The Castle’s Kitchen

The kitchen is located in a separate part of the castle to prevent the spread of fire. The central place in the kitchen is occupied by a large white tiled stove that had several functions. The design of the chimney, which is not in the usual place, is particularly interesting. Smoke was drawn through a channel beneath the kitchen floor, leading towards a wall where it connected to an existing chimney. Its large diameter created a vacuum, which helped to draw the smoke out of the stove. In the corner of the room, there is a bread oven. The adjacent room served as a pantry, where food supplies were stored.

Dungeon

One piece of evidence for the existence of the dungeon at Trakošćan Castle is an inscription and painting preserved on the vault of the cloister at the Pilgrimage Church of St Mary of Jerusalem in Trški Vrh near Krapina. The preserved text testifies that a certain Nikola Capek from nearby Bednja thanks the Blessed Virgin Mary for her intercession in establishing his innocence and his release from the Trakošćan dungeon. Torture using stocks is depicted in the dungeon. The jailer would place a prisoner’s neck and wrists into the designated openings in the stocks, thereby restricting their movement. Like this, the prisoner would be prepared for torture in order to extract a confession or carry out a sentence.