Tickets and guided tours
A ticket for the Historical Trail includes a guided tour (in Polish) or an audio guide. The abridged version lasts around 2 hours, whilst the Walking Trail takes around 1.5 hours.
Parking
Pay car parks at the castle. Large number of spaces.
Restaurant
The Piwniczka restaurant is located in the castle grounds.
Hotel
The Piast Hotel (3 Piastowska Street) is just a few minutes’ walk from the castle.
Souvenirs
The gift shop is located inside the castle, next to the reception.
Exhibitions, lectures and conferences at the Malbork Castle Museum in the coming months.
The Infirmary Bathhouse, the Middle Castle
An exhibition by the Wojciech Kętrzyński Northern Institute. Post-war photographs by Jan Bułhak, juxtaposed with contemporary images by Robert Tyska, illustrate the scale of the changes the region has undergone.
until 30 September 2026
Malbork Castle Museum
Pomeranian faience and folk pottery from the 18th–19th centuries, reconstructed on the basis of archival sources and iconography by Beata Grudziecka, a ceramist from Malbork. The exhibition was organised as part of research into Polish war losses.
until 31 October 2026
Dr Bartłomiej Sierzputowski, Agata Modzolewska (Ministry of Culture and National Heritage)
5.00 pm · Academic Library in Przedzamcze
Theme of this edition: „The Palace of the Grand Masters in Malbork – in the light of the latest research”
Malbork Castle Museum
Canon Prof. Dr hab. Wojciech Zawadzki (Archives of the Diocese of Elbląg)
5.00 pm · Academic Library in Przedzamcze
Dr Bartłomiej Kaczyński (State Archaeological Museum in Warsaw)
5.00 pm · Academic Library in Przedzamcze
Elżbieta Gajewska-Prorok (MN Wrocław), Anna Prorok (Malbork Castle Museum)
5.00 pm · Academic Library in Przedzamcze
Programme for the Malbork Castle Museum (as at August 2026). Dates are subject to change — please confirm them before your arrival at zamek.malbork.pl.
Malbork Castle is the largest brick Gothic fortress in Europe and one of the most important examples of medieval defensive and residential architecture. Built by the Teutonic Order on the right bank of the Nogat River, it has been a historic monument since 1994 and has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1997.
Preparations for construction began around 1278, and the first phase of work dates back to 1280 at the earliest, when the convent was moved here from nearby Zantyr. A conventual castle was built at that time, serving as the commander’s seat – today’s High Castle. By around 1300, the perimeter wall and the north wing, comprising a chapel and a chapter house, had been erected, followed by the west wing. To the north, construction began on the outer bailey, later known as the Middle Castle. In 1286, the town of Malbork was founded to the south of the castle, its walls being connected to the castle’s fortifications.
In 1309, the Grand Master moved the Order’s headquarters from Venice to Malbork, which became the capital of the Teutonic State. The castle underwent extensive expansion: the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was enlarged, and beneath its chancel, St Anne’s Chapel was established – the burial place of the Grand Masters. Around 1340, an eight-metre-tall mosaic statue of the Virgin and Child was placed in a niche in the eastern wall of the church. At the Middle Castle, the Great Refectory and the Palace of the Grand Masters, complete with the Summer and Winter Refectories, were built; these are considered among the most outstanding achievements of European Gothic architecture.
Following the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, the Polish-Lithuanian forces led by Władysław Jagiełło laid siege to the castle for several weeks without success. A well-known tale associated with the siege tells of a cannonball which was said to have struck the sole pillar of the Summer Refectory whilst the Teutonic Knights were in council, yet missed its mark – the cannonball set into the wall above the fireplace commemorates this story, but its veracity remains the stuff of legend.
During the Thirteen Years’ War, in 1457, Czech mercenaries – to whom the Order owed back pay – sold the castle to King Kazimierz Jagiellończyk. On 7 June 1457, the king made a ceremonial entry into Malbork. Until 1772, the castle served as one of the residences of the Polish kings and the seat of the Malbork starosts. The kings would stay at the Grand Masters’ Palace on their way to Gdańsk, and banquets were held in the Great Refectory. In 1568, Sigismund Augustus established the Maritime Commission here. In 1626 and 1656, the castle was captured by the Swedes. In 1644, a fire destroyed the roofs of the High Castle; the reconstruction was overseen by the bursar Gerard Denhoff. From 1652, the Jesuits were active in the castle and took charge of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Following the First Partition, in 1772, the castle was taken over by the Prussians. The High Castle was converted into barracks, the Great Refectory was turned into a riding hall, and between 1801 and 1804 the castle was adapted for use as military stores – many of the Gothic vaults were removed and the windows were rebuilt. Protests from the press and cultural circles changed attitudes towards the historic building: from 1817, restoration work began on the Middle Castle. The most extensive reconstruction was carried out from 1882 by Conrad Steinbrecht, who restored, amongst other things, the Upper Castle. However, some of his designs were not based on historical sources.
In early 1945, the Germans turned the castle into a stronghold. Fighting with the Red Army continued until 9 March 1945 and resulted in the destruction of around half of the complex – the eastern part of the High and Middle Castles, the main tower and the castle church, together with the statue of the Madonna, were reduced to rubble. After the war, a long-term reconstruction programme was undertaken, with the aim of restoring the complex to its medieval form. In 1961, the Castle Museum was established. In the following decades, the main tower, the Main Gate and the Karwan Gate were rebuilt, amongst other structures, and in 2016 the conservation of the Church of Our Lady was completed, with the reconstructed statue of the Madonna returned to its place on the church wall.
The complex consists of three parts. The Upper Castle is a quadrangle with a courtyard surrounded by cloisters, the Church of Our Lady, St Anne’s Chapel, the chapter house and the projecting Gdańsk tower. The Middle Castle comprises the Great Refectory, the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Infirmary and the Chapel of St Bartholomew. The Lower Castle, or outer bailey, housed service buildings, including the Karwan – a former armoury and coach house. The whole complex is surrounded by walls, towers and moats.
The castle is home to the Malbork Castle Museum. Visits follow the Historical Route – with a guide or an audio guide – or the shorter Walking Route, which covers the outer bailey, courtyards, terraces and moats, but does not include the interiors or exhibitions.
