This fortification, located close to the outlet of the Vistula Lagoon, or Zalew Wiślany, on the River Elbląg, has been there since the 2nd half of the 13th century. The fortification served, first of all, as a defence according to the principles of the Teutonic monks. However, it was also used as a beautiful building for official celebrations.

After 1240, on the east bank of the River Elbląg, the Order started to build a castle. In 1246, the Grand Master of the Order of Teutonic Knights, one Henryk von Hohenlohe, granted the city charter to the settlement which had established itself on the north-eastern side of the castle complex. Right from the beginning, the castle was the residence of the Komtur, or Commander. From 1251 to 1309, the castle at Elbląg was the seat of the national Master of the Order. There is speculation that the castle was initially built of stone and it was this which was responsible for its solid construction making it able to withstand attack during the Prussian uprising of 1242 and the invasion of Prince Świętopełek. In the period 1248-1260, during further extensions, bricks were used. During the Prussian uprising between 1260-1274, construction was stopped. In 1454, the castle was destroyed by the citizens of Elbląg, never to be restored again. The ruins were knocked down in 1554. Only one building from the former ward, which is the building in front of the castle, was re-built and only one column, an architectural detail and a picture of 1554 have been preserved together with the former granary, the cellars and the ruins of the defence walls.

Archeological studies carried out in the period 1976-1985 were not able to reconstruct the castle exactly to its original plan. The only thing established was that the castle complex had consisted of four wings to the main castle, three wards and the castle entrance. The whole complex was in the shape of a large rectangle along the River Elbląg. The defence system consisted of walls and a moat and the north ward was connected to the city walls. In the main castle, there were numerous rooms and halls such as the chapter house, the refectory, the dormitory, the treasury, the armoury, the monks’ living quarters and a chapel.

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