Guédelon Castle, Archaeological castle construction in Treigny, France
Guédelon Castle is a castle under construction in a former ferruginous sandstone quarry near Treigny, France. Since 1997, masons, carpenters and blacksmiths have built a 13th-century-style stronghold with six circular towers linked by curtain walls, using period tools and locally sourced stone and wood. A tall cylindrical tower with a conical tiled roof rises from the main wall, and a wooden treadwheel crane stands near the right side.
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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