An Introduction

An introduction

The story begins...

The team

The scientific approach

An educational site

Guided tour

Hands-on learning

© Guédelon

In the heart of Puisaye, in Yonne, Burgundy, a team of fifty people have taken on an extraordinary feat: to build a castle using the very same techniques and materials used in the Middle Ages.

The materials needed for the construction of the castle - wood, stone, earth, sand and clay - are all to be found here, in this abandoned quarry. Before the gaze of thousands of visitors, all the trades associated with castle-building - quarrymen, stonemasons, woodcutters, carpenters, blacksmiths, tile makers, basket makers, rope makers, carters and their horses - are working together to complete the castle.

Work on the site began in 1997 and is scheduled to take 25 years to complete.

Guédelon offers a unique opportunity to witness the different stages of a castle's construction, each phase being of interest in its own right.

Let yourself be transported from the present day, back to the sights and sounds of a 13^th century construction site.

Guédelon offers something for everyone: academics, historians, teachers, students and families.