The Teutonic fortress that re-defined Gothic brick architecture — the largest castle by land area on earth
Malbork (German: Marienburg) is a small Polish city on the Nogat River in Pomerania, dominated by the Castle of the Teutonic Order — the largest castle by floor area on earth, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1997. Built from 1274 by the Teutonic Knights (the crusading military order that controlled the Baltic from the 13th to 15th centuries), the castle complex covers 21 hectares and is divided into the High Castle (the original keep and chapter house), Middle Castle (the Grand Master's palace and refectories), and Lower Castle (the outer ward with stables and workshops). The red-brick Got…
The Teutonic Knights began construction at Malbork in 1274 following their conquest of the Prussian pagan tribes. The castle served as the Order's Grand Master's residence from 1309, when Grand Master Siegfried von Feuchtwangen transferred the seat from Venice to Malbork after the Order lost Acre to the Mamluks. After the Order's defeat at Grunwald (1410), the castle was sold to the Polish king Casimir IV Jagiellon in 1457 for back wages owed to Bohemian mercenaries. It served as a royal Polish residence for two centuries before Prussian appropriation in 1772. The castle suffered severe damag…