One of the outstanding vacationer points of interest in France is the development of Château de Guédelon. It’s a “new construct” of a Thirteenth-century fort utilizing solely the supplies and methods from the center ages. Let that sink in.
Not a reconstruction. Not a restoration. It’s such as you’re again within the center ages. No electrical instruments. No bulldozers. No containers of nails have been bought from a ironmongery store. As a substitute, there are blacksmiths, stonemasons, tile makers, and twine makers, and all the pieces is created from scratch utilizing medieval methods.
The story behind its creation and the way they’re really establishing the fort in the identical methods they did 800 years in the past is unbelievable. It’s a work in progress that started roughly 25 years in the past. I’ve wished to go to Guédelon for years and eventually did in Could 2022—-in the nick of time because the completion date is anticipated to be 2023.
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A. The Château de Guédelon: Medieval Fortress In The Making
1. Visionary And Creator Michel Guyot
Michel Guyot is a French entrepreneur who has owned and restored quite a lot of castles in France together with Château de Saint-Fargeau. After efficiently restoring it, Guyot had the thought to assemble a brand new fort, situated not removed from Saint-Fargeau utilizing (very) outdated strategies. Co-founder, Maryline Martin turned common supervisor and web site supervisor and Guédelon was born in 1997.
2. Location Of The Fortress
An space within the Guédelon forest was chosen as a result of it may present all of the pure sources wanted to create this new, outdated fort. This was necessary as a result of the chateau wouldn’t have vans to move within the supplies from far distances. It will solely have human labour and horses. Guédelon was the title chosen for the château because of the forest and close by lake.
3. Proposal And Funding
After gathering design concepts from different châteaux, getting recommendation from consultants, and drawing up plans for his fort Guyot introduced his proposal to the native Treigny commune for approval. On the similar time, he shaped a scientific committee comprised of historians (artwork and architectural) and archaeologists and solicited funding from the European Union, varied ranges of the French authorities, and enterprise firms. Initially, 400,000€ was raised to start out the château. The plan to construct Château de Guédelon was authorised in 1997. Immediately the fort is completely self-financed from ticket gross sales and income from the restaurant and reward store.
4. Development Begins In 1997
When the primary stone was formally laid, on June 20, 1997, a time capsule of kinds was additionally buried beneath the stone. It incorporates parchment and a ten franc coin from 1997….just a few proof that this fort appears to be like prefer it’s from the Thirteenth century, however in truth is from the twentieth and twenty first centuries! The positioning opened to the general public in 1998 and by the top of that first yr had 65,000 guests. Immediately it attracts over 300,000 guests yearly.
You may even see Guédelon listed as Chantier Médiéval de Guédelon. That is the place. “Chantier” means worksite or building web site. It’s sometimes called an “experimental building web site”.
B. Self-Guided Go to To Guédelon Fortress
1. French Excursions
Essentially the most troublesome half about understanding how the development is being executed has to do with the vocabulary. My background is just not in building, structure or constructing and there are such a lot of phrases associated to those professions. Once I visited Guédelon, there have been solely French-speaking excursions. So you’ll be able to perceive how attempting to grasp a tour information who’s talking about building solely in French was near not possible!
I used to be given an English pamphlet that indicated the place the important thing areas have been. There was additionally a 15-minute English subtitled audio-visual presentation in one of many workshop areas. It was adopted by a Query and Reply interval, however that was in French.
2. Demonstrations
If you go to, understand that demonstrations are usually not “scheduled” as a result of the work required on the château modifications all through the day and weeks. All of it will depend on what’s on the docket for the day. On daily basis and each season is totally different. In order that’s why it’s advisable simply to wander across the web site, speak to the employees (who’re in interval costumes), and maybe return just a little later to an space you could be fascinated with (ie. tile making).
3. “Guédelon: How To Construct A Fortress…the story thus far”
I bought the superb booklet, “Guédelon: How To Construct A Fortress…the story thus far” and it was invaluable in serving to me perceive how they’re constructing this château. I can’t inundate you with all of the undertaking particulars or building terminology (ie. corbels, arrow loops, voussoirs, and tracery home windows!). As a substitute, I’ll share some attention-grabbing issues I realized in regards to the supplies, tools, and labour used to assemble the fort.
