For anyone visiting France for the castles or medieval history, Guédelon is a must. Over 300,000 people visit each year, and for a not insignificant number they have been before – more than once. The castle, strictly speaking a castle fort, even features on niche itineraries that explore castle architecture of the mid 13th century – including the Louvre in Paris. Guédelon clearly keeps good company. But it is not a castle built in the Middle Ages. And it is not a replica of one either. Nonetheless, Guédelon really does have to be experienced, and not just visited. After wanting to visit for a long time, I finally got to see the site for myself in autumn 2019. My plans to visit in May 2023 were thwarted by … yes, you guessed it … hoping to viit in the Spring of 2024 to see the progress after four and a half years.
- Thomas Dowson
- Last Checked and/or Updated 5 November 2023
- No Comments
- France, Historical Experiences, History with Kids
The story of how Guédelon came to be is one of serendipity. A chance remark in the conclusion of a research report was seen by the right person at the right time, leading to an extraordinary project that archaeologists, researchers and visitors alike have been watching develop since 1998.
Since then a team of stonemasons and builders, craftspeople and artisans have been building a medieval Château Fort on a disused quarry in a forest in Burgundy. They are dressed in period garb and use only period-specific construction techniques and methods.
Their work is both informed by and adds to archaeological research about medieval castle construction. All the while they are also actively engaging with interested visitors. Guédelon then is not simply a tourist attraction to be visited, it is at once a scientific endeavour and experiential archaeology for people from all walks of life with varying levels of interest in and understanding of the medieval history.
VISITING GUÉDELON
Opening Hours
Guédelon re-opens on 30 March 2024, until 3 November 2024.
The opening times change throughout the year, times varying according to the length of day over the summer months. And different months have different days when it is closed. Check the calendar on the Official Website.
Last admission is no later than one hour before closing time.
Ticket Prices
Adult: €14
Student: €13
Child (5-13 yrs): €11
Facilities
Museum, Gift Shop, Restaurant, Picnic Tables, Parking (also for buses)
Guédelon: a 13th Century Castle Fort
Guédelon Castle has a backstory – a fictional narrative if you like. Creating the story and establishing specific details is necessary because it determines the look of the castle being built today. The social and financial position of any would be castle builder in the Middle Ages would have dictated all aspects of the castles appearance, not least its shape and size, and what features are included.
Construction of Guédelon began in 1228, two years after Louis IX was crowned in Reims. The builder, known to all as Guilbert, is a low-ranking local lord. His overlord is Jean de Toucy, who is himself a vassal to the king. Guilbert is given permission to build a fortified manor house with crenellations.
His castle fort is typical of the 13th century, and follows principles of design and layout favoured by Philip II. Guédelon then shares certain architectural features with the Louvre Castle (the foundations of which can be seen in the basement of the Louvre) but would have not been anywhere near as grand. For example, the stone used to create the building blocks of Guédelon castle would not have been as finely dressed as those we can see at the Louvre Castle.
Guilbert’s castle does not have a drawbridge at the entrance because that would have been beyond the status and financial means of this castle builder had he existed in the 13th century.
Castles of this type built in the 13th century shared a number of features that are being employed at Guédelon. The castle has a polygonal layout with high curtain walls made of stone and surrounded by a dry ditch. One of the flanking towers is always higher and larger than the others and a twin-drum tower protects the entrance gate. These are features visitors can see, or at least observe the construction of, when they visit.
Guédelon is Not a Replica
The castle is not being built on the ruins of a pre-existing castle, and neither will the completed castle be a reconstruction or replica of one that exists elsewhere. Guédelon is essentially a new build 13th century castle in the 21st century – where the purpose of the attraction is the construction of the castle.
The project team chose a construction date, designed the layout and are in the process of building that castle such that neither the building nor the methods used would have been out of place in the 13th century.
For this the team draw on a wide range of sources to inform their project. These include the canon and standards used for castle forts and manor houses at the time, the surviving buildings and their characteristics from this period and the results of archaeological research. What you see at Guédelon is a coming together of features and details that exist in a number of different places, but never all in one building.
