How do you heat a castle? In most of Northern Europe, you used a combination of fireplaces and "Kakelugnar" (literally "tile ovens", also called masonry heaters). Ceramic and/or soapstone was used to build these free-standing stoves, which retain and radiate heat much longer than cast-iron stoves. The fires burn much hotter, which reduces emissions, and depending on size, a kakelugn can radiate heat for as long as 36 hours, without ever becoming too hot to touch. In some places, seating areas and even beds have been built directly adjoining the stove.
Aside from the outstanding features mentioned above, kakelunger require far less wood than fireplaces and are far more effecient heating devices. They were developed in part in response to the huge amounts of wood needed by fireplaces. Kakelunger have small fire boxes, where wood burns much more effeciently. Then, as the heated air rises up through the meters of convoluted pathways through the tiles, heat from the burned wood warms the tiles, which, in turn become a low temperature, long-lived heat source in the room.
Not only were they a good heat source, they were often quite decorative. As would be expected in a royal residence, the ones we saw at Gripsholm were quite lovely....even the relatively plain green one in the maids' room.
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