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00:01Buying a home abroad is a big step to take.
00:04This is my piece of heaven now.
00:07But imagine taking that to a whole new level.
00:10I'm down! Amazing.
00:13The ghost villages of Europe are crying out for help.
00:17It's just like Battle of the Somme, innit?
00:19And a strong-willed few have answered their calls.
00:23Our whole world, our whole life and belongings are now in Ichaka.
00:27In this series...
00:29There's a real sense of history and you can feel it.
00:32We rediscover the settlement's time left behind.
00:36Like ten people living in the whole of Rabatana now.
00:39Where once it would have been thriving with schools and shops.
00:43And meet the intrepid Brits.
00:45Just trying to get this board in the hole without falling through.
00:49Who are trying to save them.
00:51It is more tricky than you imagine.
00:55But can they turn these crumbling villages?
00:58This is going to be a big crash.
01:02Into beautiful homes.
01:04This is no longer a ruin.
01:06It is now a chateau.
01:08And successful businesses.
01:09One are gorgeous.
01:13Or will it all prove to be...
01:15That was a close shave.
01:16...beyond their grasp.
01:18As it stands at the moment, in two years' time it might collapse.
01:21As they restore the past to build their future.
01:25The village has come back to life.
01:27The village has come back to life.
01:27And that's exactly what we set out to do.
01:35Today in central France...
01:37Oh, I can feel a swim coming on.
01:40A Sussex couple dig deep as they unlock their village's money-making potential.
01:46It's been one of those dreams, hasn't it?
01:48We've had so much work to get to this point.
01:50You know, three years of just building.
01:53And this is kind of the finale really.
01:55And teamwork makes the dream work.
01:58I think it's going to be mostly out of the window, to be honest.
02:00As an army of workers mobilises to restore a fire-damaged chateau.
02:06I'm surprised at how many other people have got on board
02:09and have shared this dream with me, you know.
02:11And people who work here now, who are as passionate about it as I am.
02:16And amazing discoveries in Transylvania.
02:19It stays from 1532.
02:22It's always amazing when you find something like this,
02:25what it's mostly 500 years old.
02:28As two village saviours look to resurrect
02:31one of Romania's oldest Saxon-era churches.
02:35So obviously everybody is very excited today
02:38to see how we can restore this, bring it back to life.
02:54In the heart of the Vienne department in central France,
02:5715 generations of farmers cultivated the land and tended to their herds.
03:04Over five centuries, these industrious settlers lived through feast and famine,
03:09war and plague.
03:11Until industrialisation ultimately signed to the death knell for the village of La Gallisserie.
03:20Now, decades after this settlement was left to rot,
03:23it's been born again as a holiday village,
03:26thanks to the passion and dedication of Brits Lolly and Sean.
03:33This is a crucial time for La Gallisserie because you drive through France,
03:37there's a lot of properties that are just being left just to fall apart.
03:43So it was getting to that point.
03:46Yeah, I think we came here at the nick of time really.
03:52Since buying the village three years ago,
03:55Lolly and Sean have made deceptively light work of gutting the manoir
03:58to create both a home and a bed and breakfast business.
04:03And with the aim of launching yoga retreats this year,
04:06two former feed stores have been converted into a yoga studio and a holiday let.
04:14And as the couple prepare for a busy summer entertaining holidaymakers,
04:18the village has another permanent resident, Lolly's brother Greg,
04:23who's working to create a home in this former warehouse.
04:28He's going to be investing some of his money in this property.
04:32And yeah, he's going to be our head gardener,
04:34which is epic for us because what he doesn't know about plants
04:38is not really worth knowing.
04:41So, yeah, very exciting times ahead, really.
04:49It's March.
04:50And as the landscape and wildlife awake from their winter slumber,
04:54the grounds of La Galisserie are also a hive of activity.
05:00Today, the seam of limestone rich soil that carries the weight of the village
05:04is making way for a contemporary addition, a swimming pool.
05:10It's been one of those dreams, hasn't it?
05:12It's been in the planning for since we got here.
05:14We always knew that we were going to have, hopefully, have a pool.
05:18And we've had so much work to get to this point, you know, three years of just building.
05:23And this is kind of the finale, really.
