Malbork Castle
Malbork Castle | |
---|---|
Zamek w Malborku (Polish) | |
Location | Malbork, Poland |
Coordinates | 54°02′23″N 19°01′40″E / 54.03972°N 19.02778°E |
Built | 13th century |
Official name | Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork |
Type | Cultural |
Criteria | ii, iii, iv |
Designated | 1997 (21st session) |
Reference no. | 847 |
Region | Poland |
Historic Monument of Poland | |
Designated | 1994-09-08 |
Reference no. | M.P. z 1994 r. Nr 50, poz. 420[1] |
The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork,
It was originally constructed by the
The construction period is a point of debate, but most historians generally accept the 132 years between 1274 and 1406 as the construction time. The castle is a classic example of a medieval
History
Origins
The castle was built by the
Malbork became more important in the aftermath of the Teutonic Knights' conquest of
The castle was expanded several times to house the growing number of Knights. Soon, it became the largest fortified Gothic building in Europe,[7] on a nearly 21-hectare (52-acre) site. The castle has several subdivisions and numerous layers of defensive walls. It consists of three separate castles – the High, Middle and Lower Castles, separated by multiple dry moats and towers.[8] The castle once housed approximately 3,000 "brothers in arms". The outermost castle walls enclose 21 ha (52 acres), four times the enclosed area of Windsor Castle. The developed part of the property designated as a World Heritage Site is 18.038 ha (44.57 acres).[9]
The favourable position of the castle on the river Nogat allowed easy access by barges and trading ships arriving from the Vistula and the Baltic Sea. During their governance, the Teutonic Knights collected river tolls from passing ships, as did other castles along the rivers. They controlled a monopoly on the trade of amber. When the city became a member of the Hanseatic League, many Hanseatic meetings were held there.[10]
In 1361, the future Grand Duke of Lithuania Kęstutis was briefly imprisoned in the castle.[11] In 1365, Polish King Casimir III the Great visited the castle.
In the summer of 1410, the castle was besieged following the Order's defeat by the armies of
In 1456, during the
The mayor of the town around the castle, Bartholomäus Blume, resisted the Polish forces for three more years, but the Poles captured and sentenced him to death in 1460.[16] A monument to Blume was erected in 1864.[17]
Residence of the Polish kings
In 1466 both castle and town became part of the Polish Malbork Voivodeship in the province of Royal Prussia. Since 1457 it served as one of the several Polish royal residences, fulfilling this function for over 300 years until the First Partition of Poland in 1772. During this period the Tall Castle served as the castle's supply storehouse, while the Great Refectory was a place for balls, feasts, and other royal events.[5] Polish Kings often stayed in the castle, especially when travelling to the nearby city of Gdańsk/Danzig. Local Polish officials resided in the castle.[11] From 1568 the castle housed the Polish Admiralty (Komisja Morska) and in 1584 one of the Polish Royal Mints was established here. Also, the largest arsenal of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was located in the castle.[11] By the decision of King John II Casimir Vasa of 1652, Jesuits took care of the castle chapels of Mary and St. Anne.
