What are some architectural and unique features in castles?

  Castles were very luxury a lot of times because the people who lived at the castle were usually very wealthy. Something unique about the location of a castle was they were usually built on top of a hill or around water in order to protect from invaders; that goes along with the fact that castles were the center of defense for a town or city in ancient Europe. The way a castle looked or was shaped all depended on how wealthy the owner of the castle was, in most cases you could tell how rich a person was by looking at the size and shape of the castle. One of the things that made a castle gross and dirty was the fact that animals were held in the castle pigs, sheep, and chickens were among some of the creatures held at a castle. A really interesting thing that I thought about a lot was the fact that castles were originally made from wood, doesn’t that surprise you? Now days when I see a castle it usually is a giant stone structure.

  There was two very important things that a castle had that the owner probably wouldn’t survive long without, there must have been a lot of pressure on the builders to perfect them. First thing was the highest tower which would have been important so a guard could watch over if invaders, which was probably a life a death structure; meaning, if you didn’t have a watch tower you wouldn’t be ready for battle and you would probably die. The second most important thing was the kitchen which was the heart of the castle, this is a life or death room because we all know you can’t survive without food. And there was TONS of food because if the castle was in the middle of a siege there would have to be enough food in the supply to last long. And each supply usually held up for about 2-3 months, they must have had a grocery store in the castle!!!!

What were castles used for?

Alter inside of castle

  Imagine a wealthy land owner constructing a huge castle taking up the skyline of your village, wouldn’t that be rude? That’s what a castle was like in medieval Europe; you might me thinking what is a castle used for, well I guess I could answer that question. A castle involved everyone in the city and contained many things, jobs, and places. One of the things that was in the castle was a house, where the owner, children, wife, and noblemen lived. Castles were a public gathering place so everyone enjoyed them, but they were described as noisy, dirty, and smelly, grody, that doesn’t sound like a fun gathering place. Castles were one of the main gathering places in midueval Europe, people visited there for public meetings or gatherings. Those are just some of the common things that occured at castles.
  The most important use for a castle was to protect citizens from invaders; castles were able to hold people for months in the case of a siege occurring. One of the weird things was each castle contained a chapel where an alter was held for praying and small gatherings for a church service could have been held. The weirdest thing that a castle had was prisons, why would you keep criminals in your house?; I thought that was really crazy and seemed kind of dangerous, what is one escaped and hurt your family? Those are some of the many things and uses a castle aided for a city or village, that I learned when researching.