badgerjenvstheworld

Per usual, I have accumulated a mountain of planning and marking to do, so YOU, lovely readers, are blessed with a new post. And the final post about Gdansk...yes, Gdansk. Which I visited over 5 months ago. That Gdansk. What can I say? I'm slow. Anyway...this last collection of photos is from our trip to see Malbork Castle in Malbork, Poland. The train from Gdansk took about 40 minutes and then a short 15 minute walk to the castle grounds. The Castle of the Teutonic Order in Malbork is a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site (check another one off the list!) based on the fact that it is the most complete and elaborate example of a Gothic brick complex. In fact, it is often referred to as the largest brick complex in Europe. It, also, shows the unique Teutonic style that evolved from the 13th century. The castle was established in the 13th and 14th centuries as the magnificent seat of the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and represents the unique architecture of Teutonic Gothic ...

After the day of Solidarity, we decided that we should see Gdansk from high up and headed to St. Mary's Basilica to climb the 408 steps to the top. According to Wikipedia: St. Mary's is a Roman Catholic church where construction began in 1379. It is the 2nd largest brick church in the world, second only to San Petronio Basilica in Bologna- which loyal readers will know I visited this past summer. In the mid- 1500s, the church was used as both for Catholic and Lutheran services. From the 16th c. to the 1940s, it was the largest Lutheran church in the world. The space inside has enough room for around 25,000 people. Yep, it's big. Very big. From the outside, the church is big but fairly unremarkable. Even the interior is not that exciting on first glance. Due to destruction during WWII (of course), the Red Army looted the many graves within and burned the church almost to the ground. After the war, the reconstruction began almost immediately. The church is a good exam...