Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

The best guarded part of the Malbork stronghold was the High Castle. Surrounded by two lines of walls and a moat, it was connected to the Middle Castle by a drawbridge. The High Castle was closed during the day. It was home to about 50 Teutonic brothers. The castle’s central point was a courtyard surrounded by cloisters with a well in the middle. The ground floor of the castle contained a kitchen, utility rooms and a cell for the most important prisoners. The first floor housed the monks’ rooms, the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the chapter house and the treasury. The convent chamber was located even higher. Grain supplies were hidden in the attics, which were supposed to last two years of a potential siege. A 66-meter watchtower, which was also the church’s bell tower, towered over everything.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

In addition to the Great Refectory, the Middle Castle also contained the Grand Master’s Palace, the Grand Commander’s chambers, the Armoury, rooms for visitors and an infirmary.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

The most representative place of the entire complex was the Great Refectory, a huge hall located in the western wing of the Middle Castle. It was in this hall that the Teutonic Knights organized feasts and banquets. The hall, measuring 30m x 15m, was the largest room of its kind in the whole of Central Europe. It could accommodate 400 people. Its magnificent, palm vault is still supported by three slender pillars to this day. The interior design of the room was complemented by windows with colorful stained glass and frescoes, headed by the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the patron saint of the Teutonic Order, located above the main entrance.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

In what areas is the castle in Malbork record-breaking?

1) The largest brick castle in the world - a fortress so fortified that it was never conquered militarily, the inhabitants could survive 3 years without any supplies, and the monastery part was accessed by 4 bridges thrown over the water.

2) The largest kitchen hood in the world - the most exquisite food of the Middle Ages came out of the kitchen, this was confirmed by important heads of Europe at that time, it was also tasted by King Casimir the Great.

3) The largest sculpture of medieval Europe - the Malbork Madonna is over 8 meters high, it was recreated by modern conservators, covered with a mosaic containing real gold. It can be seen on the castle walls of the chapel, from under the ticket office building. Interestingly, the glass cubes were brought from Venice, and the gold elements from Gdańsk.

4) The largest number of latrines in a stronghold in the Middle Ages - even cooks had their own toilet, and cabbage leaves were often used as toilet paper, which also had medicinal properties, e.g. anti-inflammatory.

5) The largest number of wells in a castle in the Middle Ages. Interestingly, the fortress also had access to running water.

6) The oldest underfloor heating in these lands - large stones in the basement were heated in fireplaces and acted as storage furnaces. The heat escaped into the rooms through special holes in the floors.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

Malbork Castle is full of legends and mysteries. One of the most famous is the story of Maria of Brzozowa, who was supposedly bricked up alive in one of the castle’s chambers. According to another legend, there was supposed to be a place under the castle that conceals the treasures of the Teutonic Order. Of course, there is no confirmation that these stories are true, but they are what make Malbork an even more mysterious and intriguing place.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

The Low Castle was a complex of utility and storage buildings. Inside the Low Castle there were, among other things, granaries and warehouses, stables and barns, craft workshops, a forge, a bell foundry, a brewery, a bakery, and even a river port and the church of St. Lawrence.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

The building has an impressive volume of 250 thousand cubic meters, 30 million bricks were used to complete the entire complex, of which 4.5 million are in the high castle. This makes it the largest brick structure in the world.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

It is an example of Gothic architecture of impressive size. It is considered the largest Gothic castle in the world in terms of area occupied - 21 hectares. The castle has many towers, and the defensive walls create a unique view.

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Castle of the Teutonic Order, Malbork, Poland

The Teutonic Knights, along with the Knights of St. John and the Knights Templar, are one of the three largest orders to emerge from the crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries. The beginning of the Malbork Castle was built between 1275 and 1300. Initially, at the end of the 12th century, the seat of the Teutonic Order was located in Acre, then from 1209 in Montfort, and finally it was moved to Malbork in 1309.

From the beginning, the order wanted to conquer Pomerania and unite with Brandenburg, initially buying lands, and finally moving to open military operations against Poland.

The lost Battle of Grunwald began the decline of the Teutonic Order, crowned by defeat in the Thirteen Years’ War. From 1457 to 1772 Malbork Castle became one of the residences of Polish Kings.

From 1772, the castle was taken over by the Prussians and its regular devastation began. Gothic vaults and windows were demolished, cloisters were bricked up, new windows were forged, and the Palace of the Grand Masters was transformed into a cotton mill.

In 1816, a major reconstruction of the castle began to restore its historical value. Not everything was rebuilt in accordance with the original, replacing the original materials with more modern ones.

From 1933, the Nazi flag was hung on the Malbork Castle. This place was used for ceremonies.

In 1945, after the battles for the city with the Red Army, during which the castle was turned into a point of resistance, about 70% of the buildings of the High Castle, the Middle Castle, the Tower and the castle church were completely destroyed.

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Fields of Grunwald, Poland On July 15, 1410, one of the largest battles in the history of medieval Europe took place in the fields near Grunwald. It was fought between the forces of the Teutonic Order, supported by Western European knights and the Prussians under the command of Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen, against the combined Polish and Lithuanian forces along with a small contingent of Tatar troops supported by vassals from both countries as well as mercenaries from Bohemia, Moravia, and the Silesian duchies, and refugees from the Golden Horde and private banners under the command of King of Poland Władysław II Jagiełło and Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas. The battle ended with a victory for the Polish-Lithuanian forces, which had a significant impact on the future of both countries. #grunwald #pole #pola #pomnik #bitwa #walka #wojna #polska #litwa #krzyzacy #zakonkrzyzacki #field #fields #fieldsofgrunwald #monument #statue #memorial #battle #fight #war #poland #lithuania #teutonicorder #teutonicknights #rycerze #knights