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Writer's pictureChristy

The Marvelously Majestic Malbork Castle in Poland

A year ago, while I was visiting Transylvania, I learned a bit about the Teutonic Knights (a German religious order of monk-warriors founded during the Third Crusade to Jerusalem) and so was excited to visit another castle with Teutonic ties but this time in Poland. We were headed from Warsaw to Gdańsk when we made a stop at the medieval Malbork Castle. We didn’t know anything about it when we went so it was a lot of fun to discover and learn of the historic importance of this castle.

Malbork Castle started as a 13th century fortified monastery founded by the Teutonic Order. It became their headquarters and seat of the Grand Masters in 1309 and remained as such for over 150 years. It was later used as a fortress by many others through the centuries and eventually becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. When measured by land area, it is the largest castle in the world. A particularly fine example of a medieval brick castle, it later fell into decay, but was meticulously restored in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the conservation techniques now accepted as standard were actually founded and practiced here first. Following severe damage in WWII it was once again restored, using the same techniques that had been used in prior centuries.

Not only is it the largest castle in the world but it is also the largest BRICK castle in the world comprised of over 66 million bricks! Because of the war and reconstruction of the castle over the years, the bricks are different colors because of their age with about 50% of them being originals. That’s a lot of bricks! A photo of the castle from 1945 shows how badly the castle was damaged.

Like medieval times you walk over the moat through the gates...and then you walk through even more gates, but let me just say, the details on these gates are truly impressive and beautiful. Oh, and look out for the interesting windows above this gate – these are where boiling water was thrown down below to deter enemies from entering the castle. This technique was pretty effective as you could imagine.

Of course, the monks were integral to the castle and lived in the large attached monastery. This building and tower is still intact from centuries prior.

The statues of the four most important Teutonic Knights in the courtyard settled in front of the brick background is beautiful – they are essentially the founders of the castle.

The high castle is the oldest part of the castle complex – it also looks different from the rest as the architecture is different – and complete with a medieval draw bridge – stereotypical but very impressive, especially since it is completely made of beautiful red brick. In the courtyard there is a well with a bird on top that looks like an eagle but, it is actually a pelican which is the symbol of the castle. If you look closely, you can see bullet holes from when the Nazi soldiers shot at it.

I found the Grand Masters Room in the High Castle very interesting with all the remarkable architecture. Built in 1218 and rebuilt a century later, this is where the most important discussions of the day took place and this important room reflects that. The ceilings and floors were extremely intricate. The simple yet beautiful stained-glass windows added to the appeal as well.

One thing that surprised me was the medieval heating system coming from the floor – you know the castle had to be cold especially during the winter, so I was surprised to find the system actually worked! Another surprise was a sort of “sign” pointing towards the restroom – it was actually a funny gargoyle-like creature showing the way to the “toilet tower” which was actually more sophisticated than I had imagined. There was originally water below the tower for “flushing.”

Also inside the castle, was an extremely impressive exhibition on the Teutonic Order containing artifacts from the 12th – 15th centuries. The items inside this small museum rival many others in all of Europe. One remarkable piece was a very weathered St. Mary statue dating back to the 12th century. Another notable was a picture book from 1199. And that was surprisingly well preserved.

St. Mary’s Church was another highlight of our castle visit – the church was impressive on its own. I found it hard to believe it was part of the castle complex at all. Originally built in 1280, it was rebuilt and expanded upon over the next few centuries. The pictures below show detail on the walls from the 15th century and the alter from 1504. Signs of very old age were apparent on original items from the 14th century – a crucifix and church bench. The crucifix set under the gothic ceiling was stunning!

So, our day at Malbork was interesting and turned out to be one filled with history and extra unexpected surprises. I never imagined how 66 million bricks could turn out so beautifully.

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