The Imperial Order of The
Teutonic Knights of St. Mary's
Hospital in Jerusalem
Ordo domus Sancte Marie
Theutonicorum Ierosolimitanorum
The Knights and Brothers of the German
Houses at Beloved Lady of Jerusalem
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(Above)
The old Headquarters The Knights of Teutonic
Order of Saint Marys Hospital in Jerusalem .
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THE OLD HEADQUARTERS OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER
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The Deutsch-Ordens-Haus (House of the Teutonic Order) in Vienna houses the Church of Saint Elisabeth, the Office of the Grand Master, the archives and library, and the Treasury of the Order. St. Elisabeth, the Church of the Teutonic Order
A church already stood on the site of the present House of the Teutonic Order in Vienna at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries. As a result of two fires, only the spire of this church is left standing today. The present church was finished in 1395 and it was consecrated to St. Elisabeth of Thuringia. The House of the Teutonic Order was lightly renovated in the baroque style between 1725 and 1735. The church was also altered at this time and can now be said to represent a harmonious blend of the gothic and baroque styles. Inside, the gothic triptych and the tombstones of the Teutonic knights are of particular note.
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Archives and Library
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Hundreds of crates of records from all the provinces of the Order were sent to Vienna in the decades after it became the new seat of the Grand Master in 1809. Happily for today's researchers, the records of the provincial leader of Moravia and Silesia were also sent to Vienna, in 1918. They now represent much sought after sources for researchers from Eastern Europe, especially since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
In recent years, the inventory of documents (including imperial, royal and papal deeds and bulls) have been catalogued in accordance with modern academic criteria. The archives contain 44 different categories of documents (so-called departments). The archives of the Teutonic Knights also contain a collection of about 1,000 old seals, treatises, inventories and catalogues.
The library of the Teutonic Order in Vienna contains some 10,000 volumes at present. These include important works of reference for users of the library, numerous titles devoted to the history of the Order, as well as its own academic publications. The library bookcases are fine joinery work: they are the prentice work of Grand Master Archduke Eugen of Austria. Ever since the era of Hapsburg Emperor Maximilian I, every archduke has had to learn a craft and every archduchess has had to produce some handiwork and delicate embroidery (the embroidered stoles and chasubles of the order represent outstanding examples of this).
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CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS
OF THE TEUTONIC ORDER 1070-1500
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This table contains dates and events that highlight the origins and development of the Teutonic Knights throughout its history; also included are significant events in medieval history that may not be directly associated with the Teutonic Knights but give perspective to the history of the Order.
KEY DATES OF EVENTS:
1070 Possible founding date of the Hospital of St. John in Jerusalem by Amalfi merchants.
1098 Crusaders of First Crusade captured Jerusalem.
1113 Hospital of St. John recognized by papal bull as separate order.
1118 Hugh of Payens of Burgundy and Godfrey of Saint Adhemar, a Fleming, with seven other knights were credited with founding the Templars whose headquarters was on or near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
1126 Hospital of St. John displayed possible military attributes; its "constable" was cited in sources.
1127 Possible date of the founding of the German Hospital of St. Mary in Jerusalem.
1128 Probable circulation of St. Bernard of Clairvaux' Liber ad milites templi de laude novae militiae.
Jan., 1129 Council of Troyes recognized the Temple as an order.
1131 King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre attempted to turn over the kingdom to the Templars, Hospitallers, and Knights of the Holy Sepulcher in his will.
1143 Two sources of Pope Celestine II mention a German hospital in Jerusalem in some kind of dispute with the Hospital of St. John; the German hospital was put under the supervision of the Hospital of St. John.
1147-1149 Second Crusade.
1170's John of Würzburg mentioned the German hospital in Jerusalem in his Description of the Holy Land.
1172 German monk Theodorich wrote Guide to the Holy Land.
1176 Sophia, Countess of Holland, was buried in the German hospital in Jerusalem.
May 1, 1187 Hospitallers and Templars defeated by the Muslims at Nazareth.
July 4, 1187 Battle of Hattin lost by crusaders; Hospitallers, Templars, and the "flower of the nobility" devastated.
Oct. 4, 1187 Jerusalem surrendered to Saladin.
