🇫🇷 ESC Volunteering in France 🏰 Restore a 14th-Century Castle & Learn Traditional Stonemasonry in Lorraine 🪨

REMPART

Association Gombervaux

VAUCOULEURS, France

⭐️ Activity Title

Heritage restoration at the Gombervaux castle 2026

🔷 Activity Details

Description

Presentation of the site : Gombervaux is a castle of the 14th century in Vaucouleurs (East of France, department of Meuse). It is classified as an historical monument since 1994. The association Gombervaux is a member of the REMPART Union. The missions of Gombervaux are : restore the castle, create life on the site and study the site.

The missions: The main mission for the group of 10 international volunteers will be: the restoration of a tower of the castle. The work consists to cut stones and learn traditional masonnry techniques in order to make seals and replace damaged stones. One stonecutter will lead you to achieve those missions.

Accommodation, food and transport arrangements

On the site, in a large collective tent with camp beds. Volunteers have to take a pillow and sleeping bag. There is a solar shower and dry toilets but no access to drinking water on the site. A source is nevertheless used to wash the dishes and bottles will be bought to drink. The meals are prepared collectively. Bringing warm clothes is necessary as the temperatures can be low even in the summer in this region of France (especially at night). The castle is located in a rural area. The nearest big city (Nancy) is 45km away. A pick-up point will be organized at the train station of Commercy.

Participant profile

- Heritage and restoration interest

- Attraction for manuel work

- Ready to work and learn new skills

- Ability to live in a group

- Open-minded

🔑 Key Information

Activity dates

From 23/07/2026 to 05/08/2026

Activity location

Château de Gombervaux, VAUCOULEURS, France

Activity type

Volunteering teams

Looking for participants from

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden