THE MALBORK CASTLE

Colegiul National Pedagogic Constantin Brătescu, Constanţa, Romania

History of the Castle

The Castle in Malbork (Polish: Zamek w Malborku, German: Ordensburg Marienburg) is the largest castle in the world by surface area. It was built in Prussia by the Teutonic Knights, a German Roman Catholic religious order of crusaders, in a form of an Ordensburg fortress. The Order named it Marienburg (Mary's Castle). The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg.The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress, and on its completion in 1406 was the world's largest brick castle. UNESCO designated the "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork" and its Museum as the World Heritage Site in December 1997.

The High Castle

Convent Kitchen

Covent Kitchen

In the first interior with a huge hood voyer the hearth, food was once prepared, and then transported by lift to the refectory on the second floor. Dishes served on the tables of medieval Malbork reflected the power and prosperity of the Teutonic Knights' state.

Chapter House

Chapter House

Chapter House occupies almost the entire western half of the northern wing. The inscription over the entrance was taken from the chapter house of the Order of Margat in Syria: Sit tibi copia, Sit sapientia Formaque detur. Inquinat omnia Sola superbia Si cometetur. Grand masters of the Order were chosen in this very hall

The chambers of Dignitaries

The chambers of Dignitaries

The grand master exercised the highest power in the Order. He was chosen for the post by the general chapter. There were a few high dignitaries in his surroundings. They constitued a council, which in fact was the government of the Prussian state.

Gdanisko

A long slanting corridor porch leads from the western gallery to the Gdanisko, which is one of the oldest buildings of the Castle.

 

Dormitory 1 – Sculpture Exhibition

Dormitory 1 – Sculpture Exhibition

A low and thick-set interior, with a ceiling resting on massive granite pilars, properly formed its functions as a dormitory for the convent knights. The exhibition of medieval sculpture presents both cult figures and those intended for private devotion.

 

Dormitory 2 and 3 – Exhibition of the decor

and furnishing of the Castle Church

Dormitory 2 and 3 – Exhibition of the decor and furnishing of the Castle Church

The two interiors connected with each other by a semicircular arcade, located on the first floor of the High Castle, in the southern-eastern corner and in the eastern wing, were used as a dormitory of the convent. In these interiors relics of the decor and furnishing of the main castle temple, the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, from the medieval times,  period when it was used by the Jesuits, and from the period old Conrad Steinbrecht's restoration in 1882-1922.

The Blessed Virgin Mary Church

The Blessed Virgin Mary Church

The castle chapel existed from the first stage of the castle construction in the end of the 13th century. Due to the change of function and the extention of the fortress after moving the Teutonic state capital to Malbork in 1309, the chapel, which at first occupied only a half of the wing, was elongated and a polygonal presbytery was built on from the East. The date of the work completion – 1344 – was fixed with a consecration inscription inside the chapel.

Convent Chamber

The rib vault of this high hall is resting on three slender pillars. In the medieval times, it was a kind of common room, where the knights of the Malbork convent used to spend free time listening  to music coming from the gallery – a decorated porch on the northern hall.

Convent Refectory

It is the second most presentable interior on the second floor of the main convent house. The longitudinal refectory hall, i.e. the dining room is topped with a simple rib vault resting on seven slender pillars. The original vault was destroyed during the Prussian reconstruction, when the interior was turned into a military warehouse.

St. Anne's Chapel

St. Anne's Chapel

The extension of the church presbytery towards the East created a new interior in the basement under the added part of the construction. It became a tomb chapel for the grand masters bearing the name of St. Anne.

The Middle Castle

The Grand Refectory

Kitchen and cook's chamber

The Medieval System of Heating

Of all the heating systems that ever existed in the Castle, the medieval stoves were and still are a source of great attention. The stoves warmed chambers with the heat accumulated in stones place above their ovens. This heat was radiated through channels that had openings in the chamber floors.

Halebard Hall

Hall called The Halebard is in the basement of the eastern wing of the Middle Castle. It is a vast, low interior with a cross vault on transverse arches. In the Middle Ages it was used as a stockroom.

