Poland has an impressive fourteen World heritage sites. These range from the historic centres of Cracow and Warsaw to the concentration camp at Auschwitz Berkenau and include historic churches and mediaeval towns. Among them is the stunning Castle of the Teutonic Order at Malbork. The largest castle in the world by area, upon its completion in 1406 it was the world's largest brick Gothic castle. The "Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem", known more commonly as the Teutonic Order, was founded in the Middle Ages to aid Christians as they travelled on pilgrimage to the Holy Land. A small number of its members were commonly known as the Teutonic Knights, since they also served as a military crusading order. The Order had been created in Acre in Palestine and when this last stronghold of the Crusades fell to Muslim Arabs, the Order moved its headquarters to Venice. The castle is situated on a peninsula on the right bank of the River Nogat. To its south lay the Polish state, which had accepted Christianity in the 10th century. Polish rulers had unsuccessfully organised missions to bring Christianity to the Prussians. In 1215 Pope Innocent III created a missionary bishopric to the Prussians and the Polish Prince Conrad called upon the Teutonic Order for help, granting them lands on the frontier of his territory in return. The Order established itself there in 1230 and these military monks carried out crusades against the pagan Prussians on the south Baltic coast, but the resistance of the Prussians lasted for half a century more. Their castle at Malbork was substantially enlarged and embellished after 1309, when the seat of the Grand Master moved there from Venice and the castle and town became the capital for the Teutonic Order. It was built on the site of their earlier fortified monastery and was originally known as Marienberg, Mary's Castle, since at the time of its construction it was in part of Prussia. The small village which grew up outside the castle walls was given the status of a city by Konrad von Thierberg in 1286. The castle and town became part of Poland in 1466 and Malbork was a residence of the Polish kings for three hundred years. Invasion and partition of Poland through the centuries meant that the castle passed in and out of Polish hands, finally returning to Poland at the end of the Second World War. With the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, Marienberg had become a focus of pilgrimage of the Hitler Youth and was the blueprint of the Order Castles of the Third Reich built by Hitler. During World War II up to half of the castle and eighty per cent of the town were destroyed. The castle has been systematically restored and rebuilt since 1962 and it was granted World Heritage status in 1997. Marienberg was a wealthy place. Lying on the river Nogat allowed easy access by barges and trading ships from the Vistula and the Baltic Sea. As did other castles along the river, the Teutonic Knights at Malbork collected river tolls from passing ships and they also controlled a monopoly on the trade of amber. The castle as we see it today consists of three separate castles – the High, Middle and Lower Castles, separated by multiple dry moats and towers and the outermost castle walls enclose 52 acres. The whole castle complex today is administered as a Museum. From January 1, 1961, the newly created Castle Museum, a central institution answering only to the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage in Warsaw, became the host of the monument. Many of the interiors have now been reconstructed to look as they would have looked centuries ago. Modern-day visitors to Malbork enter the castle through the great Gatehouse, a portcullised and totally enclosed passageway that takes them into a breath-taking open grassy courtyard, surrounded on all sides by the castle's many red-brick and red-tiled buildings. The imagination runs riot as viitors imagine the castle as it once was. A drawbridge takes them into the tall buildings of the High Castle and into another smaller enclosed courtyard. All in all, the Castle complex consists of churces, refectories, monastic buildings, the Grand Master's Palace, the High Castle and the Middle Castle and there are regular exhibitions throughout the year detailing its history, as well as educational courses and a fascinating Library. Muslims read in the Holy Qur'an in Surat Al-Munafiqun: "O ye who believe! Let not your riches or your children divert you from the remembrance of Allah. If any act thus, surely they are the losers." 63:9 Modern day Poland has a population of forty million people. It joined NATO in 1999 and became a member of the European Union in 2004. After years of suffering and struggle in the shadow of the Soviet Union and centuries of division, occupation and partition by the other countries of Europe, Poland now sits at the table of European nations as a full and equal partner. Poland has always been a deeply religious nation. The Castle at Malbork reminds us, like Poland's history, that sometimes nations are up and sometimes they are down, but life nonetheless goes on. Whether up or down we all need to think of the Creator. The modern castle invites us to look at the glories of the past and to work together to build an even better future. With God's help, inshallah, we can do that. British Muslim writer, Idris Tawfiq, teaches at Al-Azhar University and is the author of nine books about Islam. You can visit his website at www.idristawfiq.com, join him on Facebook at Idris Tawfiq Page and listen to his Radio Show, "A Life in Question," on Sundays at 11pm on Radio Cairo 95.4 FM.
