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Michal Leszczynski | all galleries >> Galleries >> Malbork > Malbork Castle
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08-JUL-2011 Michal Leszczynski

Malbork Castle

best view in original size

Nogat river on the foreground

The Castle in Malbork is the largest castle in the world by area. It was built in Prussia by the Teutonic Knights, a German Roman Catholic religious order of crusaders, in a form of an Ordensburg fortress. The Order named it Marienburg (Mary's Castle). The town which grew around it was also named Marienburg.

The castle is a classic example of a medieval fortress, and on its completion in 1406 was the world's largest brick Gothic castle. UNESCO designated the "Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork" and its Museum as the World Heritage Site in December 1997.[3] It is one of two World Heritage Sites in the region with origins in the Teutonic Order. The other is the "Medieval Town of Toruń", founded in 1231 as the site of the castle Thorn (Toruń).

Malbork Castle was founded by the Teutonic Order after the conquest of Old Prussia. Its main purpose was to strengthen their own control of the area following the Order's 1274 suppression of the Great Prussian Uprising of the Baltic tribes. No contemporary documents survive relating to its construction, so instead the castle's phases have been worked out through the study of architecture and the Order's administrative records and later histories. The work lasted until around 1300, under the auspices of Commander Heinrich von Wilnowe. The castle is located on the southeastern bank of the river Nogat. It was named Marienburg after Mary, patron saint of the religious Order. The Order had been created in Acre (present-day Israel). When this last stronghold of the western Crusades fell to Muslim Arabs, the Order moved its headquarters to Venice before arriving in Poland.

Malbork became more important in the aftermath of the Teutonic Knights' conquest of Gdańsk (Danzig) and Pomerania in 1308. The Order's administrative centre was moved to Malbork from Elbl¹g (Elbing). The Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, Siegfried von Feuchtwangen, who arrived in Malbork from Venice, undertook the next phase of the fortress' construction.[4] In 1309, in the wake of the papal persecution of the Knights Templar and the Teutonic takeover of Danzig, Feuchtwangen relocated his headquarters to the Prussian part of the Order's monastic state. He chose the site of Marienburg conveniently located on the Nogat in the Vistula Delta. As with most cities of the time, the new centre was dependent on water for transportation.

The castle was expanded several times to house the growing number of Knights. Soon, it became the largest fortified Gothic building in Europe, on an nearly 52-acre site. The castle has several subdivisions and numerous layers of defensive walls. It consists of three separate castles - the High, Middle and Lower Castles, separated by multiple dry moats and towers. The castle once housed approximately 3,000 "brothers in arms". The outermost castle walls enclose 52 acres (21 ha), four times the acreage of the enclosed space of Windsor Castle. The developed part of the property designated as a World Heritage Site is 18.0380 ha.



Malbork Castle


view from the other place

Canon EOS 40D
1/125s f/7.1 at 18.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
Raphael_E08-Sep-2011 09:05
Superb !!! BV.
Milan Vogrin08-Sep-2011 06:44
Well done!
NealyBob08-Sep-2011 06:21
Wonderful wide angle view of this beautiful castle! A great choice for toning!~!V
joseantonio08-Sep-2011 05:09
Spectacular image Very nice work
Bryan Murahashi08-Sep-2011 04:45
Great tones for this majestic castle. Great historical info as well. V
Hank Vander Velde07-Sep-2011 23:52
BEAUTIFUL well composed images with super tones Michal. Nice info too. Thanks for sharing.
Jean Chiasson07-Sep-2011 22:14
Fabulous composition and exposure Michal vote
Ken Chambers ARPS07-Sep-2011 19:38
Wonderful castle and very interesting history
bill friedlander07-Sep-2011 18:46
Great view of this lovely castle. Wonderful fairy tale architecture. Great capture, the tones are superb. V
Graeme07-Sep-2011 18:35
Fascinating info and capture, Michal.BV
John Reynolds LRPS07-Sep-2011 18:21
Excellent capture. Thank you for the information.
Nestor Derkach07-Sep-2011 16:49
Excellent wide format image , love the sepia tonal values you used.
A very beautiful castle!!
Vote
Walter Otto Koenig07-Sep-2011 15:49
Great shot with these tones. Wonderful work. "V"
Gerard Koehl07-Sep-2011 15:18
Ce château est magnifique et bien mis en valeur. V
Aud Elise Sjųsęther07-Sep-2011 14:14
Wonderful picture of the castle! Love the treatment! V
Flora07-Sep-2011 13:51
A very impressive image and processing. V
Yvonne07-Sep-2011 12:45
Magnificent, superb in sepia! v
Wenche Aune07-Sep-2011 12:36
Beautiful scene, beautiful tones. V
Vince07-Sep-2011 12:03
Very lovely shot. Love the sepia tones and thanks for the history of the castle. Vote.
Ted Aanensen07-Sep-2011 11:41
well done Michal, great "vintage" feel and wonderful capture BV
Martin Lamoon07-Sep-2011 11:08
That is a most wonderful capture and processing of the Castle V
Joanne Kamo07-Sep-2011 11:01
Wow! Thats an impressive castle and your wonderful image shows it off quite gorgeously!
shatterbug07-Sep-2011 10:09
A lot of great details in this shot...wonderful treatment!
Sam_C07-Sep-2011 10:07
Awesome shot, great treatment! Thanks also for the wonderful information. V++
Colin Storey07-Sep-2011 09:53
Fantastic image and processing. v
Stephanie07-Sep-2011 09:17
What a gorgeous castle! Love the sepia tones Micnal! BV
René Gysi07-Sep-2011 07:57
Great architecture. Interesting and beautiful color tone. V
Kinga Chwalkowska Zadlak07-Sep-2011 06:54
Great shot! - beautiful color tone image...
~V~
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