There is something about big sprawling castles that unlocks the child in me. Malbork certainly did that, for as soon as I had traversed its draw bridge and penetrated its defensive walls I wanted to run and look down every corridor and creak open every heavy wooden door.

The castle is massive and it dominates the town of Malbork. You can see it from miles away, and the view from the train as you cross the river from the north is a hugely impressive way to enter a town.

The castle was badly bombed during the Second World War, but the restoration has been remarkable, returning the structures to their original grandeur whilst making it possible to see what has been rebuilt by looking at the patterns of the bricks. The striking interior of the chapel shows the restoration very well.

Scattered around the castle are several displays of art works and I particularly liked the gothic sculptures and the images of its use during the Nazi occupation. Its role as the former base of the Teutonic nights proved a wonderful propaganda coup for the Third Reich. I don't think I visited the entire interior as it is a very large castle, however I did really enjoy just wandering off down dead ends providing unexpected glorious views of the ramparts.

Malbork is a very impressive castle with an intriguing history and it makes a very worthwhile trip Gdansk though do try to get the express trains if possible as the regional ones were fiendishly and needlessly slow.

[Site 6: Experience 6]