Despite all the efforts of the Prussian Confederation against the powerful Teutonic Order and the subsequent Thirteen Years’ War, Kwidzyn remained in the order’s possession and preserved its legacy for future generations. The brave Teutonic Knights came to these lands back in the 13th century. They founded a town here, crowned by a small stone Ordensburg Castle with two observation towers and defensive walls. Today, only a section of the old castle foundation remains, discovered in 1930 by a group of archaeologists led by Waldemar Heym. The rest was dismantled in the 16th century and was used for the construction of town structures.

The Gothic castle of the Teutonic Knights, adorning the Polish town of today, was founded later, in 1322. The new stone and brick fortress was a square site surrounded by mighty defensive walls with high towers and a two-tiered central temple. At the beginning of the 14th century, two small palaces were added to the fortress premises besides the cathedral. One belonged to members of the order, the other to the local bishop. So the Kwidzyn Castle (Burg Marienwerder) was both the administrative and religious center of medieval Kwidzyn.

The ancient citadel was named after the town: back then, Kwidzyn was called Marienwerder. However, the castle days weren’t exactly quiet. Constant conflicts between members of the order and the episcopacy led to the outbreak of the War of the Priests in the second half of the 15th century. As a result, the castle lost the bishop’s palace and angle towers. In the 17th century, the main castle building was restored. And in 1709, it greeted the Russian Emperor Peter the Great invited by King Frederick I of Prussia. This period was considered the heyday in the history of the iconic Polish Kwidzyn Castle. Today, its premises host a history museum with exhibits telling the story of the Teutonic Knights and the Bishopric of Pomesania.