1190 Third Crusade featured the German Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, King Richard I of England, and King Philip II of France; the crusaders lay siege to Acre; Germans from L(beck and Bremen probably established a field hospital named after the previous German hospital of St. Mary in Jerusalem.
Sep., 1190 King Guy of Jerusalem awarded Teutonic Order or "Teutonic Knights" a portion of a tower in Acre; the bequest was re-enforced on Feb. 10, 1192; the order perhaps shared the tower with the English Order of the Hospital of St. Thomas.
Feb. 6, 1191 Questionable bull of Pope Clement III approving the German hospitaller order at Acre.
Jul. 12, 1191 Siege of Acre ended in crusader victory.
Apr., 1195 Count Palatinate Henry of Champagne provided Teutonic Knights the house of Theodore of Sarepta in Tyre.
Mar., 1196 Count Palatinate Henry conferred possessions in Jaffa (Joppa) on Teutonic Knights.
Dec. 21, 1196 Pope Celestine III took the "Hospital of St. Mary of the Germans in Jerusalem" under his protection
1196 Hermann von Salza may have accompanied Landgraf Hermann von Thüringen to the Holy Land.
May 20, 1197 German emperor Henry VI gave the Teutonic Knights a hospital in Barletta, Italy.
Jul. 18, 1197 Henry VI gave Teutonic Knights a church and cloister (of the Holy Trinity) in Palermo, Sicily.
Mar. 5, 1198 Teutonic Knights established as a military order in a ceremony in Acre's Temple which was attended by the secular and clerical leaders of the Latin Kingdom.
1198 First military action of the Teutonic Knights with King Amalric II of Jerusalem; Amalric gave them (in August) a tower in Acre, formerly belonging to the Order of St. Nicholas.
Feb. 19, 1199 Bull of Pope Innocent III confirmed the Teutonic Knights' wearing of the Templars' white mantle and following of the Hospitallers' rule.
Aug., 1200 Teutonic Knights paid the sons of Theodore of Sarepta 200 besants for the house in Tyre to complete the deal.
1202 Gerold of Bozen gave the Teutonic Knights a hospital in Bozen.
1202 - 1204 Crusading effort led by Boniface of Montferrat diverted from Palestine or Egypt to Constantinople with influence of Venetians and pretender to the Byzantine throne.
Apr., 1204 Fall of Constantinople to the Latin crusaders.
Early, 1205 William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of Villehardouin conquered Patras, Andravida, Pundico Castro, Modon, and Coron in the Morea; Battle of Koundoura won by William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of Villehardouin with about 600 men over 5,000 Byzantine Greeks.
1206 Statutes of Margat adopted by the Hospitallers in annual chapter meeting.
1207 Famous singing contest held at the Wartburg; St. Elizabeth of Hungary and Hermann von Salza possibly attended.
1208 Teutonic Knights "marshal" appears in the sources; indicates the military nature of the order.
1208 - 1229 Albigensian Crusade in France.
early, 1209 Geoffrey Villehardouin, Prince of Achaia, in dividing up the Peloponnesus in his capital of Andravida, gave the Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights four knightly fees; the Teutonic Knights' fee is near Kalamata.
1209 Teutonic Knights side with Hospitallers and barons in Acre against the Templars and prelates; origin of long-standing opposition between the Templars and Teutonic Knights.
Oct. 3, 1210 Probable date of election of Hermann von Salza as grand master of the Teutonic Knights; the date coincided with the date of the marriage in Tyre of John of Brienne to Mary; it was also the date of John's coronation as King of Jerusalem.
Sep., 1211 Frederick II chosen king in Germany.
1211 Burzenland settled by the Teutonic Knights with the authority of Hungary's King Andrew II.
Jul., 1212 Peter II of Aragon defeats the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa.
1212 Adomadana given to the Teutonic Knights by King Leo of Armenia.
1212 Children's Crusade: spring---German phase; June--- French phase.
Sep. 12, 1213 Simon of Montfort wins the battle of Muret; Peter II killed.
Feb. 24, 1214 King Leo of Armenia granted Teutonic Knights Amudain, the castle of Sespin, and more.
Nov., 1215 Innocent III called the Fourth Lateran.
