Ulrich von Jungingen he was born around 1360 and died in July 1410, at the age of around 50. He was the grand master of the Teutonic Order in the years 1407-1410. The future grand master entered the order probably quite early at the age of about 20. In 1396, he became the commander of Ba³ga, and later the great marshal and commander of Królewiec. Probably in his rapid promotion, his brother Konrad, who in the years 1393-1407 was a great master of the Order, had a lot of merit. It should be said, however, that both brothers had different visions of the foreign policy of the monastic state. While Konrad sought to strengthen the Order's position on the Baltic Sea in opposition to Denmark, or later - the Kalmar Union countries, Ulrich quickly abandoned this policy and focused on the fight against the Polish-Lithuanian state. A good example of this was the sale of the island of Gotland in 1409. He tried his best to prepare his country for the coming war with Poland and Lithuania, which went down in history as the Great War (1409-1411) ended with the First Toruñ Peace. The most important event of that war was, of course, the Battle of Grunwald of July 15, 1410, during which Ulrich von Jungingen was killed in battle. His body, found after the battle by the Polish army, was sent to Malbork and laid there in the chapel of St. Anna at the Malbork Castle.
Teutonic Order (full name: The Order of the Hospital of the Holy Virgin Mary of the German House in Jerusalem) probably dates back to the 3rd Crusade to the Holy Land (1189-1192), and its approval by the Pope is most often dated to 1198. Originally, the Order operated mainly in the Holy Land and guarded the safety of German pilgrims in these areas. However, with time, especially during the reign of the great master Herman von Salz, he began to create the foundations of his own statehood, initially in Transylvania, which failed completely, and later in the Che³mno Land (from 1226) and in the areas occupied at the expense of the pagan Baltic peoples, especially Prusai, with much more success. It is assumed that the conquest of the Prussians was completed by around 1280. Soon after (in 1309) the seat of the Grand Master was moved from Venice to Malbork in 1309. It was also then (1308/1309) that the Order seized all Gdañsk Pomerania at the expense of Poland. The military character of the Order in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries was based primarily on well-trained and adhering to the iron discipline of religious brothers, most often armed with lances, double-edged swords, chain mail with elements of plate armor (later full plate armor) and helmets - often potted, less often so-called large helmets or visors. The external distinguishing feature of a religious brother on the battlefield was a black cross on a white background. However, at the side of these brothers, which rarely were several hundred in a given battle, there were also units of the so-called guests from Western Europe, i.e. knights who came to Prussia to look for a fortune, but also fighting (especially in the 13th century) for religious reasons. Moreover, the Teutonic army was formed by a knightly common movement (14th and beginning of the 15th century), and with time to an increasing extent - mercenary troops. The latter played a great role especially during the Thirteen Years' War (1454-1466). Undoubtedly, the army of the Teutonic Order was a difficult and demanding opponent, and the Battle of Grunwald (July 15, 1410), which became a legend of the Polish army, made such a big impression in Europe.