The "Ideal Palace" of France was built by an ordinary postman for 30 years

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

It's hard to imagine, but the unique "Ideal Palace" was created from ordinary boulders and pebbles, collected by a strange postman on the way to the duty station. This architectural masterpiece is a vivid confirmation of the fact that with a strong desire, incredible imagination and creative zeal, you can create the home of your dreams, even without a penny.

For 20 years, Ferdinand Cheval has been collecting unusual building materials and it took him 33 more years to build a marvelous castle, which for more than a century has never ceased to amaze with its uniqueness and stunning beauty.

An amazing castle was created by a simple postman (Hauterives, France).

This amazing palace was built by the postal serviceman Ferdinand Cheval in the small village of Hauterives in the French department of Drome. It is made of the most common pebbles, which are scattered in large quantities on the roadsides and along the coast.

Ferdinand Cheval is the creator of the most original palace in the world.

He was prompted to take such an unusual step by a very banal case - returning from a distant village, where he once again took the parcel and letters, he stumbled on a stone, which later turned his whole life upside down.

Ferdinand Cheval spent 20 years collecting stones to create the palace.

Since childhood, Ferdinand loved not only to read books about beautiful castles and luxurious palaces, imagining himself in dreams as their owner, but also possessed irrepressible tenacity and eccentric imagination. Of course, the cherished dream of having an unusual castle did not leave him even in adulthood.

Ferdinand embodied his dream in the fantastic forms of the castle.

Being a reasonable and pragmatic man, he perfectly understood that his financial situation would not allow building even the most ordinary small house. It so happened that despite the fact that he worked hard for many years, delivering parcels and letters to the most distant villages, he could not save money for full-fledged building material.

The Ideal Palace is made of stones, steel wire and cement.

The case when, having stumbled, he simply took a stone in his hands to look at it, stirred up the irrepressible imagination of the postman. Before his eyes, a fairytale castle materialized, about which he had dreamed so much in childhood, and immediately the idea of creating such a miracle with the help of beautiful small stones arose. After all, there was a lot of such good in the whole district. From that moment on, the realization of the truth comes to him: "I cannot afford to buy building materials, which means that I will use what nature is rich in."

An ordinary stone on the road became a source of inspiration.

From that moment on, he begins to collect the most extraordinary stones that he came across on the way to another village. After all, given the specifics of the work, he had to walk a lot and far, sometimes even up to 30 km a day.

The creator's fantasy is limitless.

At first, he brought his treasures in a bag, but then the idea of creating his own “Ideal Palace” captivated him so much that he could not stop and began to take a cart with him and all the most unusual and interesting stones would certainly fall into it.

The columns of the Ideal Palace are 10 meters high.

Now, long trips to hard-to-reach areas did not frighten him, because they became not so much a way of earning money for a living as a kind of "road to a fantastic dream."Naturally, fellow villagers and passers-by did not at all understand such a man's hobby, considering him a crazy eccentric, who "the heat hit in the head."

All kinds of cultures and styles are intertwined in the design of the castle.

For 20 years, Ferdinand, not paying attention to any ridicule or heavy daily burden, collected fancy building materials to make his dreams come true. Considering that he was a literate person and had unlimited access to the press, Ferdinand carefully studied the architecture of various countries, dreaming of how he would build his own castle.

Hindu and Christian temples and a mosque were built in the palace.

Having collected a sufficient number of stones, starting from 1879 to 1912, in his free time, regardless of the time of day and weather, and using the most primitive instrument, he began to create his own unique fairy tale.

The facade of the "Ideal Palace".

“Since nature has endowed me with building materials, I must become an architect and a bricklayer,” said the man, starting to make his dream come true.

Huge stone figures of the "Ideal Palace".

Long 33 years of hard work have turned into a truly unique masterpiece, striking in its scope and simply incredible and outlandish style. As it turned out, it was not possible to trace or single out at least one architectural direction even after a hundred years. And this is understandable, because the home-grown master possessed a truly ingenious gift and flair, which even eminent educated architects did not have.

The original stone staircase of the "Ideal Palace".

When creating his "Ideal Palace", he did not adhere to any particular style, but simply tried to add only those elements that impressed and liked him. He drew inspiration from the architectural masterpieces of Europe and the East, as well as biblical parables and Hindu mythology, sayings of Christ and Buddha.

Unusual facade of the "Ideal Palace".

As a result, the Palace, created by the brilliant postman, turned out to be really perfect. After all, this structure, which the master created from ordinary steel wire, cement and, naturally, stones, has absorbed all the styles and directions of world architecture, mixing into a single, transcendent beauty picture.

Tomb in the cemetery, created by Ferdinand.

Quite a large area of the created castle (height 10 m, width 14 m and length 26 m) made it possible to place several artsy staircases, romantic fountains, dozens of towers and a huge number of incredible (considering that the creator is a postman!) Sculptures of Egyptian gods, Catholic saints, bas-reliefs, figures of people, mythical creatures and animals.

Each element is thought out to the smallest detail.

Believe it or not, the castle houses the Temple of the Virgin Mary, a Hindu temple, and even a Muslim mosque. There is even a "shepherd's hut" and residences of aristocrats, and a crypt was created for him and his wife.

Tourists from all over the world are eager to see the Ideal Palace.

Just the crazy eclecticism of such an unusual building makes an unimaginable impression that deserves special attention both from the eminent meters and from ordinary tourists who come from all over the world to see with their own eyes this miracle created by the French postman.

The "Ideal Castle" has become a national treasure of France.

In 1969, years after the death of the brilliant self-taught master, the authorities of the department announced the assignment of the official status of a historical monument to the "Ideal Palace" of the postman Cheval. This decision was made at the suggestion of many cultural figures and influential people in France, especially thanks to the assistance of Pablo Picasso, who sincerely admired his unique creation.

Thanks to such brilliant and enthusiastic people in cities and villages, real masterpieces appear that surprise with their creative idea and incredible forms. And even the lack of special skills or money is not a hindrance for such enthusiasts.