Council; new crusade proclaimed; Hermann von Salza probably at the Fourth Lateran Council representing his order.
1215 Frederick II crowned in Aix-la-Chapelle; took the cross.
1215 Magna Carta signed in England.
1215 Dominican Order founded.
Feb. 18, 1216 Innocent III issued a bull of protection for the Teutonic Knights.
Dec., 1216 Hermann von Salza attended Frederick II's court in Nuremberg; first meeting between the Teutonic Knights' grand master and the emperor.
Feb., 1217 Hermann von Salza received possessions in Sicily from Frederick II while at Ulm.
Jun.24, 1217 Frederick II granted the Teutonic Knights the same status as the Templars and Hospitallers in the Kingdom of Sicily.
1217ó1221 Fifth Crusade.
May - Aug. 1218 Crusading army lands in Egypt; Hermann von Salza at Damietta; Saphadin died (1199ó1218); al-Kamil, his son, became caliph (1218- 1238); crusaders captured Damietta.
1218 - 1219 Patriarch of Jerusalem, church officials, Templars and Hospitallers advised Pelagius not to accept peace terms of Sultan al-Kamil to surrender Jerusalem; contrary advice offered by King John of Jerusalem, Earl Ranulf of Chester, and the German leaders.
Spring, 1220 Hermann von Salza went to Acre with King John of Jerusalem.
Nov., 1220 Hermann von Salza was with Frederick II in Italy; first identified by name as Hermann von Salza in documents; Frederick II crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Honorius III.
1220 Leopold VI of Austria presented the Teutonic Knights the site of the castle of Montfort near Acre.
Jan. 9, 1221 Honorius III gave privileges to the Teutonic Knights; as an order, they now were on the same level as the Templars and the Hospitallers.
Jan - Apr, 1221 Hermann von Salza was in Italy; 57 privileges were given by Honorius III to the Teutonic Knights (Honorius III granted 113 to the Teutonic Knights during his pontificate).
mid-April, 1221 Hermann von Salza accompanied the duke of Bavaria and other German nobles to Damietta; arrived in May.
Aug. 30, 1221 Battle of Mansurah; crusaders surrendered in Egypt (Templars led the rearguard action); peace treaty; Hermann von Salza and the master of the Temple held as hostages by the Muslims.
1222 "Golden Bull" of Hungary, first issue.
1223 Hermann von Salza negotiated with the pope over Gunzelin; later in the Holy Land, he arranged the marriage for the emperor.
1224 Hermann von Salza was involved in the Treaty of Dannenberg.
Nov., 1225 Frederick II married Isabella (Yolande) of Brienne and claimed the throne of Jerusalem; Hermann von Salza was present.
1225 Teutonic Knights forcibly expelled from Burzenland by king Andrew II; Conrad of Masovia requested aid from the Teutonic Knights in Prussia.
1226 "Golden Bull of Rimini" from Frederick II for the Teutonic Knights giving them wide-ranging authority in the name of the empire in Prussia.
1227 Montfort rebuilt---renamed Starkenberg
Sep., 1228 Frederick II arrived in the Holy Land accompanied by Hermann von Salza.
Feb. 18, 1228 Frederick II took control of Jerusalem from the Egyptian Sultan al-Kamil by treaty; Hermann von Salza with Frederick.
Mar. 12, 1228 Hermann von Salza sent a letter to Gregory IX from Joppa informing him about the treaty.
Mar. 18, 1228 Frederick II crowned King of Jerusalem in the church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem; then held high court in the house of the Hospital of St. John.
Apr., 1229 Peace of Paris ended Albigensian Crusade.
Apr., 1229 Frederick II gave Teutonic Knights former house of Germans in Jerusalem; also a house that once belonged to King Baldwin located in the Armenian street near the church of St. Thomas (plus a garden and six acres of land).
May 1, 1229 At odds with the Templars and Ibelins, Frederick II departed Acre; feared losing Apulia to John of Brienne.
1229-1244 German Hospital of St. Mary in Jerusalem expanded.