During the
After the Partitions of Poland
After Prussia and the Russian Empire made the First Partition of Poland in 1772, the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia and in 1773 it became part of the newly established province of West Prussia. At that time, the king's officers used the rather neglected castle as a barracks for the Prussian Army and also as a poorhouse. The last Jesuits left the castle in 1780. In 1794 David Gilly, a Prussian architect and head of the Royal Office of Works, made a structural survey of the castle, to recommend on its future use or demolition.[19] Gilly's son, Friedrich Gilly, produced several engravings of the castle and its architecture, which he exhibited in Berlin. These were published by Friedrich Frick between 1799 and 1803 and led the Prussian public to "rediscover" the castle and the history of the Teutonic Knights.[20]
With the rise of
In memory of the town's residents voting in favor of remaining part of Germany, after the First World War, a monument of a knight on a tall column was erected in front of the castle. The town was transferred to Poland in 1945, and most of its inhabitants fled or were expelled. In the course of Polonization, the column was cut in half. The upper part remains at the original location and now carries a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus, while the rest of the column can be found supporting a Saint Christopher statue in a monastery garden near St. John's church.[27]
Restoration since 1962
A severe fire in 1959 caused further damage to the castle.[28]
In 1961 the Castle Museum (Muzeum Zamkowe) was founded,[18] and in 1965 an amber exhibition was opened.[11]
In a restoration ongoing since 1962, most of the castle has been reconstructed.[28]
A significant 21st-century restoration is of the castle's principle church, which is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. This had been restored just before the Second World War and then largely destroyed in the fighting of 1945. It remained in a state of disrepair until a new restoration was completed in April 2016.[29]
Malbork Castle remains the largest brick complex in Europe.[30]
Burials in the mausoleum under the Chapel of St. Anne
Gallery
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General view
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Exterior view of one of the entrances
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Gate over the main entrance
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Interior view of the tower over the main entrance
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Exterior view of the castle walls
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Partially reconstructed chapel
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Sculptures at the entrance of St Anne's chapel
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Windows in the cloisters
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Corridor of the cloisters
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Gravestonesin St. Anne's Chapel
See also
- Trakai Island Castle, similar architecture
- List of castles in Poland
- List of tallest structures built before the 20th century
References
- ^ a b Zarządzenie Prezydenta Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej z dnia 8 września 1994 r. w sprawie uznania za pomnik historii., M.P. z 1994 r. Nr 50, poz. 420
- ^ "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork - UNESCO World Heritage Centre". Whc.unesco.org. 7 December 1997. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ Malbork Castle (with an area of 143,591 square meters), the largest castle in the world by KML Area Calculator. Touropia, the Travel List Website: "10 Largest Castles in the World." Accessed 6 April 2011.
- ^ Emery 2007, p. 139
- ^ a b Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ a b Emery 2007, p. 143
- ISBN 978-0-470-74783-4. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ "Zamek Malbork – historia, wnętrza, zwiedzanie, ciekawostki" (in Polish). 21 June 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork", WHC-08/32.COM/8D, UNESCO, Paris, 22 May 2008.
- ^ "Bearing witness to a brighter moment in Poland's history: Visiting Malbork Castle". 13 July 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Historia". Visit Malbork (in Polish). Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Malbork Castle – Battle Castle". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Ken Robson Home".
- ^ Antoni Eckstein. "History of Poniec". published in "Roczniki Historyczne", v.II, p.92 of IH PAN (Institute of History, Polish Academy of Science), 1926
- ^ Andrzej Nowak and Dariusz Osowski, Królewski herb Gdańska, Album Polski.pl
- ISBN 978-3-486-56718-2. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
- ^ von Rudolf Reide (1864). Altpreussische Monatsschrift. Thomas & Oppermann.
- ^ a b "History - Malbork". www.inyourpocket.com. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Friedrich Gilly - oi". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
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(help) - ^ Boockmann 1992, p. 344
- ^ a b Boockmann 1992, pp. 36–40
- ^ "Malbork castle - Heyme". 6 August 2015. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ C. Steinbrecht, Schloss Marienburg in Preussen, Berlin, 1894
- ^ Flensburger Tageblatt "100 Jahre Marineschule : Das rote Schloss des deutschen Kaisers", shz.de (in German)
- ^ Shirer 1960, pp. 255–256
- ^ "Daytrip from Gdańsk: Malbork Castle". Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Entlastet vom "Alten Fritz" Zwei Denkmal-Geschichten". Der Westpreuße (4). Westpreußische Gesellschaft: 13–14. 2023.
- ^ a b "Castle of Knights - Malbork, Poland in Photos". 17 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Conservation and building works in the complex of the Holy Virgin Church in the Castle Museum in Malbork". funduszeeog.zamek.malbork.pl. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Malbork". European castles. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
Bibliography
- ISBN 3-88680-212-4.
- Emery, Anthony (2007). "Malbork Castle – Poland" (PDF). The Castle Studies Group Journal. 21: 138–156.
- ASIN B000EA3XL4.
Further reading
- Knox, Brian (1971), The Architecture of Poland, Barrie & Jenkins, ISBN 978-0-214-65211-0
- Turnbull, Stephen (2003), Crusader Castles of the Teutonic Knights, Osprey, ISBN 978-1-84176-557-0
External links
- Malbork Castle Museum
- "Malbork", Castles of Poland
- History and photos of the Malbork castle (in Polish)
- The Association of Castles and Museums around the Baltic Sea