| The castle in Malbork is a huge, medieval
defence compound, raised between the 13th and 15th centuries
by the Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's Hospital
in Jerusalem. The construction works were undertaken in 1278
by delineating and building a wall around a convent castle,
designed on a rectangular plan 52 meters by 61 meters externally.
In each corner stood a tower, characteristic for Teutonic
castles. In the final stage of the construction the towers
were extended over the wall-walks, thus emphasising the ornate
roof tops of the castle wings. In addition, they enabled castle
defenders to shoot from all the angles of the fortress. In
1280 the convent was moved to Malbork.
First brother knights lived in the oldest North Wing. The
West Wing, which housed the Refectory and the Commander's
Chamber, was raised later. In the late 13th century the monastic
castle was surrounded with a fortified wall. Thus, spacious
interwall areas were created, which served for walks and as
land to build storehouses and create a graveyard for monastic
brothers. At around the same time a gardrobe tower, called
the gdanisko tower, was built. It could be accessed from the
castle by a roofed walkway. The tower was intended to serve
as an ultimate defence site, but it also contained a latrine
and its main function was to guard the access to the castle
leading from the town over the bridges, and through the Bridge
Towers and the Shoemaker Tower. A similar though a smaller
tower, known as the Priest Tower, was situated on the opposite
side of the castle compound, in the south-east corner of the
fortified wall. Both towers, by flanking the fortified monastery,
were an additional component of the defence system.
By the power of the second Toruń Peace Treaty signed in 1466,
Malbork was ceded to the Polish kings and became the capitol
of the Malbork Province. In 1772, following the first partition
of Poland, Malbork and most of Royal Prussia were subjected
to the Kingdom of Prussia.
As early as the 16th century, the castle of Malbork was perceived
as an important monument of history and a landmark to be visited
by travellers. The interest in the castle did not vane in
the 17th century, when a scientific analysis of the formal
architectural features of Teutonic strongholds was conducted,
focusing mainly on the castle in Malbork. In the 18th century
the castle was a popular destination for admirers of 'antiquities'
and as romanticism and historicism began to prevail, the castle
became an object of a number of studies on its history and
architecture. The first scientific inventory of the castle
was completed. Many protests were issued against the demolition
of the castle, which was undertaken at the turn of the 18th
and 19th centuries. As a result, it was stopped in 1804. After
1815 broad-scale restoration works commenced under supervision
of the most outstanding Prussian architects. Owing to their
interdisciplinary efforts the Palace of the Grand Masters
was restored. The works carried out at Malbork were at that
time the largest experimental field for conservation methods
in Europe. The collaboration between historians and architects
created a model for an interdisciplinary architectural research
team, which functions until the present day. The research
works which accompanied the restoration of the castle enabled
us to uncover the history of the Order and its defence fortifications.
At that time the castle became a destination for organised
tourist traffic and the number of visitors was continually
growing.
In 1882 Conrad Steinbrecht was appointed the head conservator
at the castle. He soon commenced the most important stage
in the restoration of the fortress. The works completed under
his supervision had been preceded by thorough research and
scientific preparations, and much of the documentation prepared
then has remained until today. Together with the architectural
substance of the castle, it constitutes a significant contribution
to the history of restoration.
The castle was used for a particular purpose by the Nazi propaganda
in the Third Reich and became one of the symbols of Hitler's
state. As the second world was drawing to an end, the castle
one more time became a stronghold, defending itself for nearly
2 months against the Red Army, which already stationed in
the town. As a result of fierce fights, around 40% of the
castle buildings collapsed into ruin; the damage was the worst
in the east section of the compound, where it reached up to
80%. The scale of the war damage and the political changes
which took place after 1945 questioned the sense of reconstructing
the castle, which as a symbol was associated with the Teutonic
knights and the German 'Drang nach Osten'.
Finally, however, a decision was made to restore the castle
as part of the Polish heritage and to establish in it, on
1st January 1961, the Castle Museum in Malbork. Since then
the methodical restoration works have been carried out at
the castle, with an aim of preserving this huge architectural
compound in good condition.
In 1997 the castle in Malbork was enlisted on the UNESCO's
list of world cultural heritage.
At present there are 18 permanent exhibitions at the Castle
Museum of Malbork.
Among the most important ones are:
- The Malbork collection of amber
- The Infirmary in the Middle Castle
- Pacifica Terra: Prussian, Slavs and Vikings at the mouth
of the Vistula river
- The Chapter House in the High Castle
- Armoury in former ages
- Armoury and Coats of Arms
- Chancery of the Grand Masters in Malbork
5 temporary exhibitions, including:
- Charm of silver and magic of gold - coins and medals of
Royal Prussia
- Oven tiles from the Main Museum Stores, a collection of
the Castle Museum in Malbork
The medieval walls of Malbork castle each
year host a variety of cultural and entertainment events,
such as 'The Siege of Malbork' - an event which has been organised
annually since 2000. The siege is known all over Poland and
draws on the historic events, which took place at the walls
of Malbork castle in 1410, following the battle at Tanneberg.
'The International Festival of Old Culture Eurofolk'. Details
information can be found on the webpage www.zamek.malbork.pl
The Castle Museum of Malbork
ul. Starościńska 1,
82- 200 Malbork, Poland
tel. +48 55 647 08 00
fax + 48 55 647 08 03
e-mail: sekretariat@zamek.malbork.pl
Tickets
Tel. + 48 55 647 09 78
Fax + 48 55 647 09 76, 647 09 77
kasa@malbork.pl |
