40 years to build an 11th-century cathedral using medieval techniques: a challenge met in Gironde

Building a Romanesque chapel, a cloister and then a Gothic cathedral- style building near Bordeaux , using medieval techniques, all within forty years, is the "crazy" gamble of the Chantier médiévale de Guyenne association, which is banking on the social dimension of the project. On a large green plot of land in Lande-de-Fronsac (Gironde), sheep graze imperturbably, not far from a handful of men and women in medieval dress who are preparing cob with large shovels.

"Welcome to the 11th century , to the medieval construction site of Guyenne [a former province in the southwest of France, editor's note] where we will retrace the epic tale of cathedral builders and tell the story of 300, 400 years of architectural evolution in 40 years," enthuses Valéry Ossent, a 43-year-old construction engineer who initiated the project. "Today we do a lot of heritage restoration, sometimes in record time, with high technicality. What interested me was building something new using old techniques," explains this heritage enthusiast.

It invites us to project ourselves back to the year 1025, the first Romanesque era, when a community of monks came to build a chapel on this land. A year and a half after the start of the work, the walls of this stone and clay building already reached 1.5 m in height.

"In the ^11th century, we worked with the means and stones available. Like a giant Lego," smiles Frédéric Thibault, a 51-year-old stonemason who manages the site and the hundred occasional or regular volunteers. "We are reconnecting with very simple gestures, and the lack of professionalism of the volunteers is fascinating, because it allows us to rediscover the naivety of the builders of the time. What we need is to learn to unlearn," insists this companion, perpendicular (a tool based on a plumb line to give verticality) in hand.

After the chapel, a cloister with its various galleries will be built, then a large Gothic building that will resemble the cathedrals of that time, with stained glass windows, ribbed vaults, rose windows and gargoyles. As there are very few manuscripts dating from the ^11th century, the association is supported by a scientific committee, most of whose members worked on the Notre-Dame construction site. Beyond the "immense technical challenge" , "it feels good to take the time to talk about beauty and capitalize on knowledge to pass it on to future generations" , underlines Mr. Ossent.

A "social dimension" has also gradually been added to the project. "When you establish yourself in an area for decades, you have to benefit the residents, especially vulnerable groups," explains the forty-year-old who decided to make it an "integration project" by hiring unemployed people, trained on site.

The association also welcomes disabled people, ex-convicts, and unaccompanied minors to the site, "and the social bond that is created here is already a success in itself," he believes. Volunteers have already built a living lodge out of earth and straw, a forge, a wood lathe, a medieval garden, with more than 70 species of medicinal and aromatic plants. And they are preparing the carpenters' lodge, the bread oven, and even a chicken coop. "When you arrive here, you are immersed in another world, far from the ^21st century. It's a great break that feels good, allows us to temporarily cut ourselves off from the worries of everyday life where everything goes too fast," says volunteer Corine Tanquerel.

"It's exciting to be able to participate in a project where I'm useful, to leave something behind me, even if I won't see the end of it," adds the sixty-year-old, who made her own medieval outfit. "The end of the project isn't the goal. It's the journey taken to get there that interests us," adds Valéry Ossent, for whom one of the biggest challenges will be securing funding. Today, public authorities contribute 10% of the current annual budget of €300,000; the rest is financed by corporate or private sponsorship. The long-term goal is to raise €1.5 million per year.