Knight Shift

A castle is rising in the forests of Burgundy, France. Using just the tools available in the 13th century and nothing but hand labor, Michel Guyot is living out his dream of building his very own castle.

TREIGNY, France – Once upon a time, deep in the forests of Burgundy, a man was haunted by a vision. He dreamed of building a castle, with turrets, great walls and a moat. Some people wondered if he was mad.

This was, after all, 1996.

And yet Michel Guyot set out to build his castle the hard way — the medieval way. With only hammers and chisels to carve the stones. With only horses to cart the rock. Without power tools.

Ten years later, Guedelon castle is about one-third finished, with imposing sandstone walls that rise up out of the red Burgundy soil. It's a living history lesson and a successful tourism project: Last year, 245,000 visitors admired the work of Guedelon's stonecutters, carpenters, potters, rope-makers and blacksmiths.

The 50 paid craftsmen, plus volunteers, wear tunics and use rustic tools. Except for the occasional hardhat or pair of safety goggles, there's little to remind visitors that this is not the 13th century, but the 21st.

On a recent visit to Guedelon, I watched in awe as a man climbed into a wooden contraption that looked like a huge hamster wheel. He ran frantically, spinning the wheel and activating a pulley system that lifted a load of stones atop a tower.

When he was done, our tour group broke into applause, and poor Jean-Paul climbed off the wheel, huffing and puffing and fanning his tunic. It was all so … medieval.

The article is quite amusing and informative. It's funny how projects like this can just take off and become a major tourist attraction. People are fascinated by places that portray daily life in a bygone era. Here in the US, Williamsburg has been a major attraction for years, along with many other places. Here's the Guedelon website if you'd like to see some pictures of the castle under construction.

Guyot just has to hope someone doesn't come along who has dreams of building a battering ram.