In France, workers build a castle from scratch the 13th century way

Construction is afoot at Guédelon castle, in France's northern Burgundy region, where builders and crafts people are using tools and methods from the Middle Ages. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Construction is afoot at Guédelon castle, in France's northern Burgundy region, where builders and crafts people are using tools and methods from the Middle Ages.

Cristina Baussan for NPR

NORTHERN BURGUNDY, France — Deep in a forest of France's Burgundy region, a group of enthusiasts is building a medieval castle the old-fashioned way — that is, with tools and methods from the late 13th century.

Some of those working here are heritage trade craftspeople, others are ardent history buffs, but all say they share a deep respect for nature and the planet, and a desire to return to simpler times.

"This is a place you experience with all your senses," says Sarah Preston, communications director and guide of these grounds known as Guédelon Castle. "As soon as we walk onto the site you smell the woodsmoke. There's something so evocative about these sites and sounds."

Sarah Preston, a guide and communications director at Guédelon Castle, where artisans are mastering medieval skills to build the castle. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Just as she speaks, a horse cart rolls past carrying wood. Tapping from stonemasons rings out in the distance.

last year.

After finding and purchasing the original 27 acres of land in a forest near a centuries-old abandoned quarry and water (necessary ingredients for any medieval construction site), the co-founders got a construction permit and, in 1997, laid the first stones.

Martin said the project is all about highlighting nature, history, archaeology and heritage skills. An advisory committee made up of archaeologists, historians and castle experts is associated with the project.

Martin said Guédelon is an example of experimental archaeology — which is a how people did things in the past by trying to imitate them. It's about "building to discover," she said.

Matisse Lacroix, 20, a blacksmith at Guédelon Castle, works a large bellows to make the fire hot enough to melt iron and make it malleable. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Matisse Lacroix, 20, a blacksmith at Guédelon Castle, works a large bellows to make the fire hot enough to melt iron and make it malleable.

Cristina Baussan for NPR

Lacroix makes the nails and other tools needed for the construction of the castle. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Part of Guédelon's mission is pedagogy, according to Preston. And during NPR's visit, a group of fourth-graders are at the site. They watch Lacroix pound the glowing red rods.

The craftsmen stop their work to explain what they're doing to visitors as well as train young craftsmen in heritage skills.

NPR asks the kids if they'd be interested in doing such a job one day. "Yes," says one boy. "I've always wanted to be a stone carver."

"Not me," says another. "I'm gonna be a YouTuber."

That learning aspect of Guédelon is one reason its construction is taking so long. The owners say the project is meant to discover and pass along skills and knowledge from a 13th century work site.

Workers stop their tasks several times a day to answer questions from visitors — as part of the job.

There are six turrets completed as well as a protective wall and inner living castle with a chapel. Preston says in medieval days the speed at which you finished a castle all depended on one thing: money.

Visitors walk near the construction of Guédelon Castle, dreamed up as an exercise in "experimental archaeology" 25 years ago. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Simon Malier, a furniture maker at Guédelon Castle near Treigny, France. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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It is hard to tell what the price tag may be for a medieval-style castle these days; the owners say they don't really know what the final costs will be.

Preston said they initially financed their work through donations and some European Union funding. Now the château is financed through more than 300,000 visitors a year (paying between 12 and 15 euros each), which she said generates about 5 million euros ($5.25 million) a year that largely covers pay for 100 staff members.

Twenty-four-year-old Simon Malier, who makes furniture for the castle, says he had a life-changing trip here as a boy. "After visiting with my grandparents, I wanted to be a sculptor in the medieval world since I was about 14 years old," he says.

Claire Piot, 36, works as a painter and dyer at Guédelon Castle, preparing the colors for the interior walls. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Claire Piot, 36, works as a painter and dyer at Guédelon Castle, preparing the colors for the interior walls.

Cristina Baussan for NPR

"We use some ochers, some clays, some soils, charcoal, lime — things like that and we can make 15 colors," she says.

Cylindrical towers of the castle have slits for shooting arrows, known as arrow loops, which are spaced to avoid dead angles. "These arrow loops are a bit like modern security cameras," says Preston. "They're a way of seeing out without being seen."

Preston says many of the defense features at Guédelon were brought back from the crusades. But she says it is being built to be a modest nobleman's castle, not a royal château. That means no drawbridge, for example.

Construction at Guédelon Castle, where the Castle is being rebuilt using only the tools and methods available in the Middle Ages. Cristina Baussan for NPR hide caption

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Thirty-year-old Charles Teixido is hewing a log with an ax. The hollow chopping sounds ring out through a forest alive with birdsong. Teixido is a carpenter apprentice at Guédelon after changing careers from being a chef.

"I wanted to create something more durable," he says. "So now I'm still making something creative, but it will stay forever. What we're building here is going to stay maybe for 2,000, 3,000 years."

Teixido says climate change has proved that human beings must respect the planet. He believes the way they're working at Guédelon is relevant for a more sustainable future. After working here, he says he wants to go into building energy-efficient housing. "The future is low tech," says Teixido.

As for Guédelon's future, the builders say it could take 10, 15, even 20 more years to build, but they're OK with that. It's not about finishing the project, they say. It's about the things they learn and discover while building.