It would seem that Malbork's castle, inscribed on the UNESCO list, is a truly famous monument, not only because of its rich history. Malbork is not only a huge castle; it is actually a city-fortress from the Middle Ages. It is also the capital of the Teutonic Order, the only state in history managed by a military order. Who were they?
The Order of Brothers House of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, more commonly known as the Teutonic Order because of the black crosses on their coat, Founded in 1190, the catholic military order for aid and protection of Cristotelian pilgrimages to the Holy Land arose in the same way as the Templars in the crusades, to fight in defence of Jerusalem. It was the youngest order of fighting knights and is the only one that has survived in an unchanged form to this day, although nowadays the order is based in Vienna and has a more peaceful function. The main purpose is to help the poor and carry out missions in poor countries. The headquarters of Grand Master nowadays is Vienna, and what is the role of Malbork? This military order created a dream about what the Templars and Knights Hospitaller dreamed of: building their own country. Hospitaliers are ruling Malta. However, the Teutonic Order was considered the heirs of the Templars, also in these mystical matters. They got the Templars property, which gave them reasons for speculation.
The Teutonic Order state does not exist any longer, but Malbork has its own autonomous rights; the order continues to sponsor any renovation of the castle. In this huge castle consisting of several castles, to which it was possible to ride a horse to the main room, it is necessary to renovate all the time. Grand Master can visit the castle from time to time at the invitation of the president or on the anniversary of the common turbulent history of Poland and the Order.
We can not blame Konrad Mazowiecki, the Polish prince, for bringing order to this part of the world. Yes, he gave them three residences, but it is not a denying fact that he was at the time threatened by raids by pagan robbers who brutally killed or stole people for sale. Lonely in battle, he wanted to save his principality. He was not a consummate politician like a Great Master; he did not think that the crusades were a losing matter and the order would want something more. In his situation, every choice was bad. Trained knights came to the state-wavering conflict and took advantage of the situation. The fights with the order were not avoided and were to last for many hundreds of years.
For several centuries, Malbork was the seat of the Grand Master of the Order. The castle was expanding in proportion to the conquest of the Order. The order conducted business on a large scale, just as the Templars were owners of the first banks. Although the Order behaved aggressively, taking over the lands of Livonia and Poland under the pretext of pagan conversion, it should also be said that it contributed to the development of several matters, such as the unification of the system of measures and weights and the value of money—it is the Order's merits.
The Order, while in the Middle East, was also acquainted with technical novelties that were unknown in Europe. For the first time in Poland, entral heating was used in the castle. The system consisted of distributing steam from boiling boilers, like in the ancient Roman thermae. The running water was supplied by a pipe system.
Visiting the castle takes all day; it is possible only with a guide because some of the rooms are not open to visitors and it is very easy to get lost in them. It is very easy to get to the city of Malbork from Gdansk by very fast train. The problem begins after getting off the train. Information in the city is quite poor, and you need to ask the local people. Although a short 20-minute walk is not a big obstacle, maybe it is not an ability to use tourism or not appreciating what someone has. Appreciating monuments and using them for tourism (which can save money), unfortunately, is a problem in the countries of Central Europe. They are delighted with everything that is abroad, underestimating what they have
In any case, this symbol of the power of the order and the day of the crusades need to be visited. Whether the crusades were a good or bad idea, it was not a place to judge; probably European knights in heavy iron armour would not have to win in this climate, even in the heat. There were too few orders knights... but maybe if someone in Europe did not prance for dogmas with Byzantium and take their help, and in the last King of Jerusalem, Baoudouin le Lepreux, did not see only a leper man, but that one who saw another site, the great mind king, who really was honoured by the other side with respect, today many problems would not exist.
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| Vienna Teutonic Order headquarters |
The seat of the Grand Master in Vienna can also be visited, there are many objects brought from Jerusalem. interestingly, the largest most famous cathedral in Vienna is also the cathedral of the Grand Master. We will see also a polish accent on one of the paintings in Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome( one of papal basilica) - there is the residence of Malbork on one fresco.
http://www.zamek.malbork.pl/
Teutonic order site (just in german): http://www.deutscher-orden.at/
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