If you are a lover of antiquity and are interested in unique architectural buildings, you should definitely go to the Polish city of Malbork - where Marienburg Castle is located. He gained fame as the largest medieval brick castle in the world. This stronghold of the crusaders rises for more than eight centuries on a hill near the Nogat River. Currently, the castle is one of the main attractions included in the tourist maps of Poland. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Marienburg Castle
The history of the castle is extensive and described in many volumes of historical literature. In the article we’ll just try to touch the centuries-old history of this unique structure, get acquainted with the old life of the exhibits and the collection of weapons and armor of the Teutons.
The city of Malbork is located 80 kilometers from the border with Russia and a little more than 130 kilometers separates it from Kaliningrad. Therefore, to make an excursion to the castle is not difficult even in your own car. For tourists there is parking for cars, a good restaurant and the large Hotel Zamek, located in the building that served as the hospital for the Crusaders. Presents a view of the restored Marienburg Castle in Poland in the photo above.
Door to the past
Marienburg Castle Ensemble covers an area of more than 20 hectares and consists of three castles - Lower, Middle and Upper. The Crusaders of the Teutonic Order chose a place on the narrow peninsula of the Vistula for the construction of the castle. The marshland, the river and a small hill were ideal for the fortress, which was supposed to serve as a defensive structure. The first brick in the foundation of the castle was laid in the 70s of the XIII century. Construction lasted until the mid-15th century.
The first lined premises of Marienburg Castle were occupied by the master of the Teutonic Order. The building was practically nothing special among the defensive structures of those years. In 1309, the residence of the Grand Masters from Venice was moved to the castle. Since that time, there has been an expansion and reconstruction of castle structures.
The chapel became the main cathedral of the order, and a bridge over the Nogat River was thrown here. It has not survived to our days. The old building became known as the Upper Castle, and in the place where the settlements were, the Central (Middle) castle with a large refectory began to be erected. For 20 years, starting in 1330, the Lower Castle was built, which was surrounded by another wall and a protective moat, filled with water if necessary.
Labyrinths of the castle
The lower part of the castle was reserved for farm buildings, workshops, warehouses, stables. There was also a hospital for the crusaders and a bakery. To get to the middle part of the castle, you had to go along the drawbridge, which was located above the moat. Windows-loopholes are built in the monolithic walls of the Middle Castle, and the passages along the wall are covered with visors that protect against enemy arrows. The entrance to the courtyard of this building is closed by five oak gates with bars.
The castle buildings, located around the perimeter, were used to receive high-ranking guests. Here were the rooms of the Grand Master of the Order. Celebration rooms, large dining rooms (refectaries), decorated with religious paintings, were also located in the premises of this castle. In the courtyard, amazing in its size, knightly tournaments were held among the crusaders.
In the chapel of St. Helena, weddings were held. In this only fortress in the Marienburg castle complex, the rooms were heated using the "hypocastum" technology - using hot boulders located in the basement. From there, air through a system of channels through special openings entered the halls. Between the Middle and Upper castles, communication was carried out using a drawbridge overhanging another moat.
Betrayal of mercenaries
To protect the castle complex, the Teutonic Order hired Czech warriors - Hussites, who were considered the best warriors in those days. In the XV century, among many of the principalities of Europe, there was a practice of hiring the protection of cities and fortresses. Large amounts of money were spent on the maintenance of the mercenary army. In 1455, twenty cities found themselves without money in the treasury. Malbork was among them.
The mercenaries who had lost their earnings treacherously surrendered the castle of Maryerburg, opening its gates to the Polish army of King Casimir IV. In fact, the building was sold by mercenaries to the Polish king, who paid them 665 kilograms of gold. With the fall of the city of Malbork (Marienburg), the greatness of the Teutonic Order ended. Casimir IV entered the castle in triumph in 1457.
Timeline of further events
In 1466, the city became part of Royal Prussia, and the castle turned into one of the Polish royal residences. Three centuries later, in 1772, there was the first partition of Poland. Marienburg departs to the western part of Prussia, and the castle is used in the form of barracks for the Prussian army and storage facilities.
In 1794, the Prussian architect was commissioned to structurally inspect the castle in order to reach a verdict on its future use or complete demolition. The son of architect Friedrich Gilly, made sketches of the engravings of the castle and its architecture. It was these engravings that made it possible to “re-create” the castle and present the history of the Teutonic Knights to the Prussian public.
Reconstruction began after 1816 and continued at varying intensities until the outbreak of World War II. During World War II, the castle was destroyed more than in the previous eight centuries. This is what Marienburg Castle looked like (photo below) in 1945. It was later rebuilt.
Castle today
The current view of the castle does not differ from that which was built many hundreds of years ago. Restorers restored not only the appearance of the building, but also its interior decoration, and murals that once decorated the halls. Now the museum is open for visitors in the premises of the fortress. It presents works of art associated with the Teutonic Order (armor and weapons). The exposition has a large collection of amber.
Tourists from all over the world come in groups and on their own to familiarize themselves with the history of the Teutonic Order. In their reviews of Marienburg Castle, admiration for the work of the masters who literally bricked this unique building, thus giving the descendants an opportunity to touch that distant history, always sounds. Restoration work in the fortress does not stop. During the Second World War, the sculpture of the Virgin, which was located in the church of the Holy Virgin Mary, was destroyed. Polish restorers have done tremendous work to restore it.