It is home to one of the finest collections of medieval art in Poland held at the Diocesan Museum in Pelplin.

The cathedral complex, with the abbey, theological seminary, Corpus Christi church, Episcopal Palace and Park, etc.

The initiative came from Duke Sambor II, who wanted to compensate population losses of the past, which had occurred because of wars with Pomeralia's neighbours, the Kingdom of Poland in the south and the Old Prussians in the east.

The monks also began to build an impressive Gothic cathedral, now the Pelplin Abbey, using mainly bricks as construction material.

The cathedral of the Cistercians, now Pelplin Abbey, is recognized as one of the most important examples of sacral architecture in the Vistula region.

After the monastic buildings had been modified, they were utilized since 1824 as the seat of the Bishopric of Chełmno (Culm), which was moved to Pelplin.

[6] Up to 1920 Pelplin belonged to Kreis Dirschau in the administrative district of Regierungsbezirk Danzig in West Prussia.

In 1939, after the invasion of Poland, which started World War II, Gdańsk Pomerania was annexed by Nazi Germany and incorporated into the newly formed province of Reichsgau Danzig-West Prussia.

During the German occupation, the Polish population was subjected to mass arrests, repressions, deportations to concentration camps, expulsions and massacres.

Mass arrests especially pertained to Polish teachers and clergy, and were carried out in September and October 1939 (see: Intelligenzaktion, Nazi persecution of the Catholic Church in Poland).

Pelplin is located at the intersection of the Voivodeship roads 229 and 230, and the Polish A1 motorway runs nearby, west of the town.