1230 Kulm recognized by Pope Gregory IX as belonging to the Teutonic Knights.
1231 Teutonic Knights' Hermann Balke advanced into Prussia.
1231 Gautier of Brienne gave the Teutonic Knights Beauvoir.
1231 St. Elizabeth of Hungary died at Marburg; later was canonized (1234).
1234 Teutonic Knights won the battle at Sirguna, Prussia.
1234 Pope took control of Prussia; leased it to the Teutonic Knights
Spring, 1235 Dobriner Order incorporated into Teutonic.
Knights; approved by Frederick II and Gregory IX.
Sept., 1235 Andrew II of Hungary died; Bela IV succeeded him (until 1270).
Dec. 23, 1236 Gregory IX taxed the Peloponnesus to support crusading ventures; preceptor of the Teutonic Knights identified in the Morea as one of three collectors of the tithing effort.
1237 Frederick II's second Lombard campaign; Hermann von Salza at Battle of Cortenuova.
1237 Teutonic Knights and Swordbrothers unite.
Jul., 1237 Geoffrey II of Achaia gave the Teutonic Knights a hospital in Andravida.
1238 Frederick II's third Lombard campaign; Hermann von Salza's health failed.
Mar., 1239 Hermann von Salza died in Salerno and buried in Barletta; Frederick II excommunicated.
Mar., 1239 Robert de l'Isle donates property (Villegrot) near Veligosti to the Teutonic Knights.
Apr. 9, 1241 Battle of Liegnitz; Mongols defeat army of Poles and Germans including Hospitallers, Templars, and Teutonic Knights.
Apr. 5, 1242 Russians under Alexander Nevsky defeat the Teutonic Knights on Lake Peipus.
1244 Muslims recapture Jerusalem.
Oct. 31, 1246 Innocent IV transferred the Hospital of St. James to the Templars.
1257 Julian of Grenier, lord of Sidon, donated a fortress called Cave of Tyron to the Teutonic Knights (about 12 miles east of Sidon) signifying the order's role in Holy Land was expanding.
1257ó1261 Teutonic Knights bought large land complex (called Souf or Schuf) northeast of Sidon from Julian Grenier, lord of Sidon for 23,000 crusader besants.
Oct. 16, 1258 Peace treaty among the Templars, Hospitallers, and Teutonic Knights signed in Acre.
1258 Teutonic Knights buy a manor from John de la Tour, constable of Sidon, and two manors from John of Schuf and assumed the responsibility for defense north of Acre.
Jul., 1260 Teutonic Knights routed at Durben; Prussians revolted.
1261 Teutonic Knights bought fief made up of several manors called Schuf from Andrew of Schufe.
May, 1263 All Teutonic Knight possessions near Sidon lost to Muslims after Baybars won battle of Sidon.
1290 Teutonic Knights complete a 30óyear effort to control Prussians.
May 18, 1291 Fall of Acre; Hospitaller and Templar headquarters moved from Acre to Cyprus; Teutonic Knights headquarters moved from Acre to Venice.
1306 Hospitallers began conquest of Rhodes.
Nov. 28, 1309 Trial of Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Templars (in Paris).
1309 Hospitallers' headquarters moved from Cyprus to Rhodes.
1309 Teutonic Knights' headquarters moved from Venice to Prussia.
May 16, 1312 Hospitallers awarded Templars' estates throughout western Europe, Cyprus, and Greece.
Mar. 15, 1314 Jacques de Molay, Templar grand master, and Preceptor of Normandy burned at the stake in Paris.
Sep. 9, 1320 Teutonic Knight commander in the Morea died in battle against the Greeks near the fortress of St. George.
1348 Plague devastated the Byzantine Empire.
1376 - 1381 Hospitallers leased the Principality of Achaia from Joanna of Naples for 4,000 ducats per year.
1383 or 1384 Strife between Hospitallers and the Teutonic Knights in the Peloponnesus.
1387 Rudolf Schoppe, preceptor of the Teutonic Knights in the Morea, became the field deputy of Pedro Bordo de San Superan.
1391 List of Moreote fiefs included the Hospital of St. John and the Teutonic Knights.
1401 Jacob of Arkel, preceptor of the Teutonic Knights in the Morea, rewarded with vineyards at Modon and Coron by the Venetians.