05:26If we'd had it built or put in the first year, I don't think we'd be as far forward as
05:30we are, to be fair.
05:32I think I'd have found you going, champagne in the pool, please.
05:34Yeah.
05:36The nine by four metre pool is being prefabricated off-site.
05:40And with a specialist team at the helm, it should be in the ground within 48 hours.
05:47He's doing his dick now, prepping for the pool to be inserted tomorrow.
05:52He's got to then put all his gravel footings in and do all the trenches for the pipe work.
05:56He's making light work of it in that machine, I've got to say.
06:01But elsewhere in the village, there's been a challenging lack of progress.
06:07This old warehouse is set to become Greg's forever home.
06:12But it's taken him two months to find specialist tradesmen capable of making this wreck watertight.
06:19As you know, most of these buildings were agricultural buildings.
06:22So because they're agricultural buildings, they're not fit for purpose in relationship to people living.
06:28The roof, for instance, isn't fit for purpose because it hasn't got any installation.
06:32But the nice thing now is I've got pretty much all the trades in tow.
06:37This is specialist stuff.
06:38So I would rather get somebody in to do that rather than making a complete cock up of it myself.
06:45But the pause in putting a roof over Greg's head has served up a problem.
06:49For three months, he's been living in Lolly and Sean's jeet.
06:53But with accommodation bookings flooding in for spring and summer, Greg is on the move.
07:01Today's Thursday. We've got guests coming in a couple of days.
07:04So we vacated him yesterday and we've just been clearing the rest of his stuff out.
07:08And he's going to be in a small B&B room for a couple of weeks.
07:11I feel like we're at that point where the jeet is finally ready for our season.
07:19And it's at a point where I'm really happy with it as well.
07:23Three years ago, it was hard to see the buildings of La Gelisserie for the weeds.
07:28But now its rebirth as a holiday village is tantalisingly close.
07:34The pool is arriving tomorrow.
07:36Oh, I can feel a swim coming on.
07:46Some of Europe's ghost villages are quietly coming back to life one building at a time.
07:53But in Transylvania, the village of Kund has been undergoing an inspiring transformation for over two decades.
08:03Once a thriving Saxon community, its streets were shaped by centuries of German-speaking settlers.
08:10Until the fall of communism saw most of them leave.
08:17But Jonas and Ulrika saw a place not to forget, but to bring back to life.
08:26For us it was very scary to see in Romania so many empty villages.
08:32So our work, so the project is very important.
08:35I think this village has possibly seen an investment of more than three million in the last 20 years.
08:44In its infrastructure and restoration and preservation.
08:50Thanks to their efforts, the village is now a thriving tourist destination.
08:57Ancient Saxon homes have become guest houses.
09:00And their fine dining restaurant and luxury retreat draw visitors from across the world.
09:07It's not only keeping the village alive, it's helping preserve a vital chapter of Romania's heritage.
09:15It would be so easy.
09:17And cheaper.
09:18And cheaper to build from scratch, to do new buildings.
09:23But for us, it's a matter of the heart, preserving what makes this community so special to us.
09:31Yeah.
09:32This year, they've embarked on their most ambitious project yet.
09:37Restoring the village's 14th century fortified church.
09:42It's February, and keen to uncover the building's forgotten stories, Jonas and Ulrike have travelled to Sibiu, the cultural heart
09:51of Saxon Transylvania.
09:53For me, a very important part of the new church will be our little village museum.
10:01So we are meeting here at the Torch Archive, our project manager, and we will have a look together at
10:11the history of our village.
10:13The Transylvanian Saxons were organised communities and prolific record keepers.
10:21Many of these records are preserved here, in the state archives.
10:26How are you, Sebastian?
10:26And their project manager, and Saxon historian Sebastian, has already found documents that speak directly to their village's past.
10:37So what we are researching here are documents related only to our church in Kund.
10:43So it's a ledger from 1846, which details all the possessions of the church.
10:50And interesting for us, we found out that the school building had several different plots.
10:55We only know one plot, so it's interesting.
10:58We're going to have to go into more detail on this one to find out more about this.
11:03Each document is a clue to what life would have looked like in the 1800s for this unique group of
11:09German settlers.
11:12In Saxon villages, all children received an education through the Lutheran Church.