For example, archaeologists have no evidence that wall paintings were ever used to decorate a bed chamber such as we see at Guédelon. That wall painting existed at this time, and in this area, is not in doubt. It is not inconceivable that a man of Guilbert’s status would have had some decoration in his bed chamber. The imagery used in the bed chamber at Guédelon has been taken from a church of this period that is in the nearby village of Moutiers-en-Puisaye.
So although the project is keeping true to what we know about such buildings and their owners, it is also pushing at the limits of knowledge by asking questions that might not otherwise have been asked in the normal course of archaeological research.
Medieval Building Techniques and Methods
The building site chosen for the construction of Guédelon Castle is a disused quarry, abandoned in the 1950s. What makes the site appropriate is the availability of the various natural resources required to build the castle, not just stone. These include wood to burn and for construction, clay for the roof tiles and ceramic vessels, ochre for pigment and sand for the mortar and other uses. Our local lord Guilbert would not have had to deal with the considerable costs of transporting these materials to his land.
Everything required for building the castle is made on site using existing knowledge of traditional methods. And where that knowledge is missing, or limited, experiments are carried out to find a solution that not only works but is in keeping with the period. To fire the unbaked clay roof tiles and vessels, the potters built five different kilns before having a kiln that worked. This exercise has added to knowledge of clay firing in 13th century France.
Health and Safety at Guédelon
It may seem to some that building a 13th century castle using medieval techniques and methods is a somewhat academically high-minded exercise. After all, construction sites even today can be dangerous places. Surely methods have improved for good reason. While the work is closely watched by a group of archaeologists, historians and architects, ensuring that the castle and its construction remains true to the period, there are necessary concessions to health and safety regulations of today.
In the photograph above of the construction of the twin-drum entrance you can probably recognise (lower left) what is a safety helmet. It has been disguised with cloth. In the photograph below the young quarryman, extracting rock from the quarry, is wearing a mask and safety glasses. Construction workers also wear steel toecap boots. These are not only essential requirements on construction sites today but there would almost certainly have been medieval precedents. Medieval stonemasons and quarrymen, for instance, must have worn some form of eye protection. Otherwise they would have been blinded quite quickly by the chips of stone flying about.
What is There to See at Guédelon?
In seven hectares of woodland you can see the construction of the castle, as it happens. And this is not just the laying of stone, but also a number of associated activities. From quarrymen, stonemasons and carpenters, to woodcutters, blacksmiths and tilers, as well as potters, basket weavers, carters and rope makers. There are in fact 11 different trades represented on the site. All of these may be busy in their tasks when you visit.
To visit Guédelon is to visit an active ‘medieval’ construction site. The various people will be doing what is required at that moment in time. There are no formal demonstrations, and there are no set times for when tasks will be carried out, as is usually the case on a so-called living archaeological sites. The workers are engaged in their job and they get on with it.
As visitors you are encouraged to talk to the workers, and part of their work is to engage with visitors. And from what I saw when I visited, they are only too happy to do so.
Of the castle itself, you can walk along the parapets of two of the exterior curtain walls (from where you get a great view of the courtyard). You can see the plan of the castle as the bases of the four towers and the twin-drum towers that make up the gatehouse are complete. You can go inside the great hall and the adjacent bed chamber with painted walls. The chapel, the kitchen and the guardrooms are also complete.
Beyond the castle and the activities surrounding it, you can take a short walk in the forest to see a medieval mill in action (weather and other conditions permitting).
When Will Guédelon Castle Be Finished?
If you have not already been you may very well be wondering how much time you have left. The team think there is about eight to ten more years of construction. The estimated completion date then is 2030. And there are still a number of features left to witness being built. There is much work still to be done on the twin-drum gatehouse the great tower and the portcullis. So there is still plenty of time to plan your visit.
Because the construction has been the attraction, it will be interesting to see what becomes of the project in 2030.
