EN
The Middle Castle of the Malbork complex is situated to the west of the sandy decline created in the past by the river Nogat. Already in the Middle Ages this location was the cause of the endangered static of the western wing. The most threatened was the magnificent and most valuable Great Refectory with a star vault. The accelerated settling of the foundations and the cracks in the western and northern walls in the 1980s indicated the necessity of salvaging the building. The undertaking was entrusted to the Swedish firm STABILATOR, which applied a system according to a project by doctor Tomasz Najder; the latter consists of the use of micropoles combined with special beams. The beams, together with clusters of steel compressing cables, are covered with concrete and attached to the walls. The resultant clamp completely takes over the burden of the vaults, walls and roof. The first stage of the work, described as the largest endeavour of its kind in Europe, is to be finished in the automn of this year. Further stages are envisaged to take place in the coming years.