Just for fun on a Friday. This is very cool. I wonder if it would be possible to volunteer for a week and spend part of a vacation helping out. As a history geek, I love this kind of stuff. Anyone know of any other medieval or historic re-enactment holiday opportunities in Europe? Anyone else want to go back to the 9th century for a few days?
Have a good weekend! http://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/0,1518,822375,00.html
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10197 posts
@Pat, Guedelon, in the northwest corner of Burgundy, has been in the works for 28 years and they are counting at least 22 more until completion.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2353 posts
As mentioned in the article, there's a site in France (Guédelon) with similar activities. Not sure about other options in Europe. But should you find yourself wanting to do such things in the USA, there's a fortress in progress in the Ozarks - see http://ozarkmedievalfortress.com/
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11507 posts
As mentioned in , in France there is Guedelen( sorry my spelling is pathetic) ,, its only got a year or two more I think, we visited in on a tour and it was quite interesting.They use all the real tools of the time, so of course its taking years and years to do!
Posted by
St. Louis, MO USA
1976 posts
What a cool project! 40 years sounds like a long time today but it took hundreds of years to build one cathedral in the Middle Ages (and some are unfinished), so this is lightning fast by medieval standards. Thomas - since you live in Europe, you should check out volunteering options. What an awesome thing to be part of.
Posted by
Bend, OR, United States
1167 posts
Here's one without such spartan conditions.
http://www.sabranenque.com/eng/index.html
Posted by
Lawrenceville, Georgia
693 posts
Awesome project. You'd have to smuggle in coffee but I bet there'll be lots of beer or mead and water or herb teas. I wonder how far they're going to carry the authenticity of the site? Have you read "the Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett? It takes place a few hundred years later - building a cathedral in England.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
OMG, as a recovering member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, this just FLOATS my boat! Thanks for posting!
Posted by
Denver, Colorado, USA
143 posts
Visited Guédelon in May 2011 and thought it was fantastic. I wanted to stay there myself. By this point, they have quite a bit completed, but yes, they are planning much, much more (even a second castle if I recall). Due to the somewhat hazardous nature of the work and the training involved, I doubt if they take week-long volunteers, but it is indeed worth a visit -- actually many visits!
Posted by
Reston, VA, USA
809 posts
Thomas, my daughter and I spent a week in England helping rebuild a drystone wall around an Anglo-Saxon church, outside Lincoln. It was great! It was run by BTCV, British Trust Conservation Volunteers; they have a large number of volunteer holidays covering a really wide range of activities, some of which are historical like this, and a range of durations. The wall-building was perhaps not as cool as building a castle or monastery, but we really enjoyed it. I believe the National Trust in the UK and the National Trust for Scotland also have working holidays; again, some of these are historical or archeological. PM me if you'd like more information.
Then there's stuff like the Tudor Life Experience at Kentwell, in the UK; I heard about this last summer from a woman discussing the medieval fitted gown at a costumers' convention and it is definitely on my bucket list!