Young people restore the Citadel of Besançon

For the fifth year in a row, the Citadelle has called on the Club du Vieux Manoirs. The association has been offering teenagers every summer for 70 years to get their hands dirty to restore historical monuments in the four corners of France. A way to combine both the holiday spirit with the preservation of heritage.

Restore in the manner of Vauban

At the foot of the artillery wall, next to the bridge used by visitors to access the citadel, the teenagers carefully dig with a trowel to clear a wall, buried under the ground by time. To their surprise, they discover a third level: another even deeper wall. “That will be a project for next year”,explains Paloma Defert, member of the Club du Vieux Manoir association and director of the construction site-heritage camp.

After having cleared and cleaned the wall, it will be necessary to plug the holes between the stones. For this they use the same construction techniques as in the 17th century, designed by Vauban, the architect of the citadel. “We are really committed to restoring with the techniques of the time to be as faithful as possible to what was being done, explains Paloma Defert, especially since putting concrete on this wall would really be an aberration, because the concrete would not let it breathe and therefore it would split quickly.”

Holiday camp spirit

The days are not limited to hours spent on construction sites. Some mornings or afternoons, they do a series of activities (visits to museums, escape game, etc.). In the evening, they take advantage of the swimming pool of the campsite where they live, the games organized by the animators, and theme evenings. Almost a holiday camp spirit… “Yes, finally we only have two weeks of workreplies Sunita, a 21-year-old host, so we still have to do the work. But we leave them autonomous if they want to dig more, if they want to shovel more, they are the ones who manage.

For some, this is the second or even the third time that they have come to a construction site of the Club du Vieux Manoir association. For others it’s a first, come with one or a regular friend, or pushed by parents. But everyone seems enthusiastic about this experience, like Louane: “So we make useful holidays, and at the same time we have fun and we do experiments!”

A win-win ticket, both for young people and for the historic monument. Gaëlle Cavalli is responsible for the citadel’s enhancement department: “There are certain parts of the citadel which over time have been covered with earth or vegetation. And thanks to the young people, people will be able to admire it again.” And precisely, the teenagers discovered a buried wall to dig up… But that’s a construction site for next year.