11:18And were among the first in Europe to introduce compulsory schooling.
11:23But this closed community preserved their heritage through strict social boundaries.
11:30It's a diary of a priest.
11:34Here's a rule from 1859, how to deal with mixed marriage.
11:40So I think in our village, we are talking mainly about Saxon and Hungarian marriage.
11:48Romanian was impossible.
11:51For me, it's really interesting.
11:54And the detailed inventory of church possessions dates back even further in time.
12:01This ledger also mentions a Bible from 1633, which we don't know where it is.
12:07It could be in the State Archive or perhaps somewhere in the village.
12:12Something to explore when we come back.
12:15This 400-year-old Bible is a rare piece of Saxon spiritual heritage.
12:20And it could still be hidden somewhere in their village.
12:26After two decades, Jonas and Ulrika are still uncovering the secrets of this unique community.
12:32And perhaps its past has more to give.
12:41Coming up, two volunteers get more than they bargained for.
12:45It could just be a hammer either side job.
12:47As they join the fight to restore a fire-damaged chateau roof.
12:52Nick and Brian have got an abseil over the front of the chateau.
12:56It's a little bit sketchy.
12:58And Jonas and Ulrika go on a voyage of discovery.
13:03We're very happy to have uncovered this.
13:05And this is a really great find for today.
13:18For many village saviors, the reason for taking on such monumental challenges
13:22goes far beyond building a business or dream home.
13:26In central France lies the settlement of Choumont.
13:30At its heart, a fire-damaged chateau,
13:33which holds the story of a community so courageous
13:37that Dan Preston has spent the last two years saving it from oblivion.
13:44During the war, it was host to Jewish refugee children around France and different areas.
13:51And about a thousand children passed through the gates of Choumont
13:55and were given refuge and schooling and food and a safe place to hide.
14:01Everyone that was involved in the chateau that helped people,
14:04their story is immortalised with the renovation.
14:11Dan is funding this extraordinary project by sharing every step of his journey on social media.
14:17With the hope that one day, Choumont won't just be a home,
14:21but will echo once again with the sound of children.
14:27So the main plan has always been that we're going to host children here.
14:31We're going to work with children's charities and host these kind of,
14:34I don't know, events or workshops for them to create these spaces
14:38that are going to allow people to really use the chateau.
14:43It's October. Dan is about to reach another milestone.
14:50The turret canopy, once the proud crown of the chateau, is finally being rebuilt.
14:56So we're basically creating a little canopy here.
14:58It'll be a wooden frame which holds the rest of the roof,
15:02so the roof will flare out and create like a little canopy around the bottom of it.
15:06That's in theory. It's exactly how it was when it was built.
15:11Old photographs are Dan's only guide for reconstructing the turret's intricate design.
15:18It's been a head-scratcher for Dan, but after building a scale model in his workshop,
15:23today, the full-sized version is going into action.
15:28Basically, we're just trying to work out, we've got to put this plate on the wall,
15:31and we're trying to work out how high we need to do it.
15:34And the same with all the roofs, we break it down into little triangles,
15:37and then when we start working out all the angles, it gives us magically all the other measurements.
15:43What it does mean is that Nick and Brian have got our abseil over the front of the chateau,
15:49and be drilling bits of wood into there, so it's a little bit sketchy.
15:56With the team relatively confident, the first task is to install timbers around the tower to create a base for
16:03the canopy frame.
16:07I think it's going to be mostly out of the window, to be honest.
16:11Eventually, this structure will support the full weight of a tiled roof,
16:15so even the slightest error could throw the whole thing off.
16:19It'll just be a hammer either side job on the level.
16:25It's crucial the timbers are perfectly level.
16:32And 25 metres above ground level, that's no mean feat.
16:37Perfect!
16:39Yes, I just came down here to get kind of a full view of it, to make sure it's all
16:44going right.
16:44And so far, so good.
16:46It's not easy, obviously, with them guys on ropes lowering wood down to them.
16:51This one, the hardest bit's done.
16:53Once the rest of the timbers are in place,
16:57the team begin to assemble the wooden turret frame.
17:07And over the next few days, Dan's innovative structure becomes stronger,
17:12and Chaumont's original silhouette begins to take shape.
