A "real" princess in a real castle

Written by OHmommy

Thursday, 28 August 2008 19:00

Once upon a time, in the year 1274, a fortress was built in a Prussian town named after their patron saint the Virgin Mary. Marienburg, later rendered in Polish as Malbork, became (and still is) the world's largest brick castle in the world.

In the year 2008, a family from Ohio visited the Malbork castle.

No princesses have ever lived at the Malbork castle. It was under Teutonic order until Casimir IV Jagiellon, the underage grand duke of Lithuanian whom later became the King of Poland, moved in with his wife Elisabeth of Austria. Together they had four sons. No daughters. No princesses ever lived in this castle.

The family from Ohio was eager to learn about the real history of the castle.

So much history to be told about Poland and Prussia. But I did not have the heart to explain to a four year old, that no princess EVER lived at the Malbork castle to Lola as she raced from room to room searching for signs of a real princess. "Was THIS the room of a princess?"

The castle is actually three separate castles as you can see in the background. It takes visitors a minimum of three hours to tour. It is beyond impressive to walk through corridors and feel history.

Fifi tripped at least eighty-six times on the stairs that were concave from useage, and on the uneven stone pathways, and tripped through each and every wooden framed door. "Owwwww!!!! Ow!" She would cry out for three seconds and get back up again only to run some more before falling again a minute later. For three hours, "Owwwwww!!!!" My sister who is working in Timbuktu called us from Africa on our transatlantic cell phone, during one of the times Fifi tripped through a door way. "Where ARE you?" She asked about the noise. What a world we live in, my sister in Africa and we were in a real castle in Poland, talking on a cell phone.

Jay was in heaven as he walked over the draw bridge and saw the pulley weights that were used to close out enemies. The kid spent hours investigating the castle's cannons and sizing up the cannon balls. Each steel doorway we passed called his name to walk through and admire. "There were REAL knights here, Mama? Like REAL knights?"

Lola never found a real princess at the Malbork castle. She did find a "real" princess gown that we purchased for her and she wore for the rest of the trip. Lola wore the gown gracefully on the grounds of Malbork and stopped many smiling German tourists. She played the part as princess as if it was her job, up until a German family wanted to take a picture with her.

"Lola. They want to take a picture with you in front of the castle." I explained.

"Mom?!?"

"Just stand next to them in your gown, Lola. They said you look Schön. Beautiful." I encouraged her.

"But Mama. Mama?"

"Yes, Lola?" I knelt down before her.

"Can you tell them that I am not a REAL princess. I am only pretending."

"Yes. I will." I giggled out loud.