Siege of Marienburg (1410)

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Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War
Bydgoszcz • Dąbrówno • Kurzętnik • Grunwald • Marienburg • Radzyń • Koronowo • Działdowo • Tuchola • Golub

The Siege of Marienburg was an unsuccessful siege of the Teutonic Order headquarters, the castle in Marienburg, by the joint Polish-Lithuanian forces under King Władysław Jagiełło. The siege took place between 18 July 1410 and the following 19 September.

In the aftermath of the Battle of Grunwald, Polish and Lithuanian forces stayed on the battlefield for three days. All notable officials were interred in separate graves, while the body of Ulrich von Jungingen was covered with royal coat and transported to Marienburg. The rest of the dead were gathered in several mass graves. There are different speculations as to why Jagiełło decided to wait that long.

After three days, on 18 July 1410, the Polish-Lithuanian forces moved on to Marienburg and laid siege to the castle, but the three days had been enough for Heinrich von Plauen the Elder to organise the defence with volunteers and refugees. In the weeks of siege, the besiegers not only suffered losses due to combat, but also by diseases. News of Teutonic reinforcements from the West and relief troops from Livonia prompted the Lithuanian Grand Duke Vytautas to withdraw from hostilities [1]. It became clear to the remaining Poles that the siege would not be effective as the nobility from Lesser Poland also wanted to end the war before the harvest, and the siege was eventually lifted on 19 September.

It was not until the Thirteen Years' War that the castle was captured by Poles - however by means of bribery rather than military operation.

The siege is re-enacted each year by tourists and local enthusiasts as part of a cultural fair. [2]