Guédelon Castle, Archaeological castle construction in Treigny, France
This fortress is a construction site in the forest of Treigny-Perreuse-Sainte-Colombe in France where a 13th-century stronghold takes shape using tools and methods from that era. Stonemasons, carpenters, blacksmiths, and other craftsmen work on curtain walls, a keep, and service buildings while visitors follow the progress.
Work started in the late 1990s as an attempt to raise a medieval fortress with 13th-century means and recover lost knowledge about building crafts. Since then the walls have grown slowly year by year, and completion is expected in the mid-2020s.
Craftsmen talk to visitors about their work and demonstrate techniques like stone carving or forging while building walls, towers, and interior spaces. The site functions as a living record where every step remains visible and questions about medieval building methods are answered on the spot.
The site is open from spring through autumn, and visitors can walk freely among workshops and buildings. Guided tours in French take place regularly, and information panels in several languages explain the processes at different stations.
All raw materials come from the immediate surroundings: stone from an adjacent quarry, timber from the surrounding forest, and sand from nearby pits. Horse teams haul the materials to the work areas, and even iron is smelted on site in small furnaces.
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