17:17The new structure remains faithful to Chaumont's original elaborate facade.
17:24Designed in the ornate Second Empire style,
17:27which embraced the opulence of the late 19th century.
17:30And with every nail and timber, that long-lost splendour begins to return.
17:37It's something else.
17:39It's always like, we know what we're trying to achieve, we've seen the photo,
17:42but, you know, when it all starts coming together, it's just so surprising.
17:47It's the dramatic difference that takes place.
17:50There's still a little bit to go on the bracing,
17:53but every brace we add is strengthening it all.
17:58Now, the race is on to finish before winter sets in,
18:01to seal and protect what's been so carefully brought back.
18:06But day by day, beam by beam, Chaumont is rising from the ashes.
18:19Back in Transylvania, it's March.
18:22And Jonas and Ulrica continue their mission to uncover the secrets of their 14th century church.
18:30Four weeks ago, they discovered an inventory of the church's possessions in the state archives.
18:37Today, along with their project manager, Sebastian,
18:40they're searching properties in the village in the hope of unearthing some of those lost Saxon relics.
18:48This is an old Saxon house in here, which is out of use and just being used for storage.
18:53The idea was to have a look if we find still something church related in here as well.
18:59When the Gothic ceiling of their abandoned church began to deteriorate 12 years ago,
19:04villagers rallied to protect its most precious items.
19:09Only, unlike the organised Saxon communities before them, they didn't make an inventory.
19:16As people had such close relationship to the church as a place of worship,
19:22everybody felt responsible and this means we can find stuff in many different places.
19:28One such caretaker is Istvan, the local cheesemaker.
19:33That's a stock guy.
19:35Born and raised in Kund and baptised in the church when it was still the beating heart of the village,
19:41and he's been looking off for a piece close to his own heart.
19:46Ishti is the custodian of this baptism font, which is not 100% intact, but I think Sebastian can still
19:55be restored.
19:56The actual reservoir for the water, which was used to baptise children, is in Sighishwara, in the main church,
20:04because it's quite valuable. It's made of some precious metals.
20:06And so we're very happy to have uncovered this, and this is a really great find for today.
20:14For 200 years, thousands of newborns were formally welcomed into the village fold using water drawn from this oak-carved
20:22font.
20:23And it's Jonas and Ulrike's hope that it will be used to wet the heads of future generations of villagers.
20:31To be able to have proper services again, I don't think we can even estimate what it means to them.
20:41But as the search draws to a close, it's in Jonas's own carpentry workshop where a remarkable discovery is made.
20:49An altar pew crown, dating back to the 16th century.
20:56We have a really great thing. It stays from 1532. It's a mark in this, and it's also like a
21:04kind of wood carving with this ornament of teeth.
21:08And this was a crown, who actually was on the top of it.
21:15In the 1500s, this hand-carved crown would have sat atop the pew in the altar room, a seat reserved
21:22for the most honoured members of the Saxon community.
21:26It's a valuable insight into Saxon spiritual culture, and an exceptionally rare find.
21:35It's very seldom that we find it, generally in Europe.
21:39Here in Romania, we find from time to time this kind of pieces, but always amazing when you find something
21:45like this, what it's mostly 500 years old.
21:49If Jonas hadn't salvaged it, this crown could have been lost forever.
21:53But saving it now may be Sebastian's greatest challenge.
21:57It's a very bad shape. It's quite broken.
22:00But we have few pieces, so we theoretically could reconstruct it.
22:04A lot of things are missing, but it's important to preserve it and to conserve it.
22:10If those missing pieces can be found, this ancient relic might stand a chance of being brought back to life.
22:22Coming up, a giant move...
22:24Oh, my gosh. It's going to slow the whole village down now.
22:27...raises the stress levels at La Galisserie.
22:30Feeling the pressure, these poor guys that have got to manoeuvre this.
22:35It's a lot of responsibility.
22:37And there's Hollywood-level drama for Dan in Chimont.
22:42Just like when Tom Cruise abseiled in for the Olympics, this.
22:58It's a misty March morning in central France.
23:01But today, Lolly and Sean's vision for La Galisserie as a desirable holiday destination has come firmly into focus.
