The pearl of crusader Baltic

This is the red-brick, gothic cathedral in Frombork (modern Poland). Located on a hill overlooking a lagoon of the Baltic sea, it is one of the largest and best preserved crusader-era churches in the Baltic region. It was constructed in the 14^th C. on land conquered from pagans by the Teutonic knights and their Latin allies. However, unlike other parts of Prussia, Frombork was not controlled by the Teutonic Order. Instead, it formed part of a newly created, crusader duchy ruled by prince-bishops of Warmia. Though allied with the Teutonic Order, the bishops pursued their own policies: they fortified their cathedral so that it could withstand a siege by pagan Lithuanians; they constructed castles to defend their dominion and showed a greater degree of acceptance towards local population by opening schools and allowing Prussians to enter their church’s administration. After the Teutonic Order was defeated in 1466, the prince-bishops swore fealty to kings of Poland and stood loyally with the Polish armies during later wars against the Teutonic knights. Under Polish suzerainty, the duchy become a center of learning. One of the bishops of Warmia, Jan Dantyszek spent many years travelling across Europe and knew the famous Spanish conquistador, Hernán Cortés as well as Martin Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam. The most famous cleric from Warmia, however, was Nicolaus Copernicus who was the first astronomer to mathematically prove that the sun did not circulate around the Earth but rather, that it was the earth that circulated around the sun. Copernicus spent years studying in Cracow and Bologna in Italy but at the end of his life, he returned to Frombork where he is buried to this day.

Frombork is located in a distant part of Poland and journey here might take some time but if you will ever get to visit Poland I really encourage you to visit it. It sounds tacky when I write this, but Frombork is surrounded by beautiful nature, it is a small, lovely town with an amazing cathedral with beautiful gothic portals, sculpture and gargoyles made of stone imported from Sweden. The town also includes a gothic parish church (visible on the left of the photo), fully preserved circuit of defensive walls and a medieval hospital covered with gothic frescoes. It is a true pearl of the Baltic and, when you are tired of sightseeing, you can walk along one of the beaches across the lagoon and collect amber!