The form of a medieval castle kitchen
Where did the cooking take place in the medieval castle?
You are in the area of the original castle kitchen of the Opava Castle. The kitchen was established in the 15th century, in a separate building, isolated from the castle for practical and safety reasons (working with a naked flame and the possibility of fires). It was formed on the site of the original city fortifications, in the area of the park, situated on the western outskirts of the entire complex. As part of the archaeological research, which was conducted there from 2015 to 2019, in the basement of this building, it was possible to discover a part of the access ramp to the kitchen, flue gathering of the discharge belt of the hood chimney, the foundations of two brick pillars of the hood chimneys and a sink.
So what did such a castle kitchen look like in the Middle Ages?
The castle kitchen of Opava Castle had two parts, i.e. it was equipped with two cooking areas, which correspond to two hood chimneys. The hood chimney body is part of the so-called black kitchen. It was a chimney with a mouth wide open at the bottom, and a body in the shape of a truncated pyramid, the principle of which was based on the natural exhaust of gaseous products. This type of modern medieval smoke exhaustion also required a high roof and the chimney had to significantly exceed the roof structure. A space for cooking on an open fire was situated under the chimney. At the top, these massive chimneys were provided with a roof, so that in case of rain, water did not flow inside. Kitchens used to have basements underneath and this space was used to store food, wine and beer. The kitchen was accessible from the courtyard. The entire operation was divided into a part for processing meat, including its portioning, into a bakery area and perhaps even beer production. Kitchen waste was thrown out into the castle moat, and the liquid was flushed out of the castle using an outlet funnel.