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LE PALAIS IDEAL DU
FACTEUR CHEVAL
at Hauterives, Drôme, France
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A few years ago we saw a TV programme by Jarvis Cocker about
naive art where he visited Le Palais Idéal du Facteur Cheval
at Hauterives in the Drôme region of
central France about 40 km north-east of Valence.
Our touring itinerary in 1998 took us to that region
of France so we decided a visit would be worthwhile and we were amazed
at what we saw.
We revisited again in 2006. Little
had changed except there is now a much larger information centre and
tourist office and it is much more well known as a tourist attraction.
The town has capitalised on its fame and there are also a museum of
Naïve art and an exhibition hall.
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| The site is hardly undiscovered now with tourist signs
to the town from many kilometres away but it is an amazing place to
visit and the day we stayed there was an evening Son et Lumiere event
which added to the spectacle, including a terrific thunderstorm with
lightning which added even more to the sense of mystery.
It is only a few hundred yards from the municipal
campsite situated next to a chateau which is now a public museum
adjacent to the town's swimming pool and sports complex. The town centre
is only a couple of hundred metres away.
There is also a well signposted free camping-car aire
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Who built it?
This monument was the work of
one man, Ferdinand Cheval who was a local postman (facteur) in the area from 1869
until he retired in1896.
He started the construction using lime and cement in 1879 working
each day after a 20 mile daily post round on foot. After his retirement
in 1896 he continued to build the monument until 1912 after which he
started to build a vault for this tomb in the local cemetry. He died in
1924 aged 88. |
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The monument's structure is 26 metres long
by 14 metres wide and up to 10 metres high, with internal passages lined with sea shells and
external stairs and walkways. It is covered with inscriptions of all
sorts, figures of many animals and famous people such as Julius Caesar
and Archimedes. What amazed us most was the intricate detail of the
decorated figures and arrangements. An inscription in the north east
corner states "10,000 days, 9300 hours , 33 years of toil".
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Ferdinand
Cheval's wheelbarrow and some of the tools he used are on display. There
is also an information centre and gift shop.
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The Palais is
illuminated on certain evenings during the summer when there
is a Son et Lumiére presentation
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| It is certainly a
sight that's "worth a
detour" as the Michelin Green Guide would say !
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Back to France 2006 France touring
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