I spent the day visiting Malbork Castle. This is a castle built by the Teutonic Knights in the 12 century. It is about an hour and a half, by train, from Gdansk.
To get the facts over and done, it is the largest, by area, castle in the world. 52 acres inside the walls. It is also the largest brick building in Europe.
To say it is impressive would be an understatement.
You have to picture this castle in an area that is completely flat. It doesn't sit on a hill, there aren't any, it is just this massive structure sitting out in the open, visible for miles. It must have been an awesome sight to visitors, and enemies.
The reason it is made of bricks is that there are no rocks in the area, but there is plenty of clay; ergo...bricks.
The Teutonic Knights built Malbork, and several other, smaller castles to control the area for almost 200 years.
At its height it housed 3000 knights and brothers. I didn't see any mention of women, so it must have been testosterone heaven.
It took me 3 hours to tour the castle.
There are some interesting features. In the basement they had layers of rocks, sitting atop of wooden furnaces. The hot rocks heated the air, and the air was directed, by chimneys to the upper floors, where floor vents allowed the rooms to be heated. There were few fireplaces. Quite ingenious.
The castle was almost completely destroyed during WWII; it was bombed by the Nazis, then the Americans, and finally by the Russians. The restorations are fantastic, and not yet finished.
If you google Malbork Castle you can appreciate its size and splendour.
I did learn another interesting bit. Another use of cabbage leaves? Think...before the invention of toilet paper. I'll never look at cole slaw the same way.
Another nice weather day
Ralf
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