C. How Was Guédelon Designed?
Essentially the most outstanding issues in regards to the building of this fort should do with how they will really construct one thing utilizing instruments and know-how from the Thirteenth century.
1. Affect From Philip II, King of France
Philip II, often known as Philippe Auguste (1165-1223) was King of France within the twelfth and Thirteenth centuries and was instrumental in rising the scale and affect of the nation. Throughout a interval of prosperity, many fortresses and castles (ie. Louvre Fortress) have been constructed. It’s no shock that Philip II was often known as the “Builder King”.
For Château de Guédelon, the work progresses in real-time, so 1997’s begin date corresponds to the yr 1228. 2018 corresponds to the yr 1249, and so forth. So, if issues are on schedule, the fort might be accomplished by the yr 1253 (2023).
2. Utilizing Thirteenth Century Fortress Options
It was pure that Guédelon could be designed as a Thirteenth-century château—reflecting such a golden interval in French historical past. The “finest” options of Thirteenth-century castles could be applied into Guédelon and close by Château de Ratilly was used because the mannequin for Guédelon.
Becoming a member of Guyot and Martin on the undertaking staff was Jacques Moulin, who was the chief architect of Historic Monuments (ie. property of Versailles), and master-mason or master-builder, Florian Renucci.
The fort would have:
- curtain partitions in a quadrangular form (a curtain wall is an exterior wall connecting the towers)
- cylindrical towers in every nook (the place one is the chapel and one is a pigeon loft)
- a predominant gate and a postern (rear) gate
- a dry ditch to encompass the fort
The primary few years have been spent merely clearing the land of all of the timber, setting the foundations of the fort, after which establishing the perimeter partitions and cisterns. The positioning covers 7 hectares (about 17 acres). On this space, the plan was to not simply have a fort, but additionally a village with workshops to make the provides (ie. stonecutting, tiles, baskets).
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3. Experimental Archaeology
The development of the fort is a studying course of. The engineers and staff have to always study medieval methods after which determine the way to use them in building. The idea known as, “experimental archaeology”. Guédelon’s motto is, “Construct To Perceive”.
As the outside partitions have been being constructed, one of many first issues that wanted to be constructed have been cellars and cisterns. Again within the center ages, if a fort was below assault and surrounded, how would the occupants survive with out meals and water? A cellar within the basement was created and a couple of cisterns have been constructed to gather rainwater.
D. 7 Attention-grabbing Info About Guédelon’s Development
As talked about, Guédelon is located within the Guédelon forest which additionally has a quarry. Nearly all of the pure supplies are there to assemble the fort: earth, ferruginous sandstone, limestone, wooden (oak), and clay. Listed here are 7 attention-grabbing info about how the fort is being constructed.
1. Fictitious Guilbert de Guédelon
For those who’re going to create a Thirteenth-century fort, full with a chapel, kitchen, lord’s chambers, and guard’s rooms, you’d additionally have to have a fictitious lord who wished this château created within the first place.
Realizing the lord’s social and financial standing and place within the feudal hierarchy influences the kind of fort that may be constructed. So Lord Guilbert Courtenay—Guilbert de Guédelon was created.
Lord Courtenay was a noblemen and vassal (feudal tenant) of Jean de Toucy, who was Lord of Saint-Fargeau. Courtenay had cash however not sufficient to make a big fort with a moat. His marriage to Jean de Toucy’s niece did assist because it introduced him a dowry which included extra land and property (ie. mills). Consequently, he ordered the development of Château de Guédelon—a extra modest fort with an enormous ditch surrounding the property.
2. Squirrel Cages
One of the attention-grabbing items of kit at Guédelon is the “Squirrel Cage” which allows mortar, timber, stones, and different supplies to be hoisted as much as the highest of the fort to assemble the roof, ramparts, or the 3-metre thick partitions.
It’s actually like a cage a squirrel or hamster would go in—a treadwheel winch the place a stonemason both turns the wheel or walks contained in the wheel to maneuver the crane up and down. Two staff can raise a whole lot of kilograms of mortar simply utilizing the squirrel cage and in a typical day, 6 tonnes of supplies are moved. It’s stated {that a} employee can stroll 7 km in at some point, merely strolling on the treadwheel.
