Europe Explored » red army 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 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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]]> https://europeexplored.com/2011/03/08/castle-of-the-teutonic-order-in-malbork-poland-the-largest-brick-gothic-castle-in-the-world/feed/ 0 Riga – the biggest and most vibrant city in the Baltics | Latvia https://europeexplored.com/2010/09/23/riga-the-biggest-and-most-vibrant-city-in-the-baltics-latvia/ https://europeexplored.com/2010/09/23/riga-the-biggest-and-most-vibrant-city-in-the-baltics-latvia/#comments Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:54:33 +0000 Claire https://europeexplored.com/?p=1724 Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, the biggest and most vibrant city in Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava. It is also the largest city of the Baltic states and third-largest in the Baltic region, behind Saint Petersburg and Stockholm. Riga’s historical centre is declared a […]

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]]> Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia, the biggest and most vibrant city in Baltics, and an important seaport, situated on the mouth of the Daugava. It is also the largest city of the Baltic states and third-largest in the Baltic region, behind Saint Petersburg and Stockholm.

Riga’s historical centre is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its amazing houses. The city is known as the most expensive Baltic city and is particularly notable for its extensive Jugendstil (German Art Nouveau) architecture, which UNESCO considers to be unparalleled anywhere in the world.

Around Riga you can visit several great places such as the coastal resort Jurmala, the Sigulda castles overlooking the scenic Gauja River Valley, and the Rastrelli Palace at Rundale.

What to see in Riga

  • Great Guild Hall and Small Guild Hall
  • Symbol of the historical centre – The Dome Cathedral – impressive mixture of romantic, gothic, Renascence, baroque and classical styles. There is one of the largest organs in the world in the cathedral
  • The architectural complex Three brothers – three houses are the oldest stone buildings in Riga built in the 15th, 17th and 18th centuries
  • St. Maria Magdalena Catholic Church – built in the 13th century
  • Sweden Gate – the newest and the only saved as they are of 25 gates of Riga, which used to protect the city from enemies
  • St Jacob Church – served both to the Catholics and the Lutherans in the past


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