Guédelon Castle Progress
What was completed in 2020
As this is a construction site, there is always something new to see. Hence the reason there are a number of people who return year after year. When I visited in September 2019 I got to see the near final stages of the construction of the pepperpot roof timber of the chapel tower. While you may have missed the building of certain features, there will more features to see. The website has a year-by-year account of the progress that has been made so far.
In last few years the builders have been working with experts from France’s National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research to create a working medieval flour mill. As of 2020 visitors can follow a woodland path into the forest for about 500 metres and see this mill in action. A miller will show how the running of the water in the millrace turns millstones that grind the wheat to produce flour.
During 2020 the currently incomplete crenelated wall-walk on the southern wall (see the photograph below) was finished so that a platform can be created that will enable visitors to watch the building of the cross-rib vault in the Eastern Tower. The cross-ribbed vault in the eastern tower of the twin-towered gatehouse is complete.
What was completed in 2021/2
These are some of the highlights from 2021/2:
- The vault and walls of the chapel were limewashed and murals added.
- Carpenters erected a frame on the dovecote tower.
- Stonemasons and masons continued their work on the door between the two towers, focussing on the interior arch of the passage.
- With the walls of the chapel were limewashed and decorated, the windows fitted with wooden frames that have painted waxcloth.
- Around 8,000 oak tiles were split in the nearby forest, these were used to cover the dovecote tower’s roof.
- Stonemasons continued with their work on the twin-towered gatehouse.
What was completed in 2023?
In 2023 a documentary by RMC Films was filmed onsite: “Guédelon : comment construire un château fort”. A 45 second trailer can be seen below. The film is available online, but you are required to create an account (no charge): RMC BFM play.
Enjoy a Medieval Meal
What anyone will see when they visit Guédelon will differ day-to-day, even hour-to-hour. You are visiting an active building site, not an attraction offering demonstrations of medieval trades and crafts. For those who want to enjoy a few hours exploring all aspects of the castle’s construction, and the various related activities, an onsite restaurant allows you to take a break and enjoy a snack or a meal. In keeping with the times of course.
Up until 2019 catering onsite was contracted out. The attraction has now taken control of the restaurant with the view to extending the visitor experience of medieval Guédelon to the restaurant. Much of the food served in the restaurant is grown in the kitchen gardens, such as broad beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils. And the same ethos applies to what is offered as with the building of the castle. For example, white and red carrots are grown and served as there were no orange carrots in the 13th century.
Guédelon Castle Virtual Tour
Besides looking at the various resources on the official website for Guédelon Castle, you can take a virtual tour of the construction site on Google maps.
If you are unfamiliar with how to view archaeology sites on Google maps, follow these steps (more details on using Google maps for virtually touring archaeology sites and museums). When you click on the map icon in the itinerary builder below, the location of Guédelon Castle will be highlighted. Switch the map to satellite view, by clicking on the box in the top left hand corner of the map. Then drag the yellow pegman from its original position in the lower right corner on to the map – light blue lines and dots will appear (as in the image below). Drop pegman on to a dot to see a 360-degree photograph, and onto a line to move about the site.
By moving about the site on the Googlemap you will see various features of the castle in different stages of construction.
Add Guédelon Castle to Your Itinerary & Travel Lists
You can create your own travel lists (such as places you have been to, places you would like to visit) and itinerary for your Burgundy, France visit. These can also be shared with your friends and on social media. You can see how this is done by watching our Using the Itinerary video on YouTube, or reading the Using the Itinerary page.
Guédelon Castle
Neither a replica of a historic castle in Europe, nor a reconstruction of one. Guédelon Castle is a project that brings together a wide range of expertise to build a castle using medieval methods and techniques. In 1998 construction of this castle started in a disused quarry in rural France. Thousands of people come each year to watch the progress. Not only the building of the castle itself, but also the other related crafts. Such as baskets for carrying ceramic tiles, the firing of those tiles. A must for castle lovers.
Archaeology Travel Writer
