30 km from Auxerre, in the forest of Guédelon, nearly 70 people work on a rather common site: that of a 13th century castle, with the means of the time!
The Middle Ages has always fascinated you? You dream of traveling in time like our dear Visitors and discover the secrets of a fortified castle? Needless to sort the meninges to make this trip as it is enough to go to the department of Yonne, in Burgundy, for visit the castle of Guédelon and experience an incredible experience worthy of this era.
A gigantic project
In the heart of La Puisaye, a man named Michel Guyot had this crazy idea in 1996 to build a strong castle. But not one of those castles For children! No, he wanted to build a real castle worthy of the Middle Ages with his tower, his bridge-levis, his doves, his ramparts, etc.
And as Michel Guyot seems to like the difficulty, he wanted to build this castle of Guédelon with the technical means and materials that were used at the time to meet this extraordinary challenge.
Photo credit: Guédelon.fr
It is thus with the reinforcement of stone, wood, clay, sand that dozens of craftsmen have set up work to bring out this huge building dating from the 13th century.
For 20 years now, stonemakers, quarries, masonry, blacksmiths, tiles, carpenters, stringers and loggers have been writing to build the castle of Guédelon day after day, all under the eyes of visitors who can discover it every day of the year.
Photo credit: Guédelon.fr
An unprecedented human adventure
The obsession of Michel Guyot to reproduce exactly the techniques and materials of the 13th century leads him to appeal to many people, craftsmen, as well as anonymous volunteers and volunteers to bring about his pharaonic project. Even materials are tracted and transported to animal backs!
Today, it is not far from 65 craftsmen of any corporation who are continuously working and are supported by 650 volunteers. Since then, a man’s crazy dream has taken other men on board and turned into a magnificent human adventure.
Towers, dungeons, walls have already come out of earth and we are currently working at the Chapel tower on the continuation of the round path with its 4000 tiles on the floor of the logis.
Photo credit: Guédelon.fr
Between March and November, almost 300,000 visitors and curious come every year to discover the craftsmen in full work but professionals such as historians and archaeologists move to understand, to astonish and admire. The 13th century castle of Guédelon is a scientific, educational, tourist and human site.
Started in 1997 and the building of the castle is expected to end around 2025. The site Guédelon became the 2nd tourist site of Burgundy, after the Hospices of Beaune, and the inputs and derivatives (toys, utensils, tools, decoration objects, pottery, ochers...) generate a turnover of around €4.5 million per year. A company that drives.
Photo credit: Guédelon.fr
At the time of ecology, the castle of Guédelon is an open-air school on natural construction processes but also a living history lesson for all the curious and passionate of fortified castles and the age of the middle age in general.
You want to participating in the construction This castle? To visit him? Or even discover trades like ironwork or stone size? Make a crochet by the forest of Guédelon in Burgundy, there is a great chance that you learn more than you think.
Photo credit: Guédelon.fr
Photo credit: Guédelon.fr
How to visit the castle of Guédelon?
The castle of Guédelon is located in Treigny (89520) about thirty kilometers southwest of Auxerre, on the departmental road 955. You will find many information about the official website Castle.
To visit the castle, tickets are for sale (12€ for an adult, 10€ for children, students, job seekers) from the site and are valid for a day of your choice on the season from March to November. The site is therefore closed from November to March (see the specific dates on the site). For a guided tour, it will be necessary to provide an additional 3€.
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