Visit Malbork

Why visit Malbork

Malbork Castle is the largest brick castle in the world and the largest castle by land area anywhere (52 acres of fortified buildings, towers, and courtyards) — a staggering medieval complex on the banks of the Nogat river that served from 1309 to 1457 as the headquarters of the Teutonic Order, the militant Catholic crusading knights who effectively ruled the eastern Baltic in the late Middle Ages. The castle is a brilliantly preserved (and substantially reconstructed after wartime damage) cascade of three connected fortresses: the imposing High Castle (the monastic core, with the Grand Master's residence, refectory, and church), the Middle Castle (state apartments and administration), and the Low Castle (workshops, armouries, and outer defences). Walk the ramparts, climb the soaring 66m tower, see the Grand Master's spectacular vaulted Summer Refectory (where a single thin column miraculously holds up the entire palmed-vault ceiling), and don't miss the moving Amber Museum and the working portcullises. The Malbork son et lumière shows on summer evenings are stunning. The town itself is small and pleasant; combine the visit with Gdańsk (1h by train) or the Westerplatte WWII memorial.