Yet another great week with a fantastic visit to the 12th Century chateau of Noyer-sur-Serein. The chateau was once the biggest of Northern France but destroyed by Henry IV, abandoned to nature, the chateau was gradually swallowed by woodland. A steep off road track takes us from the town up to the site on top of the hill - out of the bushes comes Willem - a Dutchman dedicated to putting this chateau back on the map. Behind him crumbling old walls that 15 years ago were buried under debris.
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| Willum the Dutchman of Chateau Noyers and Neil |
A further 50 metres on and we find ourselves in a Medieval building site, a tower is taking shape once more. Over the last 10 years it has been rebuilt, and it looks fantastic. Willum leads the way, pausing at the stone mason's workshops and then into the tower and up the stairs. The guests follow him, he explains the history of the chateau and process of rebuilding along the way. It is well understood that this will take hundreds of years to complete, but Willem has started something great and we feel fortunate to see 'the work in progress' .
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Willum explains to our passengers the brief history of the 12 Century Medieval chateau
and how he is reclaiming it from the grips of wild wilderness
Keep in touch with Willum and the progress of the chateau via the website: http://chateaudenoyers.free.fr |
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