1402 Source identified a number of Teutonic Knight monasteries in the Morea including St. Steven in Andravida.
1410 Teutonic Knights defeated at Tannenberg; bankrupted
May 21, 1433 Teutonic Knight procurator John Nichlausdorf in Rome reported he protested to the Byzantine representative the loss of properties in the Morea.
Apr. 27, 1435 Teutonic Knights' representative at the Council of Basel asked the return of possessions in the Morea from the Byzantines.
1435 1437 Johann Franke attempted to purchase Mostenitsa.
1500 Turks conquered Modon from the Venetians and expelled the Teutonic Knights from the Peloponnesus.
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(Above)
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Archduke Eugene of Austria,
58th Hochmeister of The Teutonic Order.
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THE RAPID EXPANSION OF THE ORDER
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From the outset, the possessions and wealth of the Teutonic Order grew astoundingly fast and its numbers skyrocketed, especially under Grand Master Hermann von Salza (c. 1210--1239). Von Salza was successful in gaining many favors for the Order because he was a confidante to both the German emperor Frederick II (1211--1250) and the popes. His immediate successors also did well. Between 1215 and 1300, one or more commanderies were founded each year, usually through gifts. The Teutonic Order was invited into Greece (1209), Hungary (1211), and Prussia (1226) by secular rulers to perform military duties on their behalf. In the Peloponnesus the Frankish Prince of Achaia provided fiefs near Kalamata for the Teutonic Knights in return for military service; there are traces of the Order's continuous service there until 1500. The Hungarian King Andrew II (1205--1235) expelled the Order in 1225 when it became strong and may have threatened his rule. The conquest of Prussia began in 1230 (after the Order's Grand Master was named prince of the Holy Roman Empire) and lasted until 1283. In addition to the Holy Land and these other "theaters of war," the order's members could be found elsewhere in the Mediterranean and western Europe: Armenia, Cyprus, Sicily, Apulia, Lombardy, Spain, France, Alsace, Austria, Bohemia, the Lowlands, Germany, and Livonia. Only in the frontier areas (the Holy Land, Armenia, Greece, Hungary, Prussia, Spain, and Livonia) was military service required of members. By 1221 the German Order was given the same privileges as the Templars and Hospitallers by Pope Honorius III (1216--1227). Both senior orders fought the autonomy of the Teutonic Order until about 1240. The German Order may not have quite equaled in wealth and possessions the other two military orders which were more than 80 years older, but it became the only other order to rival them in international influence and activity.
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THE BALTIC HISTORY OF THE ORDER
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After the crusaders were defeated at Acre in 1291, the Teutonic Order moved its headquarters to Venice, a long-time ally. In 1309, the Order moved again, this time to Marienburg in Prussia. Here the Order had subdued the pagan inhabitants and established a theocratic form of government. The position of the knights in the Baltic region had been strengthened in 1237 when a knightly order in Livonia, the Brothers of the Sword (Schwertbr(der), joined the Teutonic Order. The history of the German knights in Prussia and Livonia is one of almost perpetual revolts, uprisings, raids, conquests, victories, and defeats. Many secular knights from western Europe (e.g., Chaucer's knight in the Canterbury Tales) would go to the Baltic to help the Order in "crusading activities" for a season or more. The Grand Master's prizes and feasting for especially heroic knights became legendary and reminds one of various aspects of King Arthur's knights of the Round Table. During the fourteenth century, dozens of towns and about 2000 villages were created in Prussia by the Order. The Order was successful in trade. For example, as a Hanseatic League participant, it provided western Europe with some of its cheapest grain. The nations of Poland and Lithuania, perennial enemies of the Order, became stronger and stronger in the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries. In 1410 at Tannenberg, the Order was crushed in a battle against a coalition led by these powers. The result was a bankrupting of the Order and significant reduction in its military and political capabilities. In 1467, the whole of western Prussia was ceded to Poland and the eastern part acknowledged the suzerainty of the king of Poland.