23:10Today's going to be crazy to see a swimming pool in the ground.
23:13I think the pool is going to arrive in the next hour.
23:17So everyone's on high alert and the guys are rushing around trying to get the sub-base ready for the
23:22pool to come in.
23:24At a cost of 85,000 euros, the below-ground pool didn't come cheap.
23:30But Lolly and Sean are convinced that high-end amenities like this will boost accommodation bookings now and well into
23:36the future.
23:39This is where the pool house is going to be.
23:40It's an area that we weren't really sure what we were going to do with anyway, so it kind of
23:44really suits to have the pool house here.
23:46So the pump, the electrics and everything will go there.
23:50The pool has been prefabricated off-site and is being delivered today on the back of a lorry.
23:57Oh, my gosh.
23:58It's going to slow the whole village down now.
24:00And we've got lots of people coming to stay with us this year.
24:04Lots of guests coming.
24:05Even the ones renting our jeep next week, they've already said, is it going to be ready for them to
24:09swim in?
24:10And we're like...
24:10Well, they can.
24:14Getting to the front gate was easy, but the other side of the village can only be accessed by a
24:20narrow lane.
24:21But winching the 36-cubit-metre pool into position will require nerves of steel.
24:27Feeling the pressure of these poor guys that have got to manoeuvre this.
24:32It's a lot of responsibility, isn't it?
24:40The building crew only arrived an hour ago and their swift progress has stopped Sean in his tracks.
24:51You're watching the pool coming in and then you realise they've dug a trench.
24:56They're starting to get all the pipes ready to run through.
24:58They've got electrical cable that's going to be pulled through as well.
25:03So, they're a super team.
25:06That's cool.
25:07I know.
25:08Oof, where did that come from?
25:11Progress is rarely this rapid for Lolly and Sean.
25:14But as the pool sinks into the ground, Lolly's worried they may yet be tripped up by red tape.
25:21You know, with the planning?
25:23Yes.
25:24With the French planning?
25:26Planning.
25:26Planning regulations dictate that the pool must be five metres away from the house.
25:31So, we have 520.
25:34Yeah.
25:35But a quick measurement finds it 20 centimetres further away than planned.
25:40Sank.
25:41Yes, but minimum from the house.
25:43So, you have 520.
25:45So, let's check.
25:48It's 5.2.
25:50The ladies ask me if that's okay and I'm like, is that okay with planning?
25:53Because they were quite specific.
25:55So, the owner's daughter is now phoning the planning department just to ask the question.
26:01We don't mind it being 520.
26:02We just don't want someone to come out and measure it one day and go, it's wrong.
26:07But the team are quickly given the green light and can begin to fill the sides and fit the pipework.
26:16With the pool instal in safe hands, Lolly and Sean slip away to finish the last item on their jeet
26:22snagging list ahead of this weekend's arrivals.
26:26We've been waiting on this extractor hood for the induction.
26:31So, that's here finally.
26:33Yeah, these sort of things are quite simple to do.
26:36I feel, yeah, I feel a bit organised and a bit calm.
26:43Lolly and Sean have every reason to feel at ease.
26:47After all, it's not every day that you become the proud owner of a swimming pool.
26:54And with accommodation bookings for this summer exceeding their wildest dreams,
26:58these village saviours have plenty to be cheerful about.
27:04Guess what we did today?
27:06What did we do?
27:07Put a pool in.
27:08Just dropped in.
27:10We were like, what should we do today? Oh, we just drop a pool in.
27:14Great team. Really great team.
27:16And, yeah, we've got a swimming pool.
27:19Wicked.
27:26140 miles away in Chemon, it's November.
27:31And Dan and his team are racing to get the roofs of the Chateau watertight
27:35in time for winter.
27:41So, because we've already got the structure up,
27:43we've basically got to drape over these tarps
27:46just to stop water coming in and get everything waterproof.
27:49The difficult thing about this whole project is
27:51we haven't got a huge scaffolding around the building,
27:54so everything we're doing is from ropes and harnesses,
27:57which makes everything that much more difficult.
27:59Obviously, the weather's not too bad at the moment,
28:01but if the wind or the rain picks up,
28:03we're holding these big sails up in the air,
28:06so if it does pick up, we're going to have to stop.
