The Perfect Castle of Ferdinand Cheval

An ordinary French postman from the small town of Otreve had an unusual dream - about his own castle. And in the spring of 1879, the first stone for the realization of the dream was laid – in the full sense of the word. Ferdinand Cheval began collecting stones of unusual shape and color. He devoted 20 years to this activity, until his retirement. Neighbors thought Cheval was a weirdo. Meanwhile, he began to build his “Perfect Castle” out of stones. It took Cheval 33 years to build the Dream Palace. To “glue” the castle, the author used a mixture of cement and lime.

To talk about the belonging of the palace to any style is difficult. This is a real architectural flight of fantasy - in the castle you can see plots from biblical and Hindu mythology. On the walls of the palace are the sayings of Buddha and Christ. Inside there is a mosque and a temple of the Virgin Mary. The castle also has many passages and exits. Outside, the Ideal Palace of Cheval is decorated with stairs, fountains and sculptures.

Almost 50 years after the death of Ferdinand Cheval, his original creation was recognized by many famous personalities, including Pablo Picasso. In 1969, the French Ministry of Culture announced that the Ideal Palace was given the official status of a historical monument.