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THE HISTORY OF THE ORDER FROM 1525 TO 1797
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Martin Luther's (1483-1546) Reformation affected the Teutonic Order significantly. In 1525, Grand Master Albrecht von Brandenburg converted to the Lutheran faith. He then was enfoeffed by the Polish king as Duke of Prussia. As a medieval, crusading entity, the German Order essentially ended at this time. In 1526, the Teutonic Order master of the German lands became the "Administrator of the Grandmastery in Prussia and Master in German and Romance Countries." Mergentheim became the main seat of the Order. There was a great deal of confusion in Germany in the aftermath of the Reformation, its resulting wars, and the political changes. The bailiwicks of Saxony, Messe, and Th(ringia became Protestant until Napoleonic times. The office of Landkomtur alternated among Lutheran, Reformed, and Catholic leaders in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The bailiwick of Utrecht was Calvinist until modern times. A new rule was adopted in 1606 in an attempt to accommodate the changes in the Order. In European affairs, from time to time, the Order still participated militarily. Some 1000 troops were raised to help the Austrians against the Turks. In 1696 the Order's revenue was used to finance the Hoch-und-Deutchmeister Regiment in the fight against the Turks. The Order's last great battle was at Zenta in 1697, when Prince Eugene of Savoy practically annihilated a major Turkish invasion in Hungary. This was the last serious threat the Turks were in this country. The Austrian Hoch-und-Deutchmeister Regiment survived to fight in both World Wars, but the only real military role played by the Order itself after 1697 lay in the individual prowess of its officers. Now limited to 20 nobles who were always officers in the German Army. These included men such as the Master Archduke Karl, Napoleon's great adversary; Count aximilian von Merveldt, who fought against the French in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars with great distinction; the Master Archduke Eugen, who played an important part in the victory of Caporetto in 1917; and, it is rumored perhaps the 12 brethren who were hanged in July 1944 after the plot to assassinate Hitler had failed.
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THE FRENCH REVOLUTION AND AFTER
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As the anticlerical French government expanded its political control in the 1790's, the Order lost its commanderies in Belgium and those west of the Rhine (1797). Many east of the Rhine were lost in 1805. In 1809, Napoleon dissolved the Order in all countries under his dominion, leaving only the properties in the Austrian Empire. Even in Austria, the Order had to exist secretly for a number of years until 1839 when Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I reconstituted the Order as the Order of the Teutonic Knights (Deutscher Ritterorden). The mission fulfilled by the Order was mainly the caring for wounded soldiers. In 1866, the "Honorable Knights of the Teutonic Order" was founded. Knights were required to provide annual contributions for hospitals. The Marianer des Deutschen Ordens, for women, was created in 1871. In 1914, some 1,500 sponsors from the Austrian nobility supported the caregiving efforts of the Order. During World War I, the Order took care of about 3,000 wounded soldiers in their facilities. In 1923, masters of the Order were allowed to come from among the clerics rather than the "knighthood" for the first time. Under National Socialist rule, the Order was dissolved in Austria in 1938 and Czechoslovakia in 1939. The leaders of the Third Reich abused the history of the Teutonic Order. After World War II, the Order began anew in Germany. Its possessions in Austria were returned. In Italy, the Order had changed little. A great deal of support for the caretaking and missionary Order has been found in Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, and even in North and Central America. The Order's headquarters, treasury, and archives are now located in Vienna, Austria.
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MALBORK THE CASTLE OF TEUTONIC KNIGHTS
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Although the battles of World War II were particularly destructive in the northern region of Poland, many traces of the distant past survived. Most notable of these are vestiges of the struggles between the Poles and the Knights of the Order of Holy Virgin Mary, commonly known as the Teutonic Knights. The monuments and relics of the last thousand years - towns and castles that changed hands back and forth between Polish and German rulers - today constitute part of a common European repository of culture.
The Order of Teutonic Knights came to Poland at the invitation of Polish royalty, to help convert the heathen Prussians to christianity. Instead, the order took control over large part of northern Poland and began building their strongholds. The most impressive fortress went up in the town of Malbork on the right bank of Nogat, the right branch of the delta of Vistula river. In 1309, the Grand Master moved his seat from Venice to Malbork, officialy making it the Order's capital.