 

Passage with the Apocalypse

At long the eastern wing of the Middle Castle runs a picturesque gallery where in seven pionted-arch niches, between the windows overlooking the courtyard, there are paintings presenting the scenes from St. John's Apocalypse. In seven visions the future of the world and the ultimate triumph of the Church are shown.

Historical weapon exhibition The present collection of historical weapons has been created from scratch since 1961 when the Museum was established.

 

Infirmary

Infirmary

In the medieval times, the castle hospital was located here. The present arrangement of the place refers to the Polish period, when these interiors were used as lodgings for the royal clerks. In fact it was a shelter for old age and infirm knights, which had its own bathhouse, refectory and a chapel.

Grand Master's Palace

Grand Master's Palace

The western wing of the Middle Castle includes a unique structure - the Grand Master's Palace built in the end of the 14th

century, i.e. in the most prosperous period of the monastic state in Prussia. It is architecturally the richest and the artistically the most valuable construction in the entire history of the Order, which equals the best residences of the European monarchs of the late Middle ages.

Office The Office was managed by the grand master's chaplain. It is probable that within its structure there was the so-called Small Office, i.e. the grand master's private bureau, which started its operations in the second quarter of the 14th century when Werner von Orseln headed

the Order.

Low Vestibule and Entrance Hall

The Low Vestibule is the first interior in the representative part of the Palace. The cross vault is decorated here with a beautiful motif of grapevine, which in the medieval times was the most important among the symbolic plants as an attribute of Christ, a symbol of the Eucharist (according to the Book of Gospel Christ defined himself as a grapevine shrub, from which true disciples grow out as grapevine twigs).

 

Królewiec Hall

The two longitudinal interiors, each lit by one window, existed here already in the medieval times. There were mentioned in the Teutonic ledgers as the master's chamberand small chamber. The recent research proved that the interiors were decorated with a painted plant twig.

Summer Refectory

A Neo-Gothic portal leads from the Winter Refectory to the Summer Refectory - the most splendid hall of the Palace. This interior, which is important due to the modern radial vault resting on one centrally situated pillar, is an example of the best architectural achievements not only in the territory of the Teutonic state.

 

High Vestibule

The High Vestibule, lit up with big rectangular windows provided a proper entrance to the most representative interiors of the Palace. A copy of the grand masters flag, which hangs here, reminds of the founders and first hosts of the castle.

Bedroom

A small chamber regarded as a grand master's bedroom. Opposite to it, there is an even smaller chamber, considered as a room for the master's companion - his closet confidant.

 

Grand Masters' Chapel

The private chapel of the highest dignitaries of the Order, traditionally known as the St. Catherine's Chapel.

 

Northern terrace – Lapidarium

Lapidarium, i.e. an open air exhibition of historical elements and architectural details. Terraces are the vast areas running around the High Castle, between the elevation of the castle and the front line of the defence walls. In the Middle Ages they played mainly communication and reaction role. The northern terrace, running along the northern elevation of the High Castle led to the Klesza Tower and the Bell-ringer Cabin, but first of all to the St. Anne's Chapel.

 

Eastern Terrace – Cemetery

In the Middle Ages the eastern terrace played a role of the cemetery, where the Malbork convent knights and monks were buried. According to medieval tradition, a cemetery was a garden at the same time.

Southern Terrace – Garden The southern terrace is the sunniest spot in the castle surroundings, no wonder then that in the medieval times the grand master of the Order arranged a rose garden here. A specific feature of the Teutonic fraternity in this respect was to join the castle garden (being an important element of the knightly and courtly culture) and the convent garden.

 

Western Terrace – Mill The western terrace also fulfilled recreation and communication functions. Ceramic paving runs slightly upwards - on the right there is a massive elevation of the western wing, divided into tall blind windows, on the left - a defence wall with numerous niches and a guard porch covered with a pitched roof. Somewhere in the middle of the terrace lenght, there is an entrance to the mill.