28:09A lot of people look at the stuff we do around here
28:12and they think us swinging off ropes on the roof is really dangerous,
28:16but it's probably one of the safest things we do, actually,
28:18because everything we're wearing and using is designed to keep us safe.
28:23Brian, Nick and Dan are starting with the highest point of the Chateau,
28:27the turret roof.
28:31This waterproof membrane will hopefully shield the structure from the elements
28:35until it's reslated in the spring.
28:37And for once, the weather is not conspiring against them.
28:43You know what, actually, it's one of them jobs, weirdly,
28:46that went better than we expected it to go.
28:48It's a little bit awkward, but not windy, not raining.
28:53Well, because we got that done so quickly,
28:55we can actually now do the next roof, we've got time,
28:58so that puts nearly the whole building waterproof for winter,
29:01which is really cool.
29:03But the next roof is a little less straightforward.
29:07Right, so what can I stand on?
29:09Not that.
29:09Not that. That.
29:11Yeah.
29:12Just stretch as far as you can.
29:15And calls for an inventive rig,
29:17courtesy of former tree surgeon Nick.
29:21It's like when Tom Cruise abseiled in for the Olympics, this.
29:26That's just what it was reminding me of, yeah.
29:29Just less finesse.
29:31But once again, they're soon making swift progress.
29:36Here's that.
29:37Good.
29:39The restoration of Chamon began as a solitary journey for this village saviour.
29:45God, I hope this is waterproof.
29:47But this year, it's teamwork which has helped him reach new heights.
29:53I'm surprised at how many other people have got on board
29:56and have shared this dream with me, you know,
29:58and people who work here now, who are as passionate about it as I am.
30:02That really surprised me that everyone else bought into the view, you know.
30:08And in the weeks that follow, that commitment pays off, pushing the restoration to a remarkable milestone.
30:18Everything's hard to envision when it's all kind of on paper, but when it comes together, it looks so different.
30:26But the main thing is, for the first ever time in over 40 years,
30:32this showman has no water coming in it.
30:37It's all completely inside now.
30:42It's taken 12 months of dedication, which has seen Dan and his team battle every element.
30:51I've had to do it until you stare again.
30:54And already, the transformation is breathtaking.
30:59I think the biggest achievement has got to be the roof.
31:03Not only have we replicated it how it was,
31:06I've also done all the calculations myself,
31:08and we actually got the thing up there was a big challenge.
31:12So getting that roof on has been the most prominent part of the project.
31:18But this is only the beginning.
31:20Now the building is watertight, the real work can begin inside,
31:24restoring this sleeping giant from the ground up,
31:28and with it, a whole new challenge for Dan.
31:33At times, this project is super draining,
31:37but I never dread coming into work any one day.
31:40I always come with excitement and want to do the next stage, you know.
31:44Every single day I want to be here because the progress is just so fast now.
31:49It's really, really pleasing to see every day.
31:53Shemong is well on its way to salvation
31:55thanks to one man who dared to believe it was possible.
31:59who dared to believe a place that once protected so many lives
32:04deserved to stand with pride again.
32:08I didn't start it because I wanted this big fancy house, you know.
32:12I started it because I wanted kind of the adventure of doing it,
32:17I wanted the purpose of doing it as well.
32:19You know, what's important for me is that the chateau lives on.
32:23It's about reclaiming the purpose the chateau had back then
32:27and using it again for the same thing.
32:37Coming up...
32:39Another one.
32:40Jonas' historical salvage mission
32:42reaps more rewards in Transylvania.
32:46Every little item tells its own story
32:49and gives us more insight in how life was here 750 years ago.
32:55And Lolly and Sean celebrate...
32:59Oh, he's in as well.
33:01...three years of restoration landmarks.
33:05Pinch ourselves that actually we've been here for three years
33:08because in some moments it feels like we've been here five minutes.
33:22Back in Romania, Jonas is still taking in the discovery of a crown
33:26of a rare 16th century pew that's been hiding in plain sight
33:31in his carpentry workshop.
33:33We were not aware of the significance of the age
33:38and historic value of this crown until now.
33:41So obviously everybody is very excited today
33:44to see how we can restore this head crown, bring it back to life.
