The Biggest Castle in the World: Malbork, Poland
My travelling companion Ben was keen to see the biggest castle in the world (and so was I!)
The biggest castle in the world
There are several castles in Poland worth visiting. However, I’d long wanted to visit the largest castle in the country (and indeed the world!)
A UNESCO World Heritage Site. Poland’s Malbork Castle, which is the biggest castle in the world, covers an area of over 52 acres.
Originally named Marienburg (Mary’s Castle), Malbork castle actually comprises of three separate castles and is easily reachable for day visitors from Gdansk or Gdynia.
However, we decided to make the most of our time in Malbork, with an overnight stay.
And so embarked our adventure to Malbork castle.
The train from Gdansk to Malbork
We caught an early 'Regio' train to Malbork and watched Gdansk shrink into the distance.
The old Polish train passed through lush, verdant fields en route to Malbork, arriving just over an hour after we departed from the famous seaport.
We crossed the mighty River Nogat on an old railway bridge and there, downstream, appeared the magnificent Malbork Castle.
It was easy to believe that this was indeed the biggest castle in the world – as well as the biggest brick building in Europe.
A Red Brick Castle
Ben and I both agreed that it was strange to see a castle built entirely of red brick. In the UK we tend to think of castles as being made from granite or sandstone.
But no matter what the building material, this was quite definitely a castle of epic proportions.
For once, Ben had not booked any accommodation in the town of Malbork, so after alighting from the train, we went off in search of somewhere to stay.
Accommodation in Malbork
After checking a few costly hotels, we happened upon a residential street not far from the castle.
Here were several signs offering accommodation – at very reasonable prices.
Of course, Ben was keen to have a look.
At the door of one of these houses an old Polish couple greeted us and appeared very happy to have some potential guests.
They showed us into what was quite clearly their own home. They appeared to be making a few zloties on the side to help them in their old age – and why not?
They had two small but cosy rooms. We decided to take them. The old couple were delighted.
We dumped our things and headed back into the hot afternoon sunshine.
The famous Malbork Castle awaited.
Camera permit debacle
Entry to Malbork castle cost around £10 (in zloties) and additional fees were levied for camera and video use.
Ben though, always keen to save money, was rather annoyed by this fee and decided to pay for the basic entry ticket only; he would hide his camera in his bag.
Of course, he intended to use his camera.
I myself had left my camera in the guest house – such was my haste.
There were plenty of tourists entering Malbork, but because the place was so large, we soon found ourselves wandering alone.
Ben took his chance and began snapping turrets and towers and battlements.
Between snaps, Ben read aloud some of the history of Malbork from his trusty guidebook.
The history of Malbork castle
A medieval castle, Malbork was built by the Teutonic Knights in the 1200s in order to maintain their influence over the area.
The various ancestors of modern-day Poland and Germany fought over Malbork for centuries, with numerous sieges and battles having taken place in and around the castle.
But the damage caused by the many medieval battles were as nothing compared to the catastrophic effects of World War Two on the castle.
Malbork Castle during World War Two
Such a structure lent itself to fortification by German ground forces. However, they were eventually swept aside by the Russians in 1945, after much bloodshed.
Before the war, Malbork was part of Germany – and was known as Marienburg.
As a German city, it was a target for the invading Russians towards the end of the war – who are alleged to have killed many of the local Germans with artillery or, apparently, by simply executing them.
A mass grave was discovered in 2009 containing bodies thought to be German residents.
The castle, Ben continued, was half destroyed by bombing during the conflict.
The restoration of Malbork Castle
Restoration began in the 1960s.
After discovering the castle had been so extensively re-built, the whole place seemed a little clean and modern to us – especially considering it was originally built in the 13th century.
However, we both agreed it was still a very impressive structure.
The security guard arrives
It was about this time, as Ben took a picture of a drawbridge, that a security guard came up to us. He seemed young and casual, but I knew something was amiss.
In a thick Polish accent the man asked to see our tickets.
After producing the slips of paper, it seemed as if he was going to leave us to it, but then he suddenly turned his attention to Ben's camera.
"You have camera permit?" he said, not dissimilar from those stereotypical Soviet guards you'd see in classic war films.
Ben said he had lost it, but the guard suggested that the permit should be stapled to his main ticket.
Ben did a good job of looking confused and innocent, but this didn't wash with the guard.
He obviously took his job very seriously and insisted that we accompany him to the ticket office.
What would happen next? Would he call the police?
A tale of two camera permits
On arrival in the ticket office, much to his annoyance, Ben was forced to buy a camera permit.
I found this vaguely amusing until the guard and staff turned their attention to me.
They wanted me to buy a permit too!
I explained that I had not been taking photos – which was true – but they refused to accept this.
This wasn't fair at all. I had to hand over the requisite number of zloties for a permit too.
The guard had a very satisfied expression on his face.
This incident soured our mood a little, but after an hour or two in the beautiful sunshine and the amazing castle, we had forgotten about the overzealous guard.
As the sun began to set over the mighty fortress, we made our way out into the town of Malbork, steadfastly ignoring the security guard as we passed.
An evening in Malbork
We found a fantastic little Italian restaurant and gorged ourselves on what we both agreed was some very fine pizza.
Later, we returned to our guest house with a few beers – bought by Ben as a 'sorry' for the camera permit debacle.
We sat outside in the delightful garden of our accommodation and enjoyed the balmy evening.
Soon we were both laughing about the ticket incident – and noted that we were drinking the same beer as in Torun – Tyskie – where we last got in trouble with the authorities!
Darkness fell and we listened to the rasping crickets. A cloudless summer night sky hung silently above us.
We agreed that beautiful Poland was even better than we thought it would be.
To our left, we could still make out the shape of mighty Malbork Castle in the distance, gracefully illuminated by moonlight.
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