Malbork Castle is the largest medieval castle in Europe. It was built between the XIII and XIV centuries to serve as the home of the Grand Master of the Knights of the Teutonic Order. It's been said it is impenetrable, a castle built for defense. In fact it's never been taken over. Only after the Teutons were driven out of Poland and the castle was abandoned, did it ever fall into enemy hands.
This place is a must see! Going through the castle complex will probably take you as it took me a whole day: about 6-8 hours. That's of course allowing for lunch and souvenir shopping. Going through the castle itself probably takes 3-4 hours. There are numerous rooms and dungeons with fascinating frescoes on the walls, and of course the guides have lots of stories to tell. There are two museums on site: one for amber jewelry (which comes from around the region) and a museum of weaponry (swords, maces and other weapons of painful and slow death...).
When it comes to the money, this place is such a bargain. Entry into the castle and museums is 13 zlotych (about $2.50) and that includes a guide in Polish. However guides are available for many other languages and will run you about $20 for a whole day for a group of up to 40 people. Quite a bargain, for about 4 hours of guided tour, wouldn't you say?
There is an on-site cafe, several souvenir stores and stands that sell everything from postcards and amber jewelry to wooden carvings and brass figurines of Teutonic Knights. There is also several souvenir stores right outside of the castle.
The castle has a web-site in english at:
http://www.zamek.malbork.com.pl/eng/. If you'd like additional information about it check out:
UNESCO'S
web-site for the castle. The castle has been put onto UNESCO'S World Heritage List in 1997, which grants it an internationally recognized status, as well as some money for reconstruction work.
From journal Gdansk - The Harbour City of Poland