The castle was captured by Polish forces in 1475 and subsequently became the residence of Polish kings visiting Prussia. By the turn of the 19th century, the area had been annexed by Prussia. That was when local authorities began the dismantling of the castle to reuse the bricks. Under the influence of German Romanticism, restoration work began, with the castle being seen as a symbol of Prussian imperial tradition. As it stands today, the castle represents a good illustration of 19th-century conservation methods. Following substantial World War II damage the castle was reconstructed by Polish specialists, who returned the historic halls, chapels, corridors and courtyards to their original 14th century splendor.
The Malbork castle is a classical example of a medieval fortress, one of the best of its kind in entire Europe. Together with a system of multiple defense walls with gates and towers, covering over 80 acres, it is one of the largest such strongholds in the world. The castle itself is divided into three major parts; the oldest section is the rectangular High Castle with arcaded courtyard containing among others refectory, chapterhouse, St. Mary's chapel and treasury. In 14th century the old forecastle was converted into the Mid Castle with the Grand Refectory, The Knights' Hall and the Palace of the Grand Master. The Lower Castle encompassed the armory and the St. Lawrence Church.
The castle interiors house several exhibitions, including a permanent exhibition detailing the castle's history, together with collections of medieval sculpture, stained-glass windows, coins and medals, weaponry, iron and foundrywork, pottery, tapestries, as well as a priceless collection of amber art. In the summer, sons et lumiere spectacles are held in the castle courtyards.
Tourists who would like to learn more about the Teutonic Order are encourage to visit other places, which lie along the Trail of the Teutonic Knights, including Torun, Chelmno, Paslek, Morag, Ostroda, Olsztyn, Mragowo, Ketrzyn, Gierloz and Gizycko.
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(Above)
The Papal Armorial Bearings of His Holiness Pope John Paul II, 1920-2005.
The Grand Chaplainship of The Imperial Teutonic Order is Formally vested,
with the Holy See of St. Peter, Rome.
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HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II, 1920-2005,
May God Bless Our Holy Father in Christ.
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Karol Józef Wojty³a , known as John Paul II since his October 1978 election to the Papacy, was born in Wadowice, a small city 50 kilometres from Cracow, on May 18, 1920. He was the second of two sons born to Karol Wojty³a and Emilia Kaczorowska. His mother died in 1929. His eldest brother Edmund, a doctor, died in 1932 and his father, a non-commissioned army officer died in 1941.
He made his First Holy Communion at age 9 and was confirmed at 18. Upon graduation from Marcin Wadowita high school in Wadowice, he enrolled in Cracow's Jagiellonian University in 1938 and in a school for drama.
The Nazi occupation forces closed the university in 1939 and young Karol had to work in a quarry (1940-1944) and then in the Solvay chemical factory to earn his living and to avoid being deported to Germany.
In 1942, aware of his call to the priesthood, he began courses in the clandestine seminary of Cracow, run by Cardinal Adam Stefan Sapieha, archbishop of Cracow. At the same time, Karol Wojty³a was one of the pioneers of the "Rhapsodic Theatre," also clandestine.
After the Second World War, he continued his studies in the major seminary of Cracow, once it had re-opened, and in the faculty of theology of the Jagiellonian University, until his priestly ordination in Cracow on November 1, 1946.
Soon after, Cardinal Sapieha sent him to Rome where he worked under the guidance of the French Dominican, Garrigou-Lagrange. He finished his doctorate in theology in 1948 with a thesis on the topic of faith in the works of St. John of the Cross. At that time, during his vacations, he exercised his pastoral ministry among the Polish immigrants of France, Belgium and Holland.
In 1948 he returned to Poland and was vicar of various parishes in Cracow as well as chaplain for the university students until 1951, when he took up again his studies on philosophy and theology. In 1953 he defended a thesis on "evaluation of the possibility of founding a Catholic ethic on the ethical system of Max Scheler" at Lublin Catholic University. Later he became professor of moral theology and social ethics in the major seminary of Cracow and in the Faculty of Theology of Lublin.
On July 4, 1958, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Cracow by Pope Pius XII, and was consecrated September 28, 1958, in Wawel Cathedral, Cracow, by Archbishop Baziak.
On January 13, 1964, he was nominated Archbishop of Cracow by Pope Paul VI, who made him a cardinal June 26, 1967.
Besides taking part in Vatican Council II with an important contribution to the elaboration of the Constitution Gaudium et spes, Cardinal Wojty³a participated in all the assemblies of the Synod of Bishops.
