The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is a 13th-century Teutonic castle located near the town of Malbork, Poland.
It is the largest castle in the world measured by land area.
This castle was originally built by the Teutonic Knights (a German/Roman catholic religious order of crusaders) after their conquest of Old Prussia (a province of Poland).
The castle’s construction started in the 13th century and it was expanded several times to house the growing number of Knights. Soon, it became the largest fortified Gothic building in Europe, on a nearly 21-hectare (52-acre) site. The construction finished somewhere around the start of the 14th century.
The main purpose of the castle was to strengthen the Teutonic order’s control over the area.
The castle has several subdivisions and a lot of layers of defensive walls. The Malbork castle consists of three separate castles: the High, Middle and Lower Castles, separated by multiple dry moats and towers.
The Castle was once home to over 3000 Teutonic Knights and it is 4 times bigger than the enclosed area of the Windsor Castle.
The Castle has a very favorable position because it is near the river Nogat and it allowed easy access by barges and trading ships that were arriving from the Vistula and the Baltic Sea. During the order’s time of ruling the Knights collected river tolls from passing ships, as did other castles along the rivers.
In the year 1466, the castle and the town became part of Royal Prussia. It served as one of the several Polish royal residences untill the Partitions of Poland in 1772.
And during this timeline the Tall Castle served as the castle’s supply storage, while the Great Refectory was a place for balls, feasts and other events.
In 1466 both castle and town became part of Royal Prussia, a province of Poland. It served as one of the several Polish royal residences, fulfilling this function until the Partitions 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.
The brick castle at Malbork is now a museum and it’s registered on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Grand Master’s palace is believed to be the highest achievement in the late-Gothic style. The representative summer refectory is the most interesting chamber in the castle.
The castle attracts tourists with open-air events that feature the Siege of Malbork and other son et lumière shows. It also houses a spectacular collection of amber products.