New Age Medieval Castle Takes Over 20 Years To Build

In the midst of the Burgundy region in France, deep in the forest, a castle is being built - the medieval way. In 1996, Michel Guyot set out to build his castle using 13th century techniques. With only hammers and chisels to carve stones, horses to cart the rock the 50 paid craftsmen and women are reliving history and sharing it with the world. Using only nature from the surrounding area, Guyot has been able to create the castle with all the necessary building materials, such as the stone from an abandoned quarry called ferruginous sandstone for the walls and the wooden scaffolding made from the surrounding forest.

The castle is only 1/3 complete, and if all goes well, the expected completion date is 2023. Last year, 245,000 visitors admired the work in progress by surveying the stonecutters, blacksmiths, potters, ropemakers and carpenters. Gueldelon is about 125 miles south of Paris in the Burgundy region and is best accessed by car.