France's new medieval castle

BBC News ^ | 30 June 2010 | Hugh Schofield

[Lorianne]

Deep in the forests of central France, an unusual architectural experiment is half-way to completion, as a team of masons replicates in painstaking detail the construction of an entire medieval castle.

The ­Chateau de Guedelon was started in 1998, after local landowner Michel Guyot wondered whether it would be possible to build a castle from scratch, using only contemporary tools and materials.

Today, the walls are rising gradually from the red Burgundy clay. The great hall is almost finished, with only part of the roof remaining, while the main tower edges past the 15m (50ft) mark.

Builders use sandstone quarried from the very ground from which the castle is emerging.

Modern cement did not exist in the 13th Century, so mortar is made from slaked lime and sand. For tools they have basic ironware.

[Ladysmith]

[Oztrich Boy]

The ­Chateau de Guedelon was started in 1998, after local landowner Michel Guyot wondered whether it would be possible to build a castle from scratch, using only contemporary tools and materials.

Because it has never been done before?

[hennie pennie]

wow.

[DuncanWaring]

Medieval castle, meet medieval trebuchet

[GOP_Party_Animal]

Cool. I wonder how they got around all the building codes.

[Nepeta]

Very kewel.

There is a lot more information at the official site:

http://www.guedelon.fr/

[Armed Civilian]

Castle Ping

[Ellendra]

I’m curious about that too.

[from occupied ga]

There's one in Napa too

[Tailback]

Ping for later

[az_gila]

Cool. I wonder how they got around all the building codes.

---

It's France, if they have any, I'm sure they can be taken care of with a few Euros...:^)

[AFreeBird]

According to the website; They submitted plans and got approval, partially on the grounds of being a research project into mideval building techniques. They did need to meet modern OSHA type safety codes for the workers. So no overseer with a whip lashing the serfs.

[FreetheSouth!]

Want to see the castle being built, but don’t want to go to France and deal with those “people”? A lot closer and without the pervasive urine smell, try the Ozark hills of Arkansas.
http://www.ozarkmedievalfortress.com/

“In the heart of the United States, between Springfield, Missouri, and Little Rock, Arkansas, a dazzling historic vision is rising in the middle of the Ozark Mountains. The creation is the brainchild of Michel Guyot who launched a similar and very successful project in Burgundy, France, ten years ago.

A team of architectural experts, working together with historians of the Middle Ages and dedicated artisans, is raising a genuine, full-sized, fortified castle, with 45 foot high towers, a drawbridge, and 6 foot wide stone walls surrounding an expansive inner courtyard, using the materials, techniques, and rules of the 13th century.”

This spring my wife and I were riding our VTX 1800 in the Ozarks and this was a stop on our motorcycle trip. If you’re in the Ozarks it’s well worth the trip.If you have a bike and have never rode the Jasper Disaster or the Peel’s ferry run, you’re in for a real treat.

[Stand Watch Listen]

In Loveland, Ohio

Chateau Laroche is the work of one man, Sire Harry Andrews, who started building the castle in 1929. Most of the stones from which it was constructed were carried in buckets from the nearby riverbed. Mr. Andrews would on occasion let someone else do odd jobs such as mixing mortar, but he laid every stone himself. Some bricks used in the building of the castle were made by pouring cement into used milk cartons and removing the cartons after the cement had hardened.

Over the years a group of people known as the "Knights of the Golden Trail" was formed to help Mr. Andrews with the castle. When Mr. Andrews died at age 90 in 1981, the castle was willed to the Knights of the Golden Trail. The Knights are keeping Sire Harry's memory alive by taking care of the castle and putting the finishing touches on it. They also make sure someone is there to guard the castle at all times. The castle can be toured or rented for weddings, or perhaps a party. Each Halloween, it is made up to look like a haunted castle.

[Lorianne]

Thanks!

[SunkenCiv]

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Gods Graves Glyphs	Thanks hennie pennie. Other attempts at this kind of thing have gone on in Europe and the Americas (and probably other places) ever since the Middle Ages transitioned into the Renaissance -- via the Black Death and other fun times. In Michigan, near Charlevoix, the Loeb farm was an example; in the 1960s a guy named Van Haver bought the mostly derelict property and tried to turn it into a tourist attraction. He also try to sell his own paintings there, if memory serves. He ran out of money, it lasted maybe a couple of years. Then around 1980 someone had the great idea of using the place as a concert venue called Castle Farms. That lasted a few years. Last I knew it was a private residence, some of the original stone buildings had been demolished, and the owners were trying to make it into a wedding rental -- get married and have the reception right in a castle. To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
·Dogpile · Archaeologica · Mirabilis.ca · LiveScience · Biblical Archaeology Society · · Discover · Nat Geographic · Texas AM Anthro News · Yahoo Anthro & Archaeo · Google · · Archaeology · The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·

[SunkenCiv]

[mass55th]

More on the castle:

Guedelon