Marienburg, Westpr. [West Prussia] now Malbork, Poland
This unused, divided back vintage postcard features a black & white photograph from Echte Photographie. Along the center line on the reverse of the card is “Verlag H. Hemmpel, Buch u. Papierhdlg., Marienburg, Westpr.—" The code 63398 1F is found at the lower right corner on the reverse.
The Knights of the Teutonic Order founded the town of Marienburg in the 1200s. The castle was built during that period and acted as the order’s headquarters. It was also one of the residences of Polish kings. As a fortified castle it was Europe’s largest Gothic fortress and the world’s largest brick castle. Construction lasted nearly 230 years. It is a complex of three castles combined into one.
No World War I battles were fought in Marienburg; however, there was an influx of refugees, inflation, unemployment, and shortages of food supplies that caused hardships. Near the end of World War II, most of the local population fled or were evacuated. There were fierce battles here in early 1945 and about 50% of the castle was destroyed. In June of that year the town was turned over to Polish authorities and the town was renamed Malbork. Polish people displaced by areas annexed by the Soviet Union began repopulating the town following World War II. Bricks from the ruins were used to rebuild the oldest sections of Warsaw and Gdańsk instead of restoring the Malbork Old Town.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malbork
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