Guédelon is some history buff’s brainchild, and is actually coming to fruition. Seeing dozens of men and women working on building a castle using only 13th century building techniques was amazing. By far, the best sight in France. I wish Eric could have been here to see it, as he would have been fascinated. I suppose we will have to come back, as now I want to visit again once more of it is built. It began in 1997 and is scheduled to take 25 years to complete.
Watching the craftsmen at work made me desperately curious. How did they come to have this job? Do they all work a regular schedule, live nearby with normal lives? This is the best living history museum that exists on earth I think! There are men running in giant wheels which hoisted stones up the face of the castle, stoneworkers plying their skills on pieces of rock quarried from nearby, carters and their horses hauling the newly cut stones. There is a basket-weaver who makes the baskets that haul the mortar, a potter who makes the cups and pitchers and basins that are used onsite, a rope-maker who creates the ropes which are found all over, and wood-cutters who fashion all of the wooden implements and structures which are used. There is also blacksmith who repairs the tools which are used onsite. Mom and I wandered around and tried to talk to a few people about what they were doing, and we found it to be endlessly fascinating. Many of the workers are younger than I am, and knowing that they had learned a trade which is considered essentially obsolete was a thrill! And thinking that there were people there who would probably make Guédelon their life’s work was quite a idea to me.
After hanging around the blacksmith’s shop for a bit, I struck up a conversation with Constantin, who spoke beautiful English. He told me all about the way that the job site runs (basically, they follow France’s OSHA standards) and how he is doing an apprenticeship in the building area, but was spending his day off learning about metalworking. Some of the people who are building the castle and the village are full time employees, working during the 8 months a year that has good weather, and they return again in the spring; some are seasonal and work once and don’t return, and there are a number of volunteers who are doing apprenticeships. Constantin hopes to return and work full time after he finishes school. We discussed how Guédelon is really a work of art, and watching each person focus on some small element of this great structure, I could believe it. I feel like I had a wonderful opportunity to see something that is unusual and amazing, and it was well worth the detour. Constantin’s patience in explaining all the details really made the visit come alive, and I’m so glad he was willing to take a break and fill us in. I could have stayed for a month, just to learn about how it all happens!