthur Kickton, the Church of the Rood was erected on Königsberg's eastern island district of Lomse between 1930 and 1933 to cater for the needs of the burgeoning population in that area. From the outset it was United Evangelical (Lutheran & Calvinist combined) by denomination but the city's transfer into Soviet hands in 1945 deprived it of a congregation and it was converted into a storage/work space, which at one stage saw it utilised as a fishing equipment factory.

In the late 1980s however, after years of dereliction, it was handed over to the Russian Orthodox community who had it fully restored and operational by 1994. Indeed, it served as Kaliningrad's official Orthodox cathedral until 2006, at which point the newly-consecrated Cathedral of Christ the Saviour took over that particular role. The stunning amber iconostasis (a dividing wall of orthodox icons) inside is nevertheless one of the key pieces of religious artwork in the city.

The definitive design feature of the church, though, is the massive cross or ‘rood’ on the main facade, which is made of tin-glazed (or ‘maiolica’) tiles from the East Prussian village of Cadinen (now Kadyny in Poland). Tiles from the same factory were apparently used to decorate several U-Bahn stations in Berlin.