kerouac

The subject of Guédelon pops up from time to time (ex: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...lon-france.cfm) but probably not often enough, because I don't recall ever seeing it mentioned in anybody's Burgundy trip report. Anyway, I finally visited it last weekend and found the site absolutely fascinating. For anybody who has never heard of the Guédelon project, a group has been building a 13th century castle in the middle of a Burgundian forest for the last 20 years, exclusively using materials available in the surrounding forest, tools they have made themselves and only using building techniques known at the time. It is expected to take another 20 years to complete.

The only authorized anachronisms are for security -- solid shoes, eyeglasses, goggles when chipping stone... I'm also pretty sure that the wooden scaffolding had quite a few more safety railings than would have been used in the 13th century version. I can certainly live with that, but in any case it makes the work even more difficult since they have to cut down more trees, make more boards, mallets, axes... just to build the scaffolding.

Anyway, I made a photo report about my visit, and I think it really needs to be discovered by more English speaking tourists. I know that the main part of the season is finished and that the kids are back in school, but I did not hear one word of English all day, although there were plenty of Germans and Dutch besides the French speaking visitors. In any case, all of the explanatory signs are in French and English.

Here is my report: http://tinyurl.com/guedelon2017

Some of you who are still working on itineraries for 2018 might want to consider it.

gomiki

Yet another fascinating adventure! I never knew this existed.

kerouac, thank you.

macanimals

Terrific and thanks.

analogue

Amazing place even though I only saw it in the rain. The workers were working anyway.

quokka

There is another, similar project going on. In Messkirch in the southwest of Germany, a Carolingian abbey is being built according to the Plan of St Gall (around 820).
http://www.campus-galli.de/ The website is in German, though.

Luhimari

We have been to Guédelon three times over the years and have seen the progress of the construction. It is worth a visit, they have a Facebook page.
Thanks for the information on the Carolingian Abbey project.

kerouac

There is also a project in Austria which began in 2012: http://burgbau.at/

Both the German and the Austrian projects started more than 10 years after Guédelon, but I have no idea how many people are working on the other sites. I hope it never turns into a competition about who will finish first, because the principal attraction is to see the extremely gradual progress over the years -- just like in the Middle Ages.

Michael

My recollection is that the limestone and the logs turned into beams are not from the site, which has neither limestone nor enough big trees to produce the beams necessary in the construction.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7622755059630/ and subsequent pictures.

russ_in_LA

Definitely adding this to our list. Thanks for the tip, Kerouac!