马尔堡

这是几天前我写的博客,跟大家分享一下。我刚从城堡回来,在那儿跟团参观了一圈。每年夏天,越来越多的人去到这个城堡,其实城堡一年四季都是对外开放吧。城堡建于13世纪和15世纪,是当时日耳曼大主公的所在地,也是日耳曼人的首都。这也是当年中世纪欧洲唯一一个实行国王选举的国家,由僧侣选举。乔叟在《坎特伯雷故事集》的序言中写道:"从前有一位骑士,他是位可敬的男士,他遵从骑士精神、诚实可靠、礼貌谦恭。在他主公的战役中,他作战英勇,无人能及。世人给他再多的美言都不为过。战争胜利的时候,他正在亚历山大省。在普鲁士,他经常在皇宫,接受来自各国骑士的敬意。立陶宛和俄国也有他战斗的足迹,没有一个基督教徒像他那样建立如此巨大的功业。"我找到翻译了,大概就是这个意思。普鲁士就是马尔堡的意思。中世纪每位有影响的人,至少去过一次普鲁士的中心--马尔堡,一直延续到东征开始,这里还有欧洲最大的宴会厅!不久前我去了伦敦的威斯敏斯特教堂,站在乔叟墓前,他的原版《坎特伯雷故事集》是很多少年的噩梦,我也不例外,当时不知道《骑士传奇》对我竟然有如此之深的影响......然后觉得年少的我误会了他,于是去给他献了一束花言归正传,亲爱的乔叟应该知道骑士精神在普鲁士很受欢迎。甚至连兰开斯特王朝的亨利(德贝公爵),条顿骑士团的客人,都收到了一份礼物,在马尔堡训练猎鹰!对了,在马尔堡训猎鹰,是当时盛行在富人和权贵之间很出名的活动。这座城堡的历史就是这个国家引以为傲的历史。十三世纪,在一位波兰公爵的邀请下,日耳曼人在维斯瓦河三角洲安营扎寨。当然了,这只是我的一家之言而已,历史学家可能不赞同,不过我又不是写历史论文。于是土耳其来就来了,来到这里之后,发现这里十分富饶,是生活的乐土。后来拿破仑也说:"如果能占有格兰斯科,就拿到了占有波兰的钥匙"。土耳其人在这里一共建造了大概100座城堡和很多城镇,所有权归土耳其人。每次我从城堡回来,对中世纪的建筑师、组织者、投资者,都充满了敬意,这得请多少工人、建筑师、瓦匠啊,太有钱了!1410年,在Grunwald战争中(叫做坦能堡之战),王权被打破,这也是土耳其人第一次战败,之后开始了长达13年的战争,然后他们离开了首都,荣耀不再。每年都会有人来坦能堡(波兰的东北部)战的遗址参观重建后的战场,世界各地的骑士们来这里决斗,一般有好几千人。今天骑士的装备跟那时的相差无几,衣服是中世纪风格的,针脚甚至是一模一样的。明年我们打算去参加纪念战争600年的庆祝活动,肯定非常难忘!明天我就去城堡咯!每次当我带着游客参观,我都很激动,每个人都被这里所征服。而且,这里还有很多未知的秘密等着人们去揭晓......

很多人都听说过十字军东征耶路撒冷&圣地。马尔堡城堡是十字军在波罗的海地区征服异教徒的基地。它是这一历史时期该地区权力中心的建立,相当振奋人心。如果你住在格但斯克的市郊,乘火车一个小时即可到格丁尼亚和索波特。这真的是一个令人难忘的城堡。

马尔堡对我们来说是一个莫大的惊喜,这儿离波兰的格但斯克很近,据说这里是世界上最大的砖砌城堡。二战以后,这里的修复工作基本已经完成,工人们还在废墟的空地上立了一块纪念碑。城堡本身就很具有观赏的价值,再加上一些吊桥,和一个原始的水橱,真的是内外兼具,而且当地的餐厅也还不错哦。

On buying tickets we were told we needed some form of ID (passport, driving licence) to get an audio guide. We were told there was no English speaking guide on today, which was a pity. We managed to get round OK, through trial and error. The staff inside the castle don't seem to be too happy having visitors and just stare at you. There were a couple of large groups getting a guided tour, however, the guide seemed to be in training for a world record, as she whizzed around the rooms. The rooms are stunning albeit they were rebuilt after WWII, the frescos are particularly interesting giving a hint of how the rooms may have been decorated. It was a pity a large section of the castle was covered in scaffold and tarpaulins, however, restoration is on going. The tarpaulins were noisy in the wind, would like to have been on a really windy day.The castle has a lot of climbing up and down narrow stairs and the cobbled courtyards can be difficult to walk on so best were sensible footwear. To the rear of the castle there is a pedestrian bridge to cross to get a great view of the castle. The castle is an easy 15 minute walk from the railway station and easy to find, as you pass it on the train coming from Gdansk.

