Teutonic castle in Nidzica (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship)

Nidzica, Poland, Poland

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Teutonic castle in Nidzica, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, is a well-preserved Gothic fortress built by the Teutonic Knights starting around 1370 on a hill overlooking the Nidzica River, initially as timber defenses before transitioning to brick construction completed by 1400 with a quadrangular layout featuring a main western residential wing, eastern building with corner towers, northern and southern wings, internal courtyards, and defensive galleries.

Serving as the seat of a pfleger guarding the southern border toward Mazovia, it saw sieges during the 1410 Grunwald campaign when Polish forces briefly captured it, repelled attacks in 1414 and 1455 by Czech mercenaries, and expansions like a strengthened outer bailey in 1517 before Prussian secularization in 1520.

Damaged by fires in 1784, French troops in 1812, and Soviet bombing in 1945, it was rebuilt 1961-1965 into a museum and cultural center with Gothic vaults, high windows, and towers now hosting events and legends of Barbara Blume's ghost.