Paris1972-Versailles2003

In my dear gorgeous Versailles ; there are many places other than the castle. The city needs to be seen more, my kind of town, actually did lived there for 9+ glorious years! Very nice family memories. I found me older paper pictures that again should be in my blog, Therefore, here is my take again on the Hameau de Marie Antoinette in Versailles , part II !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Hameau de la Reine( hamlet of the Queen)  was born from the imagination of a queen. Commissioned during the winter of 1782 – 1783 by Queen Marie Antoinette with the nostalgia for a more rustic life, in a decor of nature inspired by the writings of Rousseau, a small paradise where the theater and the feast would make her forget her  condition as Queen , This rural place, which was also a farm, marked the influence of the ideas of the physiocrats and philosophers of the Enlightenment of the aristocracy of the time. The hamlet, a plot located to the northeast of the English garden, between the allée de  Saint-Antoine  (my entry point best to the domaine) and the  Allée de Rendez-vous and the Bois des Onze Arpents forest. Bored by the Versailles court, she wanted to build a farm by bringing animals and peasants not far from the Palace of Versailles, to teach nature to her children. If the exterior looks rustic and simple, the interior is glitzy. To reproduce the atmosphere faithfully, some rooms have been refurnished and beautifully renovated. The royal prestige is found in the decoration of the Maison de la Reine with its golden lanterns with fine gold which are now electrified.

The most important of these houses is the Maison de la Reine (House of the Queen) in the center of the hamlet, which divides a river crossed by a small stone bridge. Its picturesque appearance is reinforced by the originality of its structure: a double body of non-aligned buildings and simply connected by a walkway covered with a round tower, outside staircases supported by wooden poles and roofs of various inclinations. It is the only one, with the cleansing dairy, to be covered with tiles. Its decoration is simple but elegant, far from the flamboyant luxury of the palace. It is made of two floors, comprising at the top level an antechamber in the form of a Chinese cabinet, the small living room, also called  Hall of the Nobles, and the large living room with a stretched panel of Swiss-style tapestries embroidered with wool and