Nidzica Castle

Nidzica Castle is one of the best-preserved and most imposing strongholds built by the Teutonic Order on the border between Prussia and Mazovia. Built at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries on a hill overlooking the Nida Valley, it guarded the southern border of the Order’s state for centuries, and today it is one of the symbols of Warmia and Masuria as well as an important cultural centre in the town.

Genesis

Construction of the stone castle began around 1398. The stronghold was not the seat of the commander, but of the Teutonic Order’s procurator – an official administering the district on behalf of the commander. Nor was it ever a bishop’s castle: Nidzica lay within the borders of the Order’s state, not in Warmia. The main, western wing was completed in 1405, and the remaining work was finished in the spring of 1409, just before the outbreak of the great war with Poland and Lithuania.

The castle guarded the route leading from Mazovia into the heart of Prussia. Its location on a high hill, offering a good view of the surrounding area, made it an important defensive stronghold on the border.

The periods of war with Poland

As early as 1410, when the Teutonic Knights’ forces marched out to meet the Polish-Lithuanian army, the defenceless castle was captured by Polish troops. After the war ended, the stronghold returned to the hands of the Teutonic Knights. In 1414, during the so-called ‘Famine War’, Polish knights once again laid siege to Nidzica and, on 6 July, after an eight-day siege, captured the castle.

In 1454, at the start of the Thirteen Years’ War, the castle was captured by the Prussian League, which was fighting against the Order. In February 1455, it was handed over to Czech mercenaries led by Jan Kolda of Žampach, who repelled a Teutonic attack on 28 April of that year. Following the Peace of Toruń in 1466, Nidzica remained within the borders of the Teutonic Order’s state, and from 1525 onwards – within the secular Duchy of Prussia, a vassal state of Poland.

Expansion and decline

Towards the end of the 15th century, the castle was surrounded by an outer wall with two round towers. In 1517, the outer bailey was rebuilt and reinforced, and in 1583 a second outer bailey with flanking towers was added. However, the stronghold gradually lost its military significance. In 1784, the outer bailey was destroyed by fire. The most severe damage occurred during the Napoleonic Wars: French troops, stationed here intermittently from 1806 until 1812, devastated the castle.

Reconstruction in the 19th century

The castle was saved by the judicial counsellor Ferdynand Tymoteusz Gregorovius, who, between 1828 and 1830, oversaw its reconstruction and conversion into a courthouse, residential quarters and a prison. More than seventy years later, a statue of him was erected in the castle grounds, which had been laid out in the 19th century.

The destruction in 1945 and post-war reconstruction

In the winter of 1945, during the fighting for the town, the castle was shelled by Soviet troops and burnt down. The ceilings and part of the walls collapsed, and the building lay in ruins for several years. In 1949, the rubble was cleared away; in 1952, the first stabilisation work began; and between 1961 and 1965, a thorough reconstruction was carried out. The paintings in the chapel and refectory were also restored at that time. Once the work was completed, the castle was handed over to local cultural institutions.

Architecture

The castle was built of brick on a high stone foundation. It has two parallel wings – the west and east wings – connected by walls, and four-sided towers on the shorter sides. Defensive galleries ran along the upper sections of the walls, whilst the pointed-arch windows and the towers topped with hipped roofs lend the building a distinctly Gothic character.

One of the rooms still features Gothic wall paintings from the early 15th century, whilst the refectory contains fragments of a depiction of St Veronica being adored by angels. The chapel occupied two storeys above the entrance gate. There is a well in the courtyard, and the castle is surrounded by a 19th-century park.

The castle today

Today, the castle serves cultural and tourist purposes. It houses the Nidzica Cultural Centre, which organises guided tours, as well as the Museum of the Nidzica Region with its historical and ethnographic exhibition, the municipal library, a gallery of works by Hieronim Skurpski in the keep, and the Knights’ Brotherhood of the Nidzica Commandery. There is also a hotel and a restaurant within the castle walls. Admission to the outer bailey and the courtyard of the keep is free; there is a charge for tours of the interior.

Guided tours take place on the hour, and a guide is available for organised groups by prior booking. The castle also hosts demonstrations by knightly guilds, workshops and themed day camps organised during school holidays. From the castle hill, there is a view of the town and the surrounding countryside, whilst the park surrounding the castle is perfect for a stroll.

For centuries, Nidzica was a border town – first between the Teutonic Order and Mazovia, and later between Prussia and Poland. The castle, which has survived sieges, fires, the Napoleonic Wars and the destruction of 1945, is today the most important testament to this history and one of the main tourist attractions in the southern part of Warmia and Masuria.