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

As we leave the interior of Malbork Castle, we walk towards St. John the Baptist Church, just outside the walls of the castle. Along the way there’s still a few things of interest to see.

Again with this post, I’ve used AI (Gemini) to help ID some of the murals and other art work and all translations were performed with Google Translate.

This walkway is lined with balls that were fired at the castle by catapult.

This is just one of many towers in castle.

This unique statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary was originally begun in 1331. The carved statue, 26 feet tall, was covered in glass mosaic pieces. After 3 restorations in the 1800s, the statue was destroyed in the winter of 1945 when the castle was bombed. Although the castle had been restored between 1964 and 1968, this statue was not restored until 2014 to 2016. The statue is covered with about 700,000 pieces of multicolored glass from Polish and Italian factories. [This information comes from the sign near the statue and translated from Polish.]

At the end of the castle, between it and St. John the Baptist Church, lies this unrestored portion of the castle.

St. John the Baptist Church

The church of St. John the Baptist was built on this spot in the late 13th century but has suffered damage in numerous wars. When it was originally built it was the first place of worship outside of the castle walls. [REFERENCE]

The banner above the door proclaims “Jubilee Church Holy Year 2025.”

This altar features two paintings. The lower painting shows the Virgin Mary and child. The upper painting is a family portrait. The stained glass above also shows the Virgin Mary with child.

The elevated, enclosed platform of this ornate pulpit is accessed by stairs. It features a canopy which was designed to project the preacher’s voice throughout the church before the use of microphones.

The high altar is a magnificent gothic masterpiece. It consists of numerous sculptures and carvings. Near the top stands the statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Behind the altar is a large stained glass window depicting scenes from the life of Jesus.

This carved wooden panel is located below the high altar. It depicts the 5th station of the cross and titled “Simon of Cyrene Helps Jesus Carry the Cross.”

This shows the detail of the upper part of the altar and stained glass window.

This carved altar piece depicts the coronation of the Virgin Mary and hangs on the wall just to the right of the high altar.

This altar piece depicts the Annunciation. Note how the Archangel Gabriel’s wing stands proud of the frame. This hangs on the wall just to the left of the high altar.

This beautiful altar depicts scenes of Jesus’ crucifixion. Panels include the Agony in the Garden, the Scourging at the Pillar, and the Death of Jesus. At the top is God the Father holding crucified Jesus in his arms.

This image displays an icon that is a copy of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. This particular image has text inscribed along the bottom in Polish: “POD TWOJĄ OBRONE UCIEKAMY SIE” which translates to “Under Your Protection We Seek Refuge”. 

The icon is below this stained glass window.

This unusual statue of Mary holding the infant Jesus while on a Stag’s head hangs in the church. The stag is a symbol of Christ in medieval Christian art. It represents Christ in his battle against evil, regeneration, and the human soul’s yearning for God. The shedding of its antlers and subsequent regrowth also symbolizes resurrection and renewal. The stag is a symbol for Christ, Who tramples and destroys the Devil. Early bestiaries describe the stag as a relentless enemy of snakes. The stag was believed to pursue snakes into their holes or rock crevices, flushing them out by flooding the hole with the breath or water from its mouth, and devouring them. Because the snake is a symbol of Satan, the stag’s war against them made the stag a symbol of Christ in his battle against the evil one. The water used to flush out snakes became symbolic of Christ’s wisdom and purity, the Gospel, and the water that flowed from His pierced Side on the Cross. [REFERENCE]

The central image depicts the Virgin Mary with her hands crossed over her chest, without the Christ Child, which is an early and unique type of iconography known as Maria Advocata. It is known as Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn

This stained glass image shows the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist.

This Gothic baptismal font is in the shape of a chalice dating from 4th century.

This statue of Mary stands just outside the church of St. John the Baptist.

As we boarded our bus to head back to our hotel, we stopped just across the Nogat River for a final view of Malbork Castle.

We say goodbye to Malbork Castle. It has been a long day and we now head to Gdansk for dinner and a quiet rest, knowing that tomorrow will be another busy, exciting day.

Until next time,

Mark