Guédelon Rises

THE PLAN: to reconstruct a Burgundy castle
using only medieval building techniques.

Those specks in the foreground are tourists who flock
to see the old ways come to life in the reconstruction.
From this vantage point, they can view the
grand sweep of the project's foundation.

At left, tourists watch a French stonemason hand-hewn a building stone with a pick axe.

The right angle square, seen atop the stone, is applied to help keep the building level and true.

Most of the heavy lifting and placement of stones are done with the use of traditional medieval block and tackle. Seen here, at right, the heavy transport is done the old-fashioned way, as well...

Ancient techniques are religiously used everywhere, right down to the trees felled in a nearby wood for the timber supports. Here, a carpenter uses mallet and chisel to fashion several supporting posts.

all photos copyright © Ole Utke

More about the castle around the Web:

Guédelon (Official Site)
Building a Castle (Radio Netherlands)