Castle in Szymbark

The Szymbark Castle was the second largest (after Malbork) castle in the territory of your Teutonic Order. Its characteristic element was 10 (from 12 originally planned) towers, each of them had a different shape. The castle until 1525 belonged to the pomezanian chapter. Then he became the property of Albrecht von Hohenzollern, the last grand master of the Teutonic Order, then the secular prince of Prussia. The castle changed hands several times, finally in 1699, it came into the hands of the Finckenstein family, one of the richest families of Prussia at that time. The Finckensteins owned Szymbark until 1945.

They created a beautiful residence here, surrounded by a vast landscape park located on Lake Szymbarskie and the River Osa. The park was cut by beautiful avenues of trees. Currently, the former park is overgrown with several dozen natural monuments - mainly oaks and limes. In the village, we can also see buildings of the former farmstead preserved to this day (in the second half of the 19th century, the Finckenstein estate was about 14,000 ha) and a mill from 1924.

In the triangle between the villages of Szymbark - Gardzień - Kamieniec, the oldest avenues of the Iława Lake District are preserved, today protected by the Natura 2000 program "Alleys of the Iława Lake District". The most common avenues are linden trees and oaks, in which a unique beetle species is sheltering - an oak-billed beetle. The most popular of the avenue is over 200-year-old pine so-called Napoleon's Avenue. Apparently, it was Napoleon Bonaparte himself and Maria Walewska accompanying him at the time when the emperor had his seat in a nearby palace in Kamieniec (April-June 1807). After the war, destroyed by the Red Army, the castle in the 90s of the twentieth century became the location of the film "King Alder" with John Malkovich in the lead role. Despite the ruins, the castle in Szymbark also impresses with its monumentality and beautiful location.

Szymbark is located about 10 km north of Iława in the direction of Kwidzyn.

Multimedia Museum of the State of the Teutonic Order in Prussia

The Museum in Działdów breaks away all the secrets of the Teutonic Knights. The history of your Teutonic Order is presented here in an interesting way, using the latest technologies for this purpose. In 2014, the Działdowo Museum was recognized by National Geographic magazine as one of the 7 new wonders of Poland. It is worth to go with children who, thanks to non-standard forms of presentation, will certainly not experience boredom here.

pl. Mickiewicza 43, Działdowo, tel. 23 697 76 30, www.muzeum.dzialdowo.pl, free entry, open Tuesday - Friday: 10.00 - 17.00, Saturday: at 10.00 - 16.00, on Mondays, Sundays and holidays the museum is closed.

Dylewska Hill

Dylewska Hill (312 m above sea level) is the highest elevation of the Warmian-Masurian province. From the observation tower located here in good weather, you have a beautiful view of the area. Dylewska Hill is located in the Landscape Park of Dylewskie Hills. From here we can set off a marked educational path for a walk to the French Lake, a nature reserve protecting the blue willow. Along the side of the mountain there is also a geological lapidarium, where impressive boulders representing the geological material appearing in the Dylewskie Hills have been exposed.

Wysoka Wieś, the car park is located next to the observation tower.