We've visited Malbork during the winter so it was very quiet and some construction work was going on but that is tot be expected. The audio tour and the castle was nice and interesting. Unfortunatly the staff was with a few exceptions, very rude. We feld Luke catle that was herded.

Amazing brick castles that was built by the Order of Teutonic Knights during crusade years. It had ever since symbolize the struggles between German and Polish identity. During WWII, the German army stationed in the castle, and was shelled by the Red Army. Many parts of the castles remains in ruins till this date.The actual castle is stunning, be sure to budget an entire day. The audio guide tour will explains the castles through the years. You can see the old Gothic styles in many places, and there are some evidences of modernize the castles during the Rococo period. It seen the last major artistic update during the third Reich when Hitler trying to designate Malbork as resort for foreign dignitaries.During my trip, I have visited Malbork, Hohensalzburg, Neuschwanstein. All lovely castles, but I have to vote Malbork as the number one castle in this trip. Don't miss it.

The castle, suppose to be largest in Europe, is probably the main ( and only ) reason to visit Malbork. It's really impressive, first of all in respect of scale and size. In summer time full of visitors. There are few restaurants inside. Please pay special attention to heating system - it's incredible, what people already managed to invent in XIV century.

We arrived after 1pm and the ticket was cheaper. Included in the ticket was a guide and the castle looked beautiful in the snow. The guide was very knowledgeable and the castle was interesting.People should remember tgat it was almost cpletely destroyed in WWII so not much exists inside the castle - original furniture etc. However it is interesting to see the reconstruction. We enjoyed our visit!

.A very well preserved crusader castle , begun in 1272. Castles have not my primary interest , but as a residence for the Crusaders , it was still an overwhelming experience. The castle is enormously large , and with so many rooms and peculiarities, so it took us really 3 hours to go through the well-organized electronic tour. It was handed headphones and a small nifty computer that guided us through all the rooms , upstairs and down . There was cool living space and heated vinterrum . A custodian showed us how the heat, in the form of water vapor came up through the floor of the tube. She lifted a bronze lid , so we could look down into space below. Surprisingly, there were numerous built wooden toilets in small spaces where waste fell straight down into the moat.The castle is definitely worth a look .

We visited Malbork in autumn and it was still quite busy, so if you don't like crowds it's best to avoid going there in the summer and at the weekends. I recommend choosing an audio guide with which you can just listen to some information and walk at your own pace. If you choose the audio guide, have some form of identification on you as it is required to get the equipment. The castle itself is definitely worth your time :)

Truly a splendid and grand palace, the largest of its kind in the world I believe. It's made completely out of bricks and there are actually three castles in the grounds. Loads of rooms to explore, we rented and audioguide and were happy with it, great English, music and actually narrated by three different people. Sometimes there was just too much information and we skipped some of it to make our visit faster. Great amber museum inside with lovely amber jewellery on sale. Some restaurants around. Overall delightful, but prepare for lots of walking and stair climbing.

This castle fascinated me a lot! So big, solid and ancient it makes impression. Audioguide is included in entrance fee so you don't need to join a group or hire a guide. Everything is told in a clear and interesting way. The castle is really big and there are a lot of exhibitions so it takes almost the whole day to see everything. But it's definitely worth it!

Being that our cruise stopped in Gadansk, I planned to visit Malbork Castle with it being within reaching distance. I'm so glad that I did! This is one of the best castles and is my favourite of which I have visited many. The architecture is breath taking, yes it's a restoration but you can't tell, it marvilous and this place is huge! If you want to appreciate this place, stay for a couple of hours! Also there is a resteront, with traditional Polish food and beer. This for me only added to the feeling of having stepped back in time. While this was included in our tour, I'm sure you can just go in as there were people in there, not in a tour group. The food is, well it's diffiucult to say really. As its a set menu, you either love it, fine it to be just OK (as did I) or hate it. Apparently the beer was fantastic, so if you love trying new beer, it may be worth it. Plus the food meant that walking around for longer wasnt a problem. This is a must see! (I visited in June 2012, but wasn't an option. This visit is still a vivid memory and one of the best places I have visited, so go see for your self!)

There's not much to add about the Castle itself. It's just marvellous, simply stunning. There might be issues with car parking spaces so watch for that. Book some time to walk around the outside of the castle even drive to the other side of the river. For me it makes the best impression looked at from sime distance. You can catch its immensity then.

I lived in Poland for 2 years and visited this extraordinary Castle a number of times. This is simply a wonderful experience. The Poles are a tough and just exceptional people and have done a marvellous restoration on this castle, just breathtaking when one considers what the Russians did to it during the War.A must to both see and experience, it is like being in mediaeval Europe, caught in time.Congratulations to Poland and thanksFrom an Australian