Real old medieval house8/7/2023 The people working there wear the tunics, skirts and headgear that they might have worn then, but they wear these over jeans and shoes with reinforced toes. It is made up of precise doses of lime, sand and water. After the bricks have been left to air-dry, they are fired in a woodfired kiln for about 12 hours, at roughly 1000°c.į. The mortar is the “glue” used to bind the castle’s stones. It is then shaped in wooden moulds to form bricks. Clay is taken from these pits, cleaned and pugged. There are water-filled clay pits in the forest. The medium quality blocks are roughly shaped by the stonecutters and used on the uncoursed curtain walls, and as facing stones on the castle’s inner walls. The highest quality blocks are dressed to produce lintels, voussoirs, corbels, ashlars etc. The shockwaves produced by the quarrymen’s sledgehammers cause the stone to split along a straight line. Iron wedges are then hammered into this line of holes. Having studied the block in order to determine and anticipate the natural fault lines of the stone, the quarrymen first carve a series of rectilinear holes into the block. This stone contains 30-40% iron oxide this can make it extremely hard to extract and dress. limestone is found in the construction of various local buildings, from the great and prestigious edifice of Ratilly castle to the more modest poyaudines houses. The most visited site was the Hospice de Beaune, a beautiful 15th-century almshouse built 600 years before, or, if you prefer, 200 years “after”, Guédelon.Į. Last year it had a record 300,000 visitors, who paid almost €2.5m, making it the second most-visited site in Burgundy. For the last 10 years, Guédelon, 100 miles southeast of Paris, has funded itself from its entrance fees. The initial funding came not from pillaging the local peasantry but from regional councils, the European Union and large companies. The visitors from 2010, however unsightly they may be, are vital to the project. The progress of construction has to give way to tourists side for their visits. Another reason said by Jean Francois, a member of Guedelon stone cutter’s guild, for eight hours a day he bangs on a 13th century chisel with a 13th century iron mallet.ĭ. The World’s Gerry Hadden takes US to the site of what will be the Guedelon Castle. That’s because they’re using only medieval tools and techniques. The craftsmen have been working for nearly ten years now but they’re not even halfway done yet. See the builders are constructing it from scratch. They’re actually building a new old castle. Workers in the Burgundy region of France are building a 13th century castle. Pupils of all ages have the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of medieval stonemasons by taking part in a stonecarving workshop or discover the secrets of the medieval master-builders at the geometry workshop.Ĭ. Guided tours are tailored to the school curriculum and according to age groups: activity trails for primary school children and interactive guided tours for secondary school children. The site is an excellent educational resource, bringing to life the history of the Middle Ages. The workers are always on hand to talk about their craft and the progress of the castle.Įach year 60,000 children visit Guédelon with their schools. Stone quarrying, the building of vaulted ceilings, the blacksmith’s work and the raising of roof timbers are just some of the activities which visitors can witness during a visit to Guédelon. The workers’ role is to demonstrate and explain, to a wide audience, the skills of our forefathers. Unlike any other present-day building site, Michel Guyot’s purpose is clear, he warmly welcomes members of the public to participate. The first team started work and on June 20th 1997 the first stone was laid.ī. A site in the heart of Guédelon forest was found: a site which offered not only all the resources required for building a castle – a stone quarry, an oak forest and a water supply – but in sufficient quantities to satisfy the demands of this gigantic site. It took several months to bring together and mobilise all the various different partners: architects, archaeologists and financial backers. However, Maryline Martin – project director – was inspired by the exciting potential for the venture to regenerate the region. His dream was to build a castle just as it would have been in the Middle Ages, an idea which some found mildly amusing and others dismissed as outright folly. A. Michel Guyot, owner and restorer of Saint Fargeau castle in France, first had the idea of building a 13th-century style fortress following the discovery that the 15th-century red bricks of his castle obscured the stone walls of a much older stronghold.
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