Our hotel is an ideal place to spend active holidays. It is situated
amid forests, in a calm and peaceful area, and offers a lot of interesting
hiking and bicycle routes along a picturesque valley of the Vistula River.
There is also quite a choice of longer trips. The hotel is only 8 km from
Kwidzyn and 36 km from Malbork, a former seat of the Teutonic Order’s
grand masters. You can visit a historic town of Sztum
(22 km) or Biała Góra (ab. 20 km), where
 
the Vistula Delta begins. In Biała Góra
you can also see an interesting system
of the 19th century locks.

MALBORK / Marienburg

The first castle on the Nogat river bank was built
by the Teutonic Order of Knights at the end of 13th c.
In 1309 Malbork became the capital of the Order and the development
of the castle followed. At the end of 14th c. the whole fortress consisted of three
powerful castles - High, Middle and Lower - and a fortified town. The Middle Castle
was the Grand Master’s residence. At the beginning of 15th c. the adjustment for
use of fire-arms started. In 1457 Malbork was conquered by the Polish army. Since
then until 1772 the Middle Castle was one of the royal residences. After the first
partition of Poland Prussian authorities placed there army barracks and weaving-mills
and ordered to pull down part of the fortifications. Demolition was renounced after the
protest of intellectuals and reconstruction works were undertaken. In 1945, as a result
of war operations, the castle was seriously damaged. Nowadays it houses a museum.

SZTUM / Stuhm

The construction of a brick castle began around 1326. The foundations of an old Prussian borough captured by Herman von Balk in 1236 were used in the new design. A huge seven-storeyed tower called Prison Tower overlooked the castle. The outer castle was transformed into a big settlement. It was granted civic rights in 1416. The castle was the seat of the governors subordinate to the commander in Malbork. After the Thirteen Years’ War Sztum was incorporated into Poland. Until 1772 the castle was the king’s governors’ seat. Then, after the first partition of Poland it belonged to Prussia. At the end of the18th century the fortifications were partly demolished. The entrance gate, fragments of the wall and part of the Prison Tower have survived up to this day.

KWIDZYN / Marienwerder

The original stronghold was annexed by the Teutonic Knights in 1233. At the beginning of 14th c. the Gothic castle of the Teutonic Pomezanian Chapter was built. In the years 1343-55 it developed into a huge defensive complex with a cathedral and a fortified outer castle. The fortress, built of brick, was constructed on a square plan. It had three small corner towers and a huge one which was the cathedral’s belfry. At the end of 14th c. a latrine tower facing the Vistula river was built. It was linked to the west wing of the castle with a gallery over 50 m long. After the secularization of the Order (1525) the castle housed Prussian administration offices, a court and a prison. In the years 1772-98 major part of the fortress was pulled down but in 1854, after numerous protests of German intellectuals, its reconstruction began. Now it houses a museum.

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Update 2006-03-09