Since the start of his Pontificate on October 16, 1978, Pope John Paul II has completed 104 pastoral visits outside of Italy and 146 within Italy . As Bishop of Rome he has visited 317 of the 333 parishes .
His principal documents include 14 encyclicals , 15 apostolic exhortations , 11 apostolic constitutions and 45 apostolic letters. The Pope has also published five books : "Crossing the Threshold of Hope" (October 1994); "Gift and Mystery: On the 50th Anniversary of My Priestly Ordination" (November 1996); "Roman Triptych - Meditations", a book of poems (March 2003); "Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way" (May 2004) and "Memory and Identity" (pubblication spring 2005).
John Paul II has presided at 147 beatification ceremonies ( 1,338 Blesseds proclaimed ) and 51 canonization ceremonies ( 482 Saints ) during his pontificate. He has held 9 consistories in which he created 231 (+ 1 in pectore) cardinals . He has also convened six plenary meetings of the College of Cardinals .
From 1978 to today the Holy Father has presided at 15 Synods of Bishops : six ordinary (1980, 1983, 1987, 1990, 1994, 2001), one extraordinary (1985) and eight special (1980, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998[2] and 1999).
No other Pope has encountered so many individuals like John Paul II: to date, more than 17,600,000 pilgrims have participated in the General Audiences held on Wednesdays (more than 1,160). Such figure is without counting all other special audiences and religious ceremonies held [more than 8 million pilgrims during the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 alone] and the millions of faithful met during pastoral visits made in Italy and throughout the world. It must also be remembered the numerous government personalities encountered during 38 official visits and in the 738 audiences and meetings held with Heads of State , and even the 246 audiences and meetings with Prime Ministers.
"CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNAT, CHRISTUS IMPERIT."
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His Holiness Pope Benedictus XVI , Joseph Ratzinger , 19. April 2005 ,
Our New Holy Father, May God Bless His Holiness!
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DONATIONS TO THE IMPERIAL TEUTONIC ORDER OF KNIGHTS
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Individuals may donate to the Imperial Order of The Teutonic Knights, a gift or donation of choice which may include Books, Manuscripts, Historic Letters, Ceremonial Regalia, and Artifacts, or anything which may benefit the Teutonic Order in some way, this may also include a one off or regular monetary gift of your choice, please see below.
His Imperial and Royal Highness Prince Karl Friedrich von Deutschland as the 60th Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order, would like to thank you on behalf of the Knights of the Imperial Teutonic Order for your given help, please note gifts freely given are thus granted by individuals on a personal basis, whereas all monetary gifts go towards the costs incurred by The Imperial Teutonic Order, in its daily workings of its structure and bodies connected to the said Order.
*GIFTS & DONATIONS*
Please forward any Books, Manuscripts ,
Letters, Ceremonial Regalia and Artifacts
or any other gifts, to the following address:
The Private Office of
His Imperial and Royal Highness
Prince Karl Friedrich von Deutschland,
Hochmeister of The Teutonic Order,
Royal Mail Post Office Box 276,
Teddington, Middlesex, United Kingdom,
TW11 0UL.
*MONETARY DONATION*
A one off or regular
monetary gift of your choice
*PAYPAL* (Online)
Donate securely online with PayPal, you do not
need an account to donate with a credit card.
You can send donations in different currencies
without having to pay a currency conversion fee.
Monetary Gift Instructions: Go to the paypal website by pressing
on the link at the bottom of this page and give a gift of choice by
pressing the send money key on the paypal website and entering
the following e-mail address: hirhprincekarlvondeutschland@yahoo.co.uk
then key in the amount you wish to give, then follow the instructions
on the website to send the gift of choice.
If you have any questions concerning gifts please send an e-mail to the
Donations Secertary for further instructions by e-mailing the
following e-mail address: imperialteutonicorder@msn.com
Please help us by donating to
the Teutonic Order today! Thank you.
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"CHRISTUS VINCIT, CHRISTUS REGNAT, CHRISTUS IMPERIT,"
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For God, Germany and the Empire !
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The Official Website of The Imperial Teutonic Order,
Crown Copyright Held © 2002-2008, All Rights Reserved
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