Malbork, Castle

The Castle in Malbork, the largest brick building in Europe and one of the greatest tourist attractions in Poland, is situated about 30 miles south-east of Gdansk. It dates from the late 1200s, and as is true for most things in Poland, has been under control of the Poles only part of the time, and of the Germans at other times. It was 50% destroyed in WW II, but we saw no sign that any damage remains. Saint Mary’s church (in the castle) was completely destroyed in the war and was rebuilt by 1965.

This castle, while huge, had more of a homey atmosphere than most buildings that are called castles. Located inside is a museum that contains one of the world's most precious collections of amber, including several of the largest lumps of natural amber in existence. Next door, still inside the castle, Emmy found a store where she bought an Amber brooch.