Architecture of Medieval Breweries in Cistercian Abbeys

The paper presents some conclusions regarding the architectureof medieval breweries in selected Cistercian abbeys. The conclusions have been formulated on the basis of research of Cistercian monasteries in Poland, Germany, and the Czech Republic, as well as recently in France, which have been conducted for 30 years by the author.The main observation is that there are very few original structures like these which were built in the Middle Ages. Another conclusion regards the location of breweries within the area of the monasteries. The rule was to build them by watercourses either away from the centre of the abbeys or by the western wings of cloistral buildings. The examples presented in the paper also confirm the thesis known from previous publications, namely that the architecture of monastic breweries, on the one hand, reflected the economic situation of the abbey and, on the other, the time and style as well as the region where it was established.