Tom`s travels: Malbork (12/09/2018)

As we found out Ania's graduation day, we decided to head to Ania's relatives in Kościerzyna for a few, before leaving on to Krakow. As Ania was preparing for her thesis defense, I decided to do a day trip to a landmark which I always had hoped to visit: the Malbork castle. A Unesco site, it is considered as the largest castle in the world measured by land area and still the largest brick building in Europe. Constructed during the 13th century by the Teutonic Order to strengthen its presence in the area after the conquest of Old Prussia and the defeat of the Baltic tribes, it became the order's main seat after moving from its previous location in Venice. After two centuries of rule, the Order had lost importance and thus struggled to manage the castle; it was at war with the Kingdom of Poland and in 1457 had to cede the structure to the polish king Kazimierz IV. That is when it became royal residence until the famous partition of Poland which fractured the country into three parts ruled by foreign nations. So as I reached the town I directed myself to the ticket office; included in the price was also an audioguide which provided excellent descriptions of each room in the huge castle complex. As I approached the entrance, walking along the impressive first set of walls the audioguide started its description, working as you approached certain spots of the castle without the need to press any button. I entered the premises and walked through the so-called lower castle, which consists of a part built after the two other main ones and containing mostly the soldiers' headquarters and weaponry deposits. This part could actually be accessed publicly as it featured a path which would lead across the other side of the river Wisla. From there I walked through another gate, this time being checked by the museum guard, from which I entered the middle castle. A large courtyard surrounded by large brick buildings signaled the beginning of the actual castle tour. I first directed myself through the kitchen and the cook's chambers where stoves where shown and the medieval system of heating up the rooms explained. Then on through the impressive and large Grand Refectory, where the members of the Order took their meals altogether. From there a staircase took upstairs to the small St Bartholomew's chapel and a decorated hallway opened up next to it. This was the beginning of the Grand Master's Palace, built to host the living quarters and operational hall of the Order's Grand Master. From there a long hallway known as the High Vestibule is lit by big rectangular windows with a stone washbasin running below them. At the end of the hallway, a door leads to the Summer Refectory a beautiful hall kept up by a single central pillar with an interesting cannonball stuck right above the fireplace, which legend says what shot here during the polish siege to try to take down the building by hitting the main pillar but just slightly missing. Next to the room is the Winter Refectory, with a lower ceiling and thicker walls covered in tapestries to be used in the colder months. From there I then walked through the rooms which served as the bedroom and study of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Order. After exiting back to the main courtyard I then entered the eastern wing of the complex, where a series of rooms hosted a beautiful Amber collection featuring all kinds of objects. Upstairs another series of rooms hosted another collection, this time consisting of ancient weapons mostly of European but also middle eastern provenance. Once back down I walked through the gate separating the middle from the high castle. The first part I visited was the St Anne's Chapel, with a beautiful gothic structure and containing the tombs of the Grandmasters. Then walking between two sets of walls I passed by what was once the garden, as it was the sunniest spot in the whole complex, and through the western terrace where a reconstructed mill showed how flour was ground in the middle ages. After entering the high castle proper I admired its small yet picturesque courtyard enclosed by the tall walls of this part of the castle. I first went through a small room which hosted a nice collection of stained glass and then walked upstairs to reach the first floor. Here walking along the arcaded archways I entered the Chapter House, where all important the decisions regarding the monastic order were taken. The room was made up of beautiful arches and its walls decorated with medieval frescoes. Then, through a long narrow corridor, I reached a tower called the Gdanisko, called so because facing the city of Gdansk, and serving as castle toilet and last tower of defense. Further on, I walked through some rooms which once served as dormitory and now hold a collection of gothic sculptures. Then on to the next part, I reached the impressive church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, built in the 13th century in a Gothic style which was unfortunately damaged, like the rest of the castle, during WWII. Once out I went through another set of rooms; the first called the Convent Chamber was used as a kind of place for relaxation by the order's members and the other, the Convent Refectory, was used as a dining hall. I had now seen the most part of the complex, taking nearly a full three hours to tour. I then exited the first set of walls and walked along the second set to reach once more the lower part. Here a path led across a bridge and over the Wisla river from where I walked along the shore and admire the castle from a vantage point. The whole size of it was now clearly visible and its Gothic structure impressive to look at. After that, it was time to head back to the city and catch the train back to Kościerzyna.