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The Monastic Museum of Denmark |
The art of healing | Script and written word
Ground-plan | The museum garden | The brewer's garden
Technology and work
In the Chronicle of Øm Monastery it is written:
"An ingenious monk, Friar Martin, measured the water level of both lakes (Gudensø and Mossø) using a plummet as well as the height of the land between. Thus they discovered that the water level in the southern lake was almost 2 feet higher than in the northern lake. As a result they reckoned that they could get water for all their needs and would never lack water in the future".
The monks of Øm developed an ingenious system of canals that ran through the monastery. Thus there was always water for the watermill and clean water for cooking, personal hygiene and toilets.
The toilet seat with two holes, allowing at least two people to use it, was found in the western canal.
The monastery had a great knowledge of brick burning technology. All the bricks used to build Øm were produced in the monastery's brick kiln. Apart from the standard large medieval bricks they also produced glazed ornamental tiles and specially crafted bricks for decoration round doors and windows.
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The brick kiln was a quadrangular building that as a rule was dug into a slope giving support to three of the sides. On the fourth side was the stoking channel. The kiln was not covered but it was possible to position turf over it to regulate the draught. (Photograph from the exhibition) |
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