Well, what better could we await of THIS Castle.
This particular Polish Museum is unique. It is unique both in quality, and spirit. It is unique in history and people. Therefore, no wonder that again we can participate in something very special, namely – in an excellent exhibition.
In this Castle everything is seen, and felt in a different dimension, even the stumble on the pavement of the courtyard is different than on the ordinary, some kind of urban one. So on the 14th of September (it is a special day for the Teutonic Knights, because it is the Day of the Exaltation of the Cross), I had the great honor and incredible pleasure of participating in this other dimension, in something special. It was the vernissage of the newest exhibition “Wisdom has built her house…” The State of Teutonic Order in Prussia.
For quite a while, in the past years, nothing was happening here. The last big exhibitions were held in 2007 (Imagines Potestatis), 2009 (About Johann Carl Schultz) and 2010 (Artistic Foundations in the Teutonic state in Prussia).
So nothing for a long time … Until today.
The vernissage was honored by the Grand Master himself. A little reminder: on August 22, 2018, Frank Bayard, the former General Steward of the Order, was elected the Grand Master.
Over 700 objects and artifacts were brought to the exhibition, including the candle holder of Queen Sofia (this artifact had already visited our castle, during the Amber Contexts exhibition in 2011). But there is also a completely unique “guest” – “A story about the beginnings of the Teutonic Order”, borrowed from the Vatican Library. And another splendid piece of art – unique, because it is the only such – the epitaph of Bartholomeus Boreschow. The “Cabinet” Madonna from the Pelplin collection came too.
The exhibition presents numerous documents. Among them there is a document about the release of the office by the Grand Master Paul von Russdorf, or the document of April 1525, in which Albrecht the Margrave of Brandenburg, Prince in Prussia, in the presence of Commissioner Jerzy Bażyński assures that the Prussian States have accepted the terms of the peace he has made with the Polish king Zygmunt (The Old).
We will also find a huge collection of liturgical books, such as a beautiful missal from the mid Fifteenth century, or the Life of St. Dorothy from Mątowy Wielkie (Groß Montau).
There are sculptures, like my beloved Saint Elizabeth of Thuringia, or Madonna from Mątowy Wielkie (Groß Montau), or the famous Pietà from Nowe Miasto Lubawskie (Neumark in Westpreußen), or Madonna as Sedes Sapientiae from the Gdańsk National Museum (which unfortunately does not deserve this name), there is also the famous Christ in Ogrójec (Gethsemane).
There are militaria that I haven’t even had the opportunity to see. So I can’t even write anything about the grand master’s armor. It is the one about which rumors circulate that it could be a witness to the Krakow homage from 1525.
There are also wax tablets, and many, many other artifacts from archeological research.
However, I have two comments. Only two. What for the Chief Critic of All Projects is simply nothing.
One note applies to lighting creators: there is now some irrational fashion for spot lighting. Dear “lighting technicians”, visitors are supposed to SEE, NOTICE the exhibitions. So the artifacts are supposed to be “obvious to the eye”. The objects on exhibitions are to be legible. Details are to be visible for contemplation. Unfortunately, instead, they are literally killed and flattened by light at all exhibitions (also here), and therefore their significance has often been offset by light points. And by “blinding” some of the objects (as it does not apply to all exhibits here), at the same time – you darkened the descriptions. Not all visitors recognize the object, so it is worth allowing read the description. This applies to all (unfortunately) exhibitions in Poland.
And the second remark concerns the arrangement of the exhibition itself: the platform in the second dormitory. Invisible, dark, very low. But high enough that a person with sight problems would stumble over.
Below are some pictures of nasty quality, because cell photos … But next time they will be camera!
