Palais idéal - France

Cheval, a French postman, started to build the building in April 1879. He claimed to have stumbled on a rock and have been inspired by the shape of it. Returned to the same spot the next day and started collecting stones. 

For the next 33 years, during his daily routine Postman Cheval carried stones he found on the road and at home used them to build the Palais idéal. Initially, carried the stones in his pockets, then a basket and eventually a wheelbarrow. He often gathered stones at night, 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 bound the stones with wire, lime and cement.