33:50Hopefully the village still holds the missing pieces of this ancient relic.
33:54And Sebastian's on a mission to find them, leaving no stone unturned.
34:00So we're on a journey of discovery.
34:02Twelve years ago we stored some benches in here
34:05and now it's going to be interesting what's left of them.
34:09So this is the old school building.
34:12But it all looks relatively good.
34:14What sagst du?
34:19But with no sign of missing fragments from the pew crown,
34:22the hunt continues.
34:24As Jonas and Ulrike ask around the village,
34:27Sebastian returns to the altar room where the pew once stood.
34:33We know where it was standing.
34:35It was standing on this wall.
34:36You can see even the shape from the wall.
34:40You see where the colour is different.
34:43So it was like this whole part was it.
34:47The historian is determined to find some clues hidden within the walls.
34:52And after digging a little deeper.
34:55Yeah, this is amazing.
34:58History begins to reveal itself.
35:04Another one.
35:06Buried under the rubble for decades,
35:08the missing pieces of this sacred puzzle.
35:13So this is the corner part.
35:16So we had this front part, this long one with the inscription.
35:20One side we had and this is the other side.
35:23Suddenly the restoration of this church's crowning glory feels within reach.
35:30Probably to restore the whole part, it's not possible.
35:33But at least for exhibition or for museum,
35:37we can restore the corona, the coronament.
35:41It's amazing news for Jonas and Ulrike.
35:45How cool!
35:47The upper part.
35:48The upper part.
35:49The upper part.
35:49The one part that we have found.
35:50Yeah, I know.
35:51You have seen it.
35:53The other part that is stuck here.
35:54The other part that is stuck here.
35:56Right, exactly.
35:58Not only could this be a focal point of the church museum,
36:02it will give Sebastian's restoration team
36:04a powerful guide of what's still to come.
36:11Every little item tells its own story and it's exciting for us to see that
36:17these little items connecting leads to a storyline
36:23and gives us more insight in how life was here 750 years ago.
36:32This is just the beginning of a new chapter for this incredible building.
36:37Jonas and Ulrike have big dreams,
36:40but one day it will become Romania's first inter-religious place of worship.
36:45And with their conservation team now on board
36:48and the support of the whole village,
36:50that dream is closer than ever.
36:54So I look very much forward to see historians to come,
36:59so we will have diggings in and around the church
37:03and I am so optimistic that we maybe find something interesting.
37:10Then I hope until the end of this year
37:13we will manage to get all the authorizations needed
37:18and construction would start.
37:25One day the church will rise again, not just as a monument to the past,
37:30but as a symbol of hope for this community.
37:35Three decades after Romania turned its back on communism,
37:39Jonas and Ulrike have helped this village look forward.
37:43Their hospitality business has brought jobs, pride and purpose
37:49and put this once forgotten village back on the map.
37:52And now with their cookery school nearing completion,
37:56it's clear their vision for Kund is ever evolving
37:59and their work is far from finished.
38:03One of the main challenges we have in our day-to-day lives
38:06is juggling the balls, keeping them in the air, all of them.
38:10And sometimes the load feels heavy on one's shoulders.
38:13But for us and for the village to grow and thrive,
38:19we've never doubted that it's worthwhile.
38:23And I think we've still got a lot to give
38:25and still have a lot to contribute
38:27and I just fear sometimes that one lifetime is not enough.
38:42Back in La Galisserie, it's late April
38:45and Lolly and Sean are fast becoming victims of their own success.
38:51Their holiday accommodation has experienced a spring surge,
38:54but work to finish their swimming pool is still ongoing.
38:59We seem to be a local builder centre most of the time at the moment,
39:02in between guests.
39:03So as soon as guests come, everything gets cleared
39:05and we're immaculate as we possibly can be.
39:07And then we had guests leave on Friday,
39:10so we had a massive delivery of bags of sand and stuff like that
39:14and cement ready to do the pool walls and stuff.
39:16And again, we've got guests here Sunday and this will all be cleared.
39:21Balancing the building work with guests days is the ultimate test of Lolly and Sean's hospitality skills.
39:28But the juggling act is softened by the prospect of a finished swimming pool
39:32that'll become the centrepiece of their holiday village.
39:38For that view.
39:39So this will be our walk through here.
39:42So we'll have stepping stones and baby sand here, won't we?
39:45Yeah. Going through.
39:47So Charlie is my son and he's just been amazing.
39:51You know, we call on him when he's not working back in the UK.
39:54He's a great general builder.
39:56So he is now doing the pool terrace.
39:58So footings have gone in all around the walls, the side of the pool, the raised beds.
40:05And then, as you can see, this one here is going to stay that height
40:09because this is where the sun sets and it's phenomenal.
40:14Lolly and Sean want to make it easy for both their jeet and B&B guests
40:18to access the rear gardens.
40:20So under the guidance of an expert stonemason, Sean has been busy elsewhere.
40:27So, yeah, we wanted to have a flow from the cocktail lounge to come out
40:31to people to play betonc and then go around and then go for a dip in the pool.
40:36So we opened this all up on Friday with a lot of acros and even acros up in the top
40:41floor.
40:43Accommodation bookings for this year are up nearly 50% on last year.
40:48Keen to make hay while the sun shines, the couple recently decided to sacrifice part of their own home to
40:54expand their B&B offering.
40:58This is our new B&B room, twin sharing.
41:02And although we had set this up the last couple of Christmases as a snug, it's not going to be
41:08our snug going forwards.
41:09It's kind of demand, really, which is why we decided to create it.
41:13We take our time, really, thinking of certain things and it's absolutely right to be a little twin bedroom.
41:19So, yeah, it's exciting.
41:24Lagalisri may now boast the very best in 21st century luxury, but Lolly and Sean never turn their backs on
41:31the village's past.
41:34At every turn, high-end contemporary design lives hand in hand with centuries-old architecture.
41:43Almost as if the village itself has opened its arms and embraced its new future.
41:51Oh, he's in as well.
41:52Woo, nice and refreshing!
41:56It's a bit crazy that we've got a swimming pool.
42:01We have owned the village just over three years.
42:05It's been great. The whole process has been fantastic.
42:07Pinch ourselves that actually we've been here for three years, because in some moments it feels like we've been here
42:13five minutes.
42:18The village's rags-to-riches revival is jaw-dropping.
42:22In just 36 months, the derelict manoir has become a stylish home and thriving bed and breakfast business.
42:34A former hay barn has been transformed into a holiday cottage.
42:39And the couple even found time to create a calming corner where Lolly can practise her yoga.
42:47It's been a hugely successful three years that we've been here.
42:52Not only just on the development side, but obviously they've opened up the doors on the business side to lots
42:58of just genuinely lovely guests.
43:01We've even got a lot coming back, you know, repeat business, so we must be doing something right.
43:08This spring, work will commence to create a second home in the village, where Lolly's brother Greg will enjoy his
43:14retirement.
43:16And now, Lolly has her eye on converting the last of their barns into more holiday accommodation.
43:23Well, someone keeps coming up with plans. I've got an idea, someone keeps telling me, so...
43:28No, no, no. The village keeps talking to me.
43:30Oh, is that what it is?
43:31The barn is neglected and hasn't been zhuzhed. It's talking to me and it wants to be zhuzhed.
43:39Like all of our village saviours, by embracing and preserving the past, Lolly and Sean have created a sustainable future
43:46for themselves and their family.
43:49Here, in this once forgotten corner of rural France.
43:58Best job ever, isn't it? It is the best job ever. Yeah, we're on tour every day, it's great.
44:02I feel like we're on holiday every day.
44:04Now you've got to fill up half the water again.
44:06Whoa!
44:09Nice and refreshing. Yeah. You would love it.
44:13But yeah, just absolutely adore it here.
44:25Next time, we meet the new custodians of a hamlet in France.
44:30It's just so fascinating to have all this history in our village.
44:35Meanwhile, another set of saviours fight to give their own settlement a new purpose in life.
44:41I think that there is a certain amount of pride in making it a useful place again.
44:48And we're back with Neil in north-west Spain as his battle to save his village continues.
44:54OK, test time.
44:56Whoa, yeah, there's plenty of water. It works.
45:01Thanks, look.
45:02.
45:02We're back.
45:02,
45:02.
45:04.
45:06.
45:07.
45:14.
45:14.
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