Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork
Last Updated (Wednesday, 19 November 2008 03:07) Written by meg Thursday, 13 November 2008 09:52
Kind of monument: Military building
Location: Malbork, Poland
Groundbreaking: 1274
Year completed: 1300
Architectural style: Gothic
Architect (main or first): Enlargements were done by Nikolaus von Fellenstein in 1380s. Previous architects are unknown.
Orderer: Grand Master of the Order Theodoric Gatirslebe, Commander Hermann von Schönenberg
Malbork Castle was built on the Southeastern bank of the river Nogat by the Teutonic Order as an Ordensburg and named Marienburg (literally from German "Mary's Castle") after the Virgin Mary, patron saint of the Order. The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg, now known as Malbork. The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress; it is the world’s largest brick gothic castle and one of the most impressive of its kind in Europe. In 1309, in the wake of both the papal persecution of the Knights Templar as well as the Teutonic takeover of Danzig, the Order under Siegfried von Feuchtwangen moved its headquarters from Venice to the Marienburg, in the Prussian part of their monastic state. The castle was expanded several time to host the growing number of knights, and became the largest fortified gothic building in Europe, featuring several sections and walls. It comprises three separate sections- the High, Middle and Low Castles, separated by multiple dry moats and towers. The castle once housed approximately 3,000 "brothers in arms", and the outermost castle walls enclose 52 acres (210,000 m²), which is four times larger than the enclosed space of Windsor Castle. In 1410 following the battle of Grunwald (Tannenbeg) the castle was besieged by the Polish and Lithuanian troops under the command of King of Poland Vladislav Jagiello, who however was not able to capture it. The castle and town passed to Polish control in 1466 as part of the province of Royal Prussia. Prior to the First Partition of Poland in 1772, when the castle became occupied by the Prussian Army, Malbork served as one of the several Polish royal residences. The castle was in the process of being restored to its presumed medieval appearance, which was lost during the years, when World War II broke out. In 1945, the castle was destroyed in more than a half as a result of fighting. The castle has since been mostly reconstructed and restoration has been ongoing since the war. However, the main cathedral in the castle, fully restored just prior to the war and destroyed during it, remains in its ruined state. The castle and its museum are listed as UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Performances showing the siege of the castle by Polish forces can be watched there.