3. Stones And Tiles
Click on the subsequent picture to see the instruction for making a tile.
You gained’t see energy drills utilized by banker masons on limestone slabs! [A banker mason is a stonemason who does the final carving or shaping of the stone]. Simply chipping, chipping, chipping.
And within the tile-making workshop, it is going to be steady banging, banging, banging on clay, very like making bread. The work is tedious (and loud) and while you notice they’re making hundreds of tiles, you respect how troublesome the work is. 4000 tiles alone have been made and fired in a medieval kiln to make the ground of the Nice Corridor, 6000 tiles for the antechamber, and tens of hundreds of tiles have been used to make the roof.
4. Colors And Accents
Whereas one thinks medieval occasions are all gray and darkish, this château can have some color. Neglect store-bought paint and stained-glass home windows, nevertheless. The colors within the château are comprised of pigments ready on web site (ie. hematite and ochre) however there aren’t any glass home windows. Glazed home windows have been utilized in non secular buildings however not in châteaux. Due to this fact, parchment is coated with linseed oil and alcohol to provide it a translucent look.
Many decorations, together with floral motifs, frescoes, mural work, and friezes are additionally being added to the partitions, particularly within the bedchambers and chapel.
5. Baskets
Throughout my go to I met a basket maker. At first one thinks that she is producing it for business causes however in reality the wicker baskets changed the very heavy wood buckets and troughs that have been initially used to move mortar. After performing some analysis on building in medieval occasions, the researchers ascertained that the hampers could be a lot lighter and simply as sturdy in carrying the cement.
6. Hottest Job On Web site
The blacksmith’s work started from the beginning of the undertaking as everybody (ie. stonemasons, woodcutters, carpenters, and many others.) wanted instruments. 7,000 solid nails alone needed to be made for the oak shingles on a roof. It’s a powerful, sizzling job the place they’re forging steel as much as 1200° C to make nails and hinges. For soldering steel, the temperature must be 1300° C. In 2001 the fastened bridge used 667 nails and wooden from 57 oak timber.
7. Solely 35 Development Employees Plus Volunteers
At first, in 1997, there have been simply 5 employees members-Maryline Martin, a carpenter, a 2 stonemasons, and a builder. And there have been solely a handful of volunteers.
Immediately, 70 individuals are employed at Guédelon the place 35 work on the location from March to November—quite a lot of them are from different nations (ie. Canada). And they’re all outfitted in Thirteenth-century costumes. There are some modern-day security necessities such because the sporting of exhausting hats or harnesses when mandatory.
How can they get a lot work executed with solely 35 building staff? Moreover being a vacationer web site, Guédelon is a spot of training the place 11 totally different trades are at work. On-site studying takes place right here: masonry, woodcutting, rope making, tile making, carpentry, and stone carving. There’s a giant contingent of volunteers and college students—-those who’re on work placements or need to contribute their experience to this enterprise.
Right here’s an amusing animated clip explaining how Château de Guédelon got here to be (click on the picture to be directed to the Youtube clip):
Getting To Château de Guédelon
After per week in Paris, I rented a automobile and headed south, stopping at Château Vaux-le-Vicomte for just a few hours after which driving on to Saint-Amand-en-Puisaye the place I stayed the evening (at La Bicoque en Puisaye). I selected this city as a result of it was very shut (lower than 10km) to Guédelon which I visited the subsequent morning. The Château de Guédelon web site is situated close to the city of Treigny within the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté area of France (Burgundy).
Château de Guédelon
- Tackle: D955, 89520 Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe
- Open April 2-November 6, 2022: open every day in July and August. Closed on some Tuesdays and Wednesdays in June, September, and October.
- Entrance: 14 € (save 1€ should you purchase your ticket on-line)
- Notes:
- How a lot time do you have to give your self to go to? 3-4 hours
- Go to Guédelon For The Day By Bus: for the primary time in July/August 2022, you could possibly get a transportation/entrance ticket on Wednesdays for 49 €. A coach would take you from Paris (Bercy bus station) to Guédelon, leaving at 8:00 a.m. and returning to Paris round 9:00 p.m. Hopefully this new enterprise might be repeated in 2023.
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