Travel Guide "Remembrance Connects Region Oder-Warta"

45 A h i stor i ca l ly common cultura l area A h i stor i ca l ly common cultura l area The former Order church belonging to the castle was built by the Knights of St John between 1475 and 1508 . Starting in 1550 , members of the Order were knighted here to become Knights of the Order of St John. With its star vault and late Gothic ceiling paintings, this Gothic hall church is a pearl of art history in the region. Not far from the fortress of Küstrin, a castle was built in the middle of the 16 th century in the small town of Sonnenburg, which was to be the seat of the Masters of the Knights of St John Order in Brandenburg Balley for several centuries. The Knights of St John Sonnenburg Castle was destroyed and rebuilt several times, until it reached its architectural peak in 1668 under Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen in the Dutch Baroque style. The form and execution were almost identical to the Mauritshuis in The Hague ( NL ), also previously built by Johann Moritz of Nassau-Siegen. Sonnenburg Castle survived the Second World War almost unscathed, but burned down almost Knights of St John Sonnenburg Castle in Słońsk In der Ruine des ehemaligen Johanniterschlosses Sonnenburg wird die spannende Geschichte modern präsentiert. completely in 1975 . It has only been over the course of 2019 - 2023 that it has been possible to partially reconst- ruct the castle ruins and make them fit for tourist services. Visitors today can experience a magical place that takes them back in time in the form of a permanent exhibition, 3 D model, and augmented reality. Address: Poniatowskiego 1 66 - 436 Słońsk, Polen Open: January-December GPS : 52 ° 34 ‘ 14 . 8 “N 14 ° 48 ‘ 23 . 4 “E Knights of St John Sonnenburg Castle in SLoNsk i In contrast to the castle, the Sonnen- burg Church has remained very well preserved to this day. The Knights of St. John Order began building it in 1475 . The consecration of the Order church, visible from afar, took place in 1508 . This is where the knighting of the newly admitted Knights of St John was carried out beginning in 1550 . Construction of the late Gothic three- nave hall church is in the tradition of the medieval city parish churches. At the same time as the castle was built, Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen arranged for the church to be redeco- rated. After a fire, it was given its current appearance between 1814 and 1817 under the direction of Karl Fried- rich Schinkel. The roof, tower and window frames feature gothic structu- res. Both buildings survived the Second World War unscathed. In and around the municipality of Słońsk, apart from the ruins of Son- nenburg Castle, many other „traces of the Knights of St John“ can be disco- vered. For example, the enchanting Church of Our Lady of Czestochowa is located right next to the castle ruins. The particularly elaborate late Gothic vine painting in the church vault is impressive, with 200 gilded keystones and the coats of arms of all 24 Mas- ters in office since 1305 , along with that the former town of Sonnenburg. Numerous wooden and cast-iron coat-of-arms panels as well as former furnishings and ornamental objects can be found in the church, vividly conveying the centuries-long history of the Knights of St John Order in the region. 44