Main Residential Floor
The main residential floor is divided into three rooms by timber block walls.
Summer Room
The largest and brightest is the summer room, illuminated by two biforate windows (double-arched openings divided by a central stone column) – a typical architectural feature of the Middle Ages.
The term “summer room” does not imply that the room was only used in summer. Since it had no heating and the biforate windows could only be closed with wooden beams (interior shutters), it was rather uncomfortable during the winter months.
Winter Parlour
Especially during the cold season, the adjacent block-built parlour was very cosy. To improve insulation, this winter parlour also features blockwork walls on the outer sides, in front of which the stone walls of the tower were added in a second construction phase.
It is the only room in the residential tower equipped with a built-in tiled stove.
In the outer wall in front of the winter parlour, a group of windows has been installed. It consists of three round-arched windows, splayed towards the outside. The three window openings contain tension frames fitted into the block wall, across which, in the High Middle Ages, thin animal membranes (such as intestines or bladder skin), waxed paper, or other translucent materials were stretched.
Window glass only became common at the end of the Middle Ages and was not in use in a High Medieval castle.
With these described features, the winter parlour became a standard element of medieval castles from the 13th century onwards.
Sleeping Chamber
The third room on the main residential floor is the unheated sleeping chamber, where the lord of the castle and his family slept. This room is dimly lit and ventilated by a narrow slit window, which lacks any form of closure. The sleeping chamber is equipped with a garderobe or latrine bay (a simple drop toilet), reserved exclusively for the lord’s family.
A block-built staircase in the summer room leads up to the service floor above.
Block-Built Staircase
A block-built staircase in the summer room leads up to the service floor above.