Prussian-Poland Tour

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TEUTONIC FORTRESS
The castle was to be a combination of a monastery and a fortress. The first stage of construction was the establishment of the so-called fortified camp protected by wood and earth fortifications. Work on erecting the proper - stone structure of the castle began around 1300 on the initiative of commander Konrad von Sack. Already six years later he hosted here the Duke of Dobrzyński Ziemowit with his wife, although the work of the construction was continued by his successors - commander Herman and Luther from Braunschweig. The stronghold consisted of the high castle and the outer bailey completed around 1330 (also known as the forecourt or lower castle), i.e. the farm part - with stables, barns and granaries. The place of construction of the fortress was chosen very carefully. The steep hill was only accessible from the west. Not only could it be seen from the road to Toruń and Brodnica and the areas on the left bank of Drwęca, but also the strongholds in Ostrowit and Nowogród as well as the castle in Kowalewo Pomorskie. The high castle was built on a quadrangle plan around the inner courtyard, according to the rules developed by the Teutonic Knights at the beginning of the fourteenth century. He represented a conventual castle type independent of the terrain (a convent building erected on a quadrangle tower with turrets in the corners). It was supposed to be a four-wing building, with brick walls, which were crowned with battlements and strengthened buttresses, from the so-called "High" octagonal tower north-east corner - if necessary the last point of defense. In the basement of the tower there was a round, two-level, ventilated dungeon, equipped with a latrine, which was used as a prison. The entrance from the Toruń route led through the outer bailey - secured by an external moat, drawbridge, gate tower, surrounded by walls and tower towers. From the lower castle, the road led through a second bridge over a timbered dry moat to the fence of the high castle. Here - on the so-called inter-wall - two free-standing round towers were built, at the end of the fourteenth century the southern higher (you could only reach it by means of a platform drained from the castle porch), and at the beginning of the fifteenth century the lower. The entrance to the castle courtyard was guarded by a heavy gate, which was opened by the gatekeeper guarding the road. His room was located on the right side of the granite ogival passage, which ended with a portal under the gallery surrounding the courtyard. In the event of a siege, a deep well (filled in today) was dug in the middle of the courtyard. According to tradition, from the castle basements it was possible to get out via underground passages, which led to the church and houses in the city. The ground floor was occupied by utility rooms - kitchen, bakery, stable, workshop, thanks to which the besieged castle could be independent of the outer bailey and resist for longer. Initially, the open gallery around the main floor was connected to the ground floor only by a drawbridge. In case of danger, the wooden gallery was simply set on fire, thus cutting off access to the upper floors for the enemy. For security reasons, also the wings of the castle were not connected with each other by internal passages. The second floor, which was occupied by the crew and where the grain and weapons were stored, could be reached from the first stairs hidden in the walls of individual wings, and from there to the defensive porches, from where the enemy was shelled.Read more