archibaldtuttle:
wlwillow:
hyperions-fate:
hyperions-fate:
No tech CEO or NYT bestselling novelist will ever match the creativity of a humble French postman who decided on a whim to spend thirty-three years building a surreal, majestic palace with the bricks and mortar of his dreams.
oh I was there just a few weeks ago!
it’s shockingly intricate and covered in writing by Cheval. it also used to have an entire system that allowed water to flow through the architecture, Cheval wanted it that way as he felt the flow of water was a major part of his design and of nature, but they had to turn it off in order to preserve the very fragile building from rapid erosion.
Aggregating some interesting reblogs:

From @eek-a-tron
Couple of interesting additions:
Ferdinand Cheval tripped over a stone and was inspired by its shape, eventually stating, “It represents a sculpture so strange that it is impossible for man to imitate, it represents any kind of animal, any kind of caricature. I said to myself: since Nature is willing to do the sculpture, I will do the masonry and the architecture.”
Here’s the tripped-over sandstone in question, which explains some of the abstract design:
Oh, and also:
He tripped and started this when he was 43.
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From @saviourfinn
He wanted to be buried in his palace after his death but legally couldn’t, so he also built his own tomb in the local cemetary (he started building it at 78 years old and finished it at 86 years old, two years before his death).
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From @livrelover909
https://www.facteurcheval.com/en/history/
https://maps.app.goo.gl/VLqY5bmAPm6P94vx6

Omg this is AMAZING

Reminds me of the architecture of Gaudi, but all done by one guy with such simple resources

I have a definite love for stories of people who created their own weird, unique buildings with unconventional materials and designs. This is definitely going in my collection, which also includes the US artists Isaiah Zagar in Philadelphia, and Baldassare Forestiere in Fresno