Sunday, December 23, 2012

Reaching for dreams

This palace was built by a postman.
The story claims that he had a dream about this palace as a child
and therefore built it after this memory of the dream.
This story nearly makes me want to cry.
Thanks to Mogens for the tip about the story
~ Aasa

Palais idéal


Palais idéal was built by a man called Ferdinand Cheval

Cheval began the building in April 1879. He started it by collecting stones.
For the 33 years, during his daily mail route, Cheval carried stones from his delivery rounds and at home used them to build his Palais idéal, the Ideal Palace. First he carried the stones in his pockets, then a basket and eventually a wheelbarrow. He often worked at night in the light of an oil lamp.

Cheval spent the first two decades building the outer walls. The Palace is a mix of different styles with inspirations from the Bible to Hindu mythology. Cheval bricked the stones together with wire, lime and cement.
Cheval also wanted to be buried in his palace. When French authorities forbade that, he proceeded to spend eight years building a mausoleum for himself in the cemetery of Hauterives. Cheval died around a year after he had finished building it.