Building a medieval utopia

The oldest-surviving blueprint from medieval times details the layout and construction of a village and monastery called the Plan of St. Gall. Now archaeologists and craftspeople are building that community, first described in 800 A.D., using only the tools and methods available back then. Author Kristen Ghodsee has visited the site and writes about it in her new book, “Everyday Utopia.” She tells The World’s Marco Werman that the medieval vision of a utopian community has much to teach the modern world. 

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.