Malbork - Past home of The Teutonic Order
Marienburg
Information
Malbork is a town in northern Poland in the Żuławy region, with 38,478 inhabitants (2006).
The Teutonic Order was founded around the year 1190 in Palestine to crusade against the Muslims and pagans. In the early 14th century the Teutonic Knights moved their capital from Venice to Malbork on the Nogat River, which is now in northern Poland. The most significant trace of the their presence in the town is the imposing red brick castle from 1274 on the river bank, and it is the largest Gothic fortress in Europe.
Under continuous construction for nearly 230 years, the castle complex is actually three castles nested in one another. A classic example of a medieval fortress, it is the world's largest brick castle and one of the most impressive of its kind in Europe. The castle was in the process of being restored when World War II broke out. During the war, the castle was over 50% destroyed. Restoration has been ongoing since the war. However, the main cathedral in the castle, fully restored just prior to the war and destroyed during the war, remains in its ruined state. The castle and its museum are listed as UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.
With the rise of Adolf Hitler to power in the early 1930s the Nazis began using the site for annual pilgrimages by both the Hitler Youth and the League of German Girls. It was the Teutonic Castle at Marienburg, Malbork that served as the blue print for the Order Castles of the Third Reich
The castle is encircled by defensive walls with gates and towers. The Grand Master’s palace is believed to be the top achievement of the late-Gothic style. The representative summer refectory is the most attractive chamber in the castle interiors.
Now a museum, the castle attracts tourists with open-air son et lumière shows.
Castle Museum at Malbork - Malbork, ul. Staroscinska 1 tel. +(48-55) 647 08 00, fax 647 08 03 www.zamek.malbork.pl
Malbork Castle is the town of Malbork's main claim to fame. There is little else to do in Malbork, but if you want to see the castle, you can easily devote an afternoon to taking a tour.
Malbork can be easily reached by taking the train that runs between Gdansk and Warsaw.
Following the war, the Old Town in Malbork was not rebuilt, instead the bricks from its ruins were used to rebuild the oldest sections of Warsaw and Gdansk. As a result, with the exception of St. John's church, no medieval buildings remain in the town. In the place of the old town, a housing estate was built in the 1960s.
Map of Malbork