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Malbork |
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It is said that since ancient times there has been a fortress here, which in 1281 gave rise to the foundation of the city. It took its name from a miraculous picture of the Virgin, and it was the most precious possession of the Teutonic Order. Johann Heinrich Zedler: Grosses vollständiges Universal-Lexicon aller Künste und Wissenschaften. 1739. |
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| The Teutonic Order was founded in 1190 in the Holy Land to care for the sick and wounded crusaders. Later, as an order of knights, it was sent to convert the heathens among the Prussians on the shores of the Baltic. In 1466 Marienburg, which is the German name for the fortress, was captured by Poland, and the knights were expelled to Königsberg. The building of the mighty castle began after 1250. Malbork was greatly damaged during World War II and has been undergoing current restoration ever since. |
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Exhibits
125
Jan Matejko (1838-1893): The Battle of Tannenberg. Painting 1872..
The dispute over land between the Teutonic Order and Poland culminated in the Battle of Tannenberg (Polish Grunwald) on 15th October 1410, where the Polish-Lithuanian King Wladyslaw Jagiello defeated the army of the Teutonic Order under the leadership of the Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen.
Muzeum Zamkowe w Malborku.
126
‘Grunwald 1410-Berlin 1945’. Poster by Tadeusz Trepkowski, 1945.
The dates and the place-names combined with the battlefield connect the defeat of the Teutonic Order in 1410 with the collapse of Germany in 1945, which is viewed as the second defeat at Grunwald (in German Tannenberg).
Muzeum Plakatu w Wilanowie, Warsaw
127
Marienburg (in Polish Malbork). Coloured hand drawing. Beginning of the 17th century.
Krigsarkivet, Stockholm.
128
Hugo Ulbrich (1867-1928): View of Malbork castle on the Noget river from south-west.
Muzeum Zamkowe w Malbork.