Campus Galli: Visiting A Medieval Construction Site

Campus Galli: Visiting A Medieval Construction Site experience

In the South of Germany, close to the small town of Meßkirch in Baden-Württemberg an interesting construction project was started 3 years ago. The idea is to build a monastery compound using the famous medieval architectural plan of St Gall dating from the early 9th century.

We visited Campus Galli on a sunny but cool day at the end of September. There were about 20 staff members at various spots on the construction site. Dressed in medieval clothes, except for the shoes, it was too cold for that, and working with different materials using the tools of the time.

First we talked to a potter who explained that the place of the pottery was chosen so it is located close to the clay, and indeed the clay mine was directly behind the hut.

We met the blacksmith who was about to start the fire and work on some tools. Very interesting were the carpenters who split a big log using wedges and hammers. We watched them for more than half an hour. To use a saw, which was also a tool of the time, would have taken much longer and would have required a greater effort. Unfortunately the trunk they split was twisted and hence did not split evenly. 

The church they are building is an intermediate one since the construction of the full monastery is likely to take 40 years or more. The monks of that time had a small church built to be used during construction. It was usually the first building they completed. 

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Other spots were beekeepers, rope makers, turners, a pig stall, a market place, basket makers and a lady spinning wool from the sheep she kept.

The admission charges for adults is € 9.- which we found a bit steep for what is offered. But overall the visit was worth it, the experience of life and work in medieval times quite impressive.