Teutonic Knights
The Order of the Teutonic Knights of St. Mary s Hospital in Jerusalem, or for short the Teutonic Order is a German Roman Catholic religious order. It was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals to care for the sick and injured. Its members have commonly been known as the Teutonic Knights, since they also served as a crusading military order during the Middle Ages. The membership was always small and whenever the need arose, volunteers or mercenaries augmented the military forces.
Connected Sites
| Site | Rationale | Link |
| Curonian Spit | The Teutonic Knights occupied the area in the 13th century, building their castles at Memel (1252), Neuhausen (1283), and at Rossitten (1372). | |
| Kernavė | The town was destroyed by the Teutonic Order in the late 14th century | |
| Malbork Castle | One of a series of fortifications known as "Ordensburgen". These were originally constructed by the TK and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword (who merged into the Teutonic Knights in 1237) to fortify territory in Prussia and Livonia against the pagan aboriginals. | |
| Old City of Acre | Order was formed there at end of 12th century | |
| Tallinn | Sold to the Teutonic Knights in 1346 who used it to control the region until their defeat by Sweden in 1561 | |
| Torun | The Teutonic Knights built a castle there ca 1230. (They had a castle in the Lebanon at Toron) - The Castle at Torun was destroyed in 1454 but has been excavated and its remains are part of the inscribed area. | |
| Upper Middle Rhine Valley | Koblenz: In 1216 prince-bishop Theoderich von Wied donated to the Teutonic Knights part of the lands of the basilica and the hospital, which later became the Deutsches Eck. | |
| Villages with Fortified Churches | In 1211, when forced out of Holy Land, they were encouraged to settle in Transylvania. They were kicked out 14 years later but many "German" settlers stayed. "The largest fortified church in southeastern Europe, Prejmer (Tartlau in German) was built by Teutonic knights in 1212-1213" | |
| Visby | Granted to the Teutonic Knights on condition that they expelled the Victual Brothers. This they did in 1398 destroying Visby in the process. In 1409 they sold the island to Queen Margaret of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. |
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