Europe Explored » malbork https://europeexplored.com Travel through the most beautiful places in Europe Sun, 08 Sep 2013 13:36:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.6 Książ Castle – one of the largest castles in Europe | Poland https://europeexplored.com/2011/10/05/ksiaz-castle-one-of-the-largest-castles-in-europe-poland/ https://europeexplored.com/2011/10/05/ksiaz-castle-one-of-the-largest-castles-in-europe-poland/#comments Wed, 05 Oct 2011 09:08:23 +0000 Claire https://europeexplored.com/?p=5065 Książ castle is the largest castle in Lower Silesia and the third largest castle in Poland (bigger castles are only Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow and the Crusader castle in Malbork). It is often considered the pearl of Lower Silesia. It lies in the county of Wałbrzych, among picturesque forests of Książ Landscape Park (Książański […]

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]]> Książ castle is the largest castle in Lower Silesia and the third largest castle in Poland (bigger castles are only Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow and the Crusader castle in Malbork). It is often considered the pearl of Lower Silesia. It lies in the county of Wałbrzych, among picturesque forests of Książ Landscape Park (Książański Park Krajobrazowy) and the valley of the river Pełcznica. The most beautiful view of the castle is from the terraces on so-called Giant Rock (Skała Olbrzyma), where you can get by following the broad path leading through the castle park.

Książ Castle - one of the largest castles in Europe | Poland
Photo licensed under the Creative Commons, created by Maciej Kasprzyk

The first written mention of the Książ castle dates back to 1288. It was one of several defensive castles built by duke Bolek I “the Cruel”. In 1508 Książ castle fell into the hands of John von Haugwitz, who sold it to Conrad von Hochberg.

Książ castle was rebuilt many times, so it combines many architectural and artistic styles – including the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and eclectic elements. The most beautiful part of the castle is certainly Maximilian Hall, which was used for concerts and theater performances, and its interior served as a setting for several movies.

One of the most important and also the most tragic periods in the history of the castle was the time of the World War II. In 1941 Książ castle was occupied by the Nazis. All the valuable works of art, furniture and contents of the castle library where took by Nazis. Many underground corridors were built below the castle, which proves that Nazis prepared here one of the seats of the German dictator Adolph Hitler.

Książ castle combines the history of several nations and many people. In addition to the standard attributes of building castles like beautiful gates, bastions and towers, also hundreds of undiscovered secrets are waiting here for the visitors.

The castle is open daily except for Mondays from 10:00am to 3:00pm (extended in Summer and weekends). You can attend several routes, the basic admission is 20PLN (€5).

For further details visit the official website of Książ castle.


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]]> https://europeexplored.com/2011/10/05/ksiaz-castle-one-of-the-largest-castles-in-europe-poland/feed/ 0 Malbork Castle – the largest brick Gothic castle in the world | Poland https://europeexplored.com/2011/03/08/castle-of-the-teutonic-order-in-malbork-poland-the-largest-brick-gothic-castle-in-the-world/ https://europeexplored.com/2011/03/08/castle-of-the-teutonic-order-in-malbork-poland-the-largest-brick-gothic-castle-in-the-world/#comments Tue, 08 Mar 2011 13:01:19 +0000 Claire https://europeexplored.com/?p=2792 Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork or simply Malbork Castle is the largest Gothic building in the world and the largest brick building in the world. It is located in Poland in the town of Malbork, on the southeastern bank of the river Nogat. Malbork Castle by DerHexer Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is […]

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]]> Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork or simply Malbork Castle is the largest Gothic building in the world and the largest brick building in the world. It is located in Poland in the town of Malbork, on the southeastern bank of the river Nogat.

Malbork Castle, Poland
Malbork Castle by DerHexer

Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is the former seat of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. The castle complex consists of three parts – Bottom castle, Middle castle and Upper castle. Teutonic Knights started to build the castle in 1274. About 2 years later the settlement that arose here during the castle construction  obtained city rights.

Between 1309-1457, the Malbork Castle was the seat of Grand Master. During the thirteen-year war (1454 – 1466) – known also as the War of the Cities, the castle was bought by the Casimir IV Jagiellon (Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440, and King of Poland from 1447 – until his death). Since then until 1772 the castle became one of the residences of Polish kings. Later on, during the wars with Sweden, Napoleonic wars and Poland splitting, the castle was damaged.

Reconstruction works began in 1817 and were completed in 1923. After that, during the World War II, the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork was occupied by the Nazis and during the fighting with the Red Army the half of the castle was destroyed.

After the war, the reconstructions started again, but have not been finished yet. Since 1997, the Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork and its museum are included in UNESCO World Heritage List.

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