| Show 1 I aft a yi 51 5 1 of SH m il ac b special correspondence about six miles south of the blue baltic sea where the vistula form ing a delta divides into a right and left arm a castle of lecul ar interest iq I 1 situated the average tourist visiting ger many is not apt to see this old time stronghold of a sacred order because it is somewhat removed from the regular route but the express be tween berlin and st petersburg stops there and to bt ht identa of mediaeval history a visit to the quaint little awn t awn of danenburg Man Mari enburg nesti ng in the shadow of the majestic castle walls would be both highly intel eating and anstr jeth e the marianb arg or catle of st mary became the residence of tle knights of the teutonic order in 1309 after if i had been erected by south german architects and adorned by venetian artists elaborate mural statues in gold and mo and inlaid stone floors the cas ie built tl hout in the gothic style is really a congI omera and rifles against the attacks of the heathen the wild animals of the for ests and the ev everita everl erity ty of a northern climate however they proved them selves heroes and were also soon re enforced by larger sections from ac con the headquarters of the order so the work of civilization corn com fenced in crissia issia woods were nere cut down a temporary residence built on the site of the later castle swamps were drained and some of the na fives tives convert converti I 1 to christ from 1300 the b gliding of the castle steadily ad danced and in 1309 the grandmaster tool up his beiden re Iden e in the marlen marten burg which now became the head quarter quarters of ti t e order alie position the order of the teu tonic knights held in prussia Is a unique one in the history of europe here we have a community of eccle ecel e plastics descendants of noble families in south germany reared in cultured homes and trained in the chivalrous arts ab u well as in the clerical lore of the times taking up their abode in 14 R 4 rae nt am part of or g nal chapel ton t on of buildings consisting of the higher part with the chapel cochs chlost mit kirche the central part the lower part nied ersch losz and the fortifications ex to the brink of the river th th beautiful beautiful and impe s ng tr ic ture avas is ho homeer ven er partially de strayed b bj the poles when the order had degenerated between 1410 and 1466 for a long time it fay in ru ns but from 1872 till the end of the last century the province of est prussia has been rebuilding the mari eburg aided largely by funds from emperors william I 1 and II 11 about 1226 in the period of the crusades when the desire to fight for the cause of christ had become so to speak the ruling passion of the age a cry for help came to the ears of the lather of christendom from the northeast of europe the inhabitants of poland who had long embraced the christian faith had been repeatedly dS turied by incur eions of the prussians north of their country which occupied the terri tory of the present provinces of bast last and west prussia these pr is a strong warlike race living in dense woods extending to the shores of the baltic were not at a much h zher stage of civilization than the Brit britaina ains at caesar caesars s time at the opening of the century they were yet pagans among pur surrounding rounding christian nations to the religion of whom they were much opposed that they repeatedly killed the mission anes aries sent them by the pole poles the wilds of a heathen country shut off from all extramural intercourse and developing within themselves the resources to imprint on a large area oi 01 forest land the indelible stamp ot of a christian mediaeval civilization the dally daily I 1 fe of the little colony at the marsenburg marienburg Mari enburg must lave t ave been a strange one but invested with lecul aar interest the feminine element in the first place was absolutely lack ing in the castle the grandmaster aiho ho was mag elected by the chapter held the position of a riling monarch in the co atry he would administer jua jus tice and provide for the spiritual need ol 01 the people abete was A as a small army of attend ants in the castle the tressler treasurer had to I 1 beep account of the expenses and oversee overee the servants who were all humbler brethren of the order in tact fact the marienberg marienburg Mari Mar enburg lenburg with its massive buildings arsenals large stores of provisions and its strong outer fortifications vias as a fortress is in itself capable of resisting the enemy lor a long time and ot of sheltering even many of the citizens during the latel polish wars since it is not the intention to give here a detailed account of the inter esting history of the teutonic order it may suffice to nien mention tion that its most no flo drishing iri shing period was under von Kni and that it was secularized under albrecht von brandenburg an ancestor of the pres ent kaiser in 1525 the last grandmaster being also elector of brandenburg and having AX e 64 al 01 V A 14 it u 14 loeen 41 castle before Re on therefore the holy father in an awer to the complaint of his children from poland in 1026 sent a detach ment of the knights of the teutonic order on a crusade to heathen sia sla in order to christianize and civil ize the country and to assist the poles when necessary the small armed band first had tre difficulties to overcome md ind staining nta ining themselves es without guns embraced the protestant faith like the major majority ltv of the knights in corpor abed the land of I 1 russia into I 1 s 0 in t n domain under the suzerainty of poland which latter restriction ait was as ho boeer N ev er thrown off by the late latey r ailers of brandenburg but the white mantle with the black cross of of ilie the c knights is perpetuated in the black and white colors of the house of hohenzy lern |
