Where the Teutonic Knights Met
The story of how and why Malbork Castle came to be built is as much fun as the castle itself. It was built to house an order of German Roman Catholic knights who were part of the crusades. Even though they arrived in Jerusalem with good intentions—to operate a hospital and protect visiting Catholic pilgrims–within a few decades they were expelled from the Middle East where they had earned a mixed and far reaching reputation. Returning to Europe, they tried to establish a base, first in Transylvania and then in Venice. But the Teutonic knights’ reputation for aggression and brutality meant the were shunned by most of Europe’s rulers and for a long time they searched for a permanent base to no avail. Finally they struck a deal with a Polish duke, Duke Konrad Majowiecki, who invited them to Poland where he thought they would protect him from the Lithuanians on his right and the Prussians on his left. The Teutonic order agreed. After about a decade of abiding by the contract, this mercenary order was once more hired by the Poles, this time to seize Gdansk. They did their job with such enthusiasm massacring every citizen that stood in their way and earning the battle the name “Gdarisk Slaughter.” It was so brutal that the pope excommunicated the order, albeit for a short time only. The Poles paid the contracted price for the successful conquest. So then the Teutonic knights turned around and launched a full offensive against Poland.