The Postman Spent 33 Years Creating A Palace With The Stones He Found On His Delivery Route

In rural France during the 19th century, Ferdinand Cheval, who lived a simple life as a delivery postman, wouldn’t find himself posthumously honored as an incredible postal carrier. While he did his work diligently, it was what he did on the side that has intrigued so many people.

For a total of 33 years, Cheval collected stones of different types on his route and with them, he constructed a shrine, Le Palais Ideal he calls it, a full cathedral with buttresses, pillars, and grottoes.

“I said to myself: since Nature is willing to do the sculpture, I will do the masonry and the architecture,” he wrote in his journal. The masterpiece took 33 years and over 10,000 journeys down his route to complete.

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