Ozark Medieval Fortress closed?

[Sir Wolf]

http://medievalnews.blogspot.ca/2012/01/ozark-medieval-fortress-closed-this.html

[Sir Patrick]

It says they're looking for a buyer.  Since it's only half finished, I'm thinking of low-balling them.  We could get a commandery for the Order at a bargain

[Lord Dane]

It says they're looking for a buyer.  Since it's only half finished, I'm thinking of low-balling them.  We could get a commandery for the Order at a bargain

I know of a great place in Danbury, CT that would be a great medieval-styled location for such a thing.... Shall I divulge more or let the intrigue build?? (Hint: Hearthstone Castle) ... take a peek. Offer thoughts & let's pool some money for a real estate venture.

[Bernarr]

Count me in! I'll help with finishing the construction 

[Bradamante]

Yes, the owners of the Ozark Medieval Fortress made the unfortunate decision to close the project after being open to the public for only two seasons.

It is in Lead Hill, Arkansas, only half an hour or so from the large tourist attraction of Branson, Missouri.  They had made a good faith effort to spread the word of the castle to bring some of those tourists to come and visit the OMF.  There was wonderful news coverage of the OMF and the people who went there had glowing reports.  Unfortunately, not enough people came.

I blame it on Americans not truly understanding the project.  It is the process of seeing medieval construction techniques that is of greater importance than the finished product.  They had the stone quarry, masons, blacksmiths, carpenters, tile makers, rope makers, and other artisans all on site and were there to answer questions.  The materials needed to build the castle were on site and the methods of construction were from the 13th century.  It was going to take a long time to build, because those projects took a long time to build.

I believe many Americans who love castles and would have been part of the target audience, heard that it was a twenty year project and thought they'd come and visit in about the fifth year or so.  Or maybe in its tenth year to see when it would be half completed.

Sigh.

They needed more foot traffic, more paid admissions to generate enough money to keep it open.

The idea is a sound one.  The technical and historical advisors were wonderful.  The site is magnificent and as mentioned before, not far from a major tourist attraction.

However, the financial support by attendance to the project from the American medieval community was not what was hoped for or what was needed to maintain the project.

The owners of the Ozark Medieval Fortress would be interested in hearing from serious minded investors or buyers.  Not someone trying to buy something for a song.

If you know of any wealthy medievalists who might be interested in seeing this project to its completion, please contact me and I can forward that information to the owners.

[Sir William]

Bradamante...oh, the fantasies I've had of this fair warrior maiden in the service of Charlemagne.  Since I love books regarding that era in time, I'll check yours out!  Hope I can get it on Kindle.

I never even got to see this fortress, didn't know it existed.  Would've loved to have seen it as it progressed.

Sir Wolf, PM in your box.

[Bradamante]

Sir William,
It is too bad you hadn't heard of the Ozark Medieval Fortress.  I blogged about it several times before and after it opened.  It had made a few ripples in the Medieval blogosphere, but alas, not enough to make it an overnight success.

If you are a traveling man, you can go see a similar project that is farther along.  It is in the Burgundy region in France, about an hour and a half southeast of Paris.  GuĂ©delon Castle was started in 1997, and it is projected to be finished in 2025.  Perhaps you may have watched the "Going Medieval" documentary with Mike Loades on the History Channel. If so, GuĂ©delon was featured prominently in that special.

Here is a link to my blog posts about GuĂ©delon  http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/search/label/Guedelon
and here is a link to its website as well where they have updated their welcome page to include a new video:  http://www.guedelon.fr/en/
It is an amazing experience to walk back into time and feel as if you are witnessing history in the making.

(And yes, my novel is available on Kindle.  Thank you for asking.  I hope you enjoy it as I had medievalists in mind when I was writing it.)

[Lord Dane]

Bradamante...oh, the fantasies I've had of this fair warrior maiden in the service of Charlemagne.  Since I love books regarding that era in time, I'll check yours out!  Hope I can get it on Kindle.

I never even got to see this fortress, didn't know it existed.  Would've loved to have seen it as it progressed.

Sir Wolf, PM in your box.

Sir William, you might also enjoy this author (if you haven't read her yet).
I finished reading her Templar series (Brethren, Crusade, & Requiem)
http://www.robynyoung.com/brethren.htm

[Sir Edward]

I'm sorry to hear that it played out that way. I think something that would have helped would have been more on-going updates and photos on the website. Every time I looked for status updates, all I could really find were the pre-existing concept art images.

Perhaps if there had been some scheduled events, like a small medieval faire and living history weekends and the like, some additional foot traffic could have been generated?

[Bradamante]

Sir Edward,

They did try.

There was a blog on the website, another blog from one of their guides, Medieval James http://medievaljames.blogspot.com/, as well as a Twitter account to supply updates quicker than your average website update.  They also posted photos on a separate page within the website.

There had special events such as falconry demonstrations and  a special after hours event with a local college Renaissance club. The Ozark Medieval Fortress was even voted on as being one of the Top Ten Tourist Attractions in Arkansas.  I was hoping that on brochures and newspaper accounts would spur interest.

Another thing that I thought would really put them on the map was getting Larry the Cable Guy to tape a segment for his History Channel show "Only in America."  Too bad that it aired this winter, after the owners made the painful financial decision that they could not sustain another full season.

I had recommended to them to become a vendor at the Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, but that requires a lot of advance planning and was not something they did.  Too bad, because I think it would have spread the word farther in the medieval communities about their marvelous project.

[Lord Dane]

Sir Edward,

They did try.

There was a blog on the website, another blog from one of their guides, Medieval James http://medievaljames.blogspot.com/, as well as a Twitter account to supply updates quicker than your average website update.  They also posted photos on a separate page within the website.

There had special events such as falconry demonstrations and  a special after hours event with a local college Renaissance club. The Ozark Medieval Fortress was even voted on as being one of the Top Ten Tourist Attractions in Arkansas.  I was hoping that on brochures and newspaper accounts would spur interest.

Another thing that I thought would really put them on the map was getting Larry the Cable Guy to tape a segment for his History Channel show "Only in America."  Too bad that it aired this winter, after the owners made the painful financial decision that they could not sustain another full season.

I had recommended to them to become a vendor at the Medieval Congress in Kalamazoo, but that requires a lot of advance planning and was not something they did.  Too bad, because I think it would have spread the word farther in the medieval communities about their marvelous project.

Might have also asked the SCA in your kingdom for assistance with events for the project. Resources are in place for that to happen. It's sad that the project is suffering.

[Sir James A]

I saw that episode of Only In America and thought to myself, there's some people in France doing the same thing. Then realized, it's the same people. Very sad to see it not going so well here. I wish they would have done it around the DC area, I'd wager more foot traffic, plus more population density?

[Sir William]

Bradamante, thanks for the links...since I plan on attending Agincourt 2015, I'll see about making a trip to see Guedelon...something to tell the grand kids about when I take them there near completion, should it actually make it to that point.

Lord Dane, thanks for the link...I'll check it out!

[Bradamante]

Sir William,

If you are going to the July event for Agincourt 2015, I have a few other medievalist travel suggestions for you.

There is a village of Marle, about forty minutes north of Reims.  It is an archeological site and reconstructed Merovingian village.  They have large medieval festivals, usually in June.  I didn't make it to that, but did stop by and see it last summer on a trip to France to research my sequel. 

http://www.museedestempsbarbares.fr/index_eng.html
It is far less visited than Guedelon, the hours they are open are reduced, but how often do you come across reconstructed Merovingian villages?

(Edited to add, I just saw on their website that this year's event is August 15th. I do not know when they will announce when next year's will be.
http://www.museedestempsbarbares.fr/fr/fetes-archeologiques/index.html )

Marle is also near Reims, the city where Clovis was baptised and Jeanne d'Arc brought Charles VII to be coronated.  The cathedrale and its treasury are well worth visiting. You can easily do both in a day.

Have no fear about whether or not Guedelon will still be open in 2015.  They attract roughly 300,000 visitors each year.  I went there for the first time five years ago when I was researching my novel.  Last summer, we went there again.  The progress had been substantial, not only in the size of the castle's construction, but also in the expansion of the various artisans' huts.

Plus, I would recommend you staying for a Friday or Saturday in region near Guedelon.  Because of the historical spectacle that is shown at the Chateau de Saint Fargeau in the months of July and August.  About 500 people re-enact the thousand year history of the chateau.  C'est manifique.

http://www.chateau-de-st-fargeau.com/en-gb/the-live-history-show/the-history-show

Plus, I have tips for medieval sites in Paris, etc.  Feel free to use me as a resource for trip planning to France.

Bonne journée,

Bradamante

 

[Sir William]

Bradamante...I thank you, what wonderful ideas!  My wife'll be tickled- despite her penchant for mundane garb, she does enjoy castles and peeking into what life might've been like back then.  I will take you up on your offer, especially as that time gets closer...I haven't left the country since I was little and barely remember it, this trip I am quite sure I will remember for the rest of my life.