the palais idéal in hauterives, france is a unique structure. it is made entirely out of stones that postman, ferdinand cheval collected on his mail route.
one night, cheval dreamed about building a palace. he thought nothing of this dream for years, until one day in the spring of 1879, when his foot caught on an unusual-looking rock during his postal route. the rock was so fascinating to cheval that he took it home to admire it. it also gave him an idea.
for the next 33 years, cheval continued picking up more stones during his postal route, first putting them in his pockets, then graduating to a basket, and finally using a wheelbarrow. each one of the stones was hand-selected by cheval to play a part in the construction of his dream palace.
for more than three decades, cheval spent his nights building his home by the light of an oil lamp, and his days delivering the mail. he completed work on the palace in 1912.
today, the palace is a protected landmark and is open to visitors. though cheval wished to be buried in his palace when he died, this was illegal at the time, so he spent an additional eight years building a mausoleum for himself in the town cemetery. he finished just in time, too; cheval passed away on august 19, 1924, approximately one year after completing the mausoleum, which remains his final resting place.
—
whenever we witness art in a building,
we are aware of an energy contained by it.
– arthur erickson
—
credits: jenny morrill, mental floss uk
Whomever said being a mail carrier was boring, clearly lacked Ferdinand Cheval’s imagination! WOW!! Thanks for posting this magnificent structure and the amazing story behind it.
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i love his story too )
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An amazing and inspiring story, thank you Beth.
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my pleasure, jen. an inspiration to all of us –
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Yes, mail carriers are indeed creative creatures.
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they are indeed )
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How incredible! It looks like something out of a fantasy tale…
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it really does –
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Wow I have never seen anything like it! Very interesting this guy and his vision. Definitely one-of-a-kind and truly unique!
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absolutely. on all counts –
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Now there is dedication – he has without a doubt proven that he has the necessary dedication to be a mail carrier. ha! Amazing structure although a bit busy for me to enjoy as a piece of art.
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rain or shine )
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What an amazing piece of work. One of my top favourite people was Gaudi, famous for the Barcelona cathedral among other works who, among other different features of his life, apparently dressed so carelessly that when he was killed people initially thought he was a tramp!!
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isn’t it though? wow, that is so interesting. why we can never really judge another –
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Thank you Beth. Talk about dreams and hard work merging and making something beautiful.
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exactly
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We French, C’est bizarre!
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oui!
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Wow!!!
>
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i know – we are really slacking )
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Wow! That’s a hobby on steroids! Thanks for sharing.
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it sure is!
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This is a true story of a postman who build it? So amazing!!!
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yes, amazingly true –
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Reblogged this on A Grateful Man and commented:
Another beautiful example of the power of dreams combined with the dedication to make them come true.
With Love,
Russ
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very true, russ and thank you for sharing )
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Wow. Now that’s perseverance.
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Understatement)
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What an impressive man he must have been, thanks for showing me this unusual building, I’d never heard of it 🙂
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I agree about him )
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Cheval managed to have his dream unfold while carrying out his daily job as a postal carrier. This is how we may all wish to lead our life, carrying rocks (or pieces of our dream) around ultimately having something magnificent to show for this! What a joyful post, Beth! 🙂
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You have really summed it up so well, robin )
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Wow. I haven’t heard this story. Talk about inspirational. ❤ ❤
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it really, really is –
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I soooo agree. It really, really is.
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Wow. Talk about dedication and single mindedness.
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To the extreme –
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That amazing! I hope I get to visit one day!
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Me too )
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That’s incredible!!
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Isn’t it?
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It truly is. 🙂
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What an amazing monument to the imagination of one man.
xxx Hugs Galore xxx
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it is –
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This man never gave up on his vision. Amazing!
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i know, it really is )
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Fascinating.
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i think so too –
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What a cool story and an amazing place. It’s hard to believe one person saw this in his imagination and lived to build it.
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there are some amazing people in this world –
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