View of the inner courtyard from the tower

A castle to fit the island

If you look out at the inner courtyard from the tower of Ort Castle, the uneven form of the courtyard becomes apparent. To best utilise the space on the small island the castle’s perimeter is something close to a triangular shape, while the inner courtyard is more like an irregular hexagon.

The image shows high, narrow chimneys typical for the Renaissance. It is historically significant that the roof is layed with shingles. In a medieval building of this size, bricks would normally be used. From this we can ascertain that wood is simply easier to come by than burnt bricks at the time of construction. There is still a large storage space for wooden shingles in the garret today.

The arcades can be found on the north and east sides of the castle. The reason for this is the summer and winter sun. In the summer the arcades provide shade and protection from the rain, in winter they store much-needed heat.