Pilgrimage to Poland – Day 3 – Malbork Castle – Part 1

Malbork Castle, originally named Marienburg in honor of the Virgin Mary, is a massive brick fortress enclosing three fortified castles. It was built in the 13th century by Teutonic Knights in Malbork, Poland. The castle encompasses 52 acres. Malbork Castle is Europe’s largest fortress by land area and is the largest brick castle in the world. It stands on the banks of the Nogat River, about 25 miles (40 km) south of the coast near Gdansk.

Before we get to the castle, here are a couple images of the Teutonic Knight Mascot just outside the castle.

References for this post are primarily from Reference and Reference. All translations performed using Google Translate.

The Teutonic Knights began building the castle about 1274 after having helped secure the area from pagan Prussian warriors. Planned on a grand scale, Malbork was enlarged further when the castle and its settlement became a sovereign monastic state. The headquarters of the Order’s Grand Master were moved there from Venice in 1309. The castle was expanded repeatedly until it reached its final form in 1406, and it remained the seat of the Teutonic Order for some 150 years.

Before we move on, I want to present a map of the castle grounds. The legend translates as “
Legend A – Outer Castle B – Middle Castle C – High Castle

1-Ticket offices, information, waiting room, toilets 2-Gate Complex/New Tower 3-Von Plauen Ramparts 4-Carved Gate 5-Karwan 6-St. Lawrence’s Church 7-Main Gate 8-Grand Refectory 9-Palace of the Grand Masters 10-Exhibitions of amber and weapons 11-St. Anne’s Chapel 12-Grand Masters’ Garden 13-Mill 14-Convent Kitchen 15-Gdanisko Tower 16-Dormitories 17-Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary 18-Bridge Towers 19-West Gate

A formidable stronghold, Malbork was successfully defended against many attempted sieges during the 14th century. Eventually, however, the Teutonic Knights were defeated decisively at the Battle of Grunwald on July 15, 1410, by the armies of Poland and Lithuania, with support from the Tatars. Malbork Castle became a Polish royal residence by 1466, and it served that function until 1772, after which Malbork was incorporated into Prussia, and the castle began falling into disrepair. A public campaign led to restoration efforts that began in 1816 and continued until World War II, after which Malbork again became part of Poland.

The castle was bombed during WW II and suffered massive damage. Restoration resumed in 1961, when the Castle Museum was founded, and Malbork Castle was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1997. Formal name: Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork.

This photo shows the severity of the damage to the castle after WW II. It is hard to believe the level of destruction when looking at the restored castle today.

Below is a section of the castle after restoration.

This image of the Virgin Mary was completely destroyed during WW II, but fully restored. I will discuss this more in a later post.

The castle was at one time surrounded by a moat which filled the grassy area next to the castle wall.

These are some more views of the vast castle exterior.

We crossed over this footbridge into the inner walled area of the castle.

We passed through this gate to enter the inner courtyard.

This inner gate is much more formidable than the outer gate.

This massive iron door could be closed, but with a small door for people on foot could get through. Note the small size of the small door. Anyone passing through would have to crouch down and pass through slowly.

These slits allowed everyone entering to be monitored and, I suppose, fired upon if necessary while trapped between doors.

This is the view of the gate from the inside looking out.

Once inside the courtyard, we have more view of the structure of Malbork Castle.

This is a watering trough in the courtyard. Note the relief sculpture above it.

This detail below is a marble relief of Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well. The Greek inscription translates to “Jesus Christ says, Give Me to Drink.”

This door shows much abuse. Note the high water line near the bottom and all the missing pieces of brick from being fired upon.

The image displays a mosaic and carved stone panel located at the entrance to the Church of the Holy Virgin Mary. The upper part of the image is believed to depict St. Nicholas, the patron saint of the church. Below the mosaic is a carved stone panel featuring a relief of a creature, possibly a gargoyle or a symbolic beast, holding a scroll. 

The stone relief sculpture depicts the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, accompanied by a shield bearing the coat of arms of the Teutonic Order.

In the next post we will move inside the castle.

Mark