Old town

The first thing you'll notice about Malbork's old town is that it doesn't exist. After spending 30 minutes wandering around with a map trying to find it, the fact that you're in it suddenly, somewhat depressingly, dawns on you. Almost completely destroyed during fierce fighting between the retreating Germans and the Red Army towards the end of WWII, the communist town planners set about rebuilding the area with gay abandon, putting up large modern tenement blocks where the original medieval buildings stood. What little that did survive is however worth hunting down. At the  junction of ul. Piłsudskiego and ul. 17 Marca is the fine Brama Garncarska (Garncarska Gate). Built between 1320 and 1330 as part of the original defensive town walls the tower was badly damaged during the war and was partially rebuilt in 1955 including the addition of a four-sided roof. In a state of disrepair, the gate is currently closed to visitors. Immediately northwest along  a dreary concrete pedestrianised street on the corner of Trakt Jana Pawła II and Stare Miasto is the splendid Ratusz Staromiejski (Old Town Hall). Its current look dates from a combination of work from around 1380 and the 19th century, and is a typically over the top German affair. The building lost its original purpose in 1929 and now houses a cultural centre, that among other things organises Malbork's annual Medieval Festival.  Walking south along Trakt Jana Pawła II takes you to the old town's final gem. The scruffy-looking Brama Mariacka (Mariacka Gate) dates from the same time as the town's other gate and originally served as a passage from Malbork to Sztum. Originally sporting a clock, WWII saw the gate burnt and bullet-riddled, and the building lay empty until 1964 when it was partially rebuilt only to be further ruined by a fire in 1980. Today,  Brama Mariacka houses the superb bar, Baszta.