The article characterises the stylistic development of Königsberg bindings in the Renaissance and Mannerist period, i.e. from the second quarter of the 16th to about mid-17th century. Based on scarce source material and scarcely researched historical material, the process of Königsberg bookbinders abandoning the Gothic tradition was traced. The formal and stylistic orientation of successive master bookbinders was characterised, while recalling the most relevant data on the functioning of their workshops. A separate attention was paid to the unique collection of 20 bindings from the so-called Silver Library of Prince Albrecht of Prussia and his second wife Anna Maria. Changes in the material, technical and decorative spheres on the bindings in the second half of the 16th century, clearly influenced by the so-called Wittenberg style, were examined subsequently. Finally, the causes of stagnation in the bookbinding industry of Königsberg in the first half of the 17th century, manifesting itself primarily in the reproduction of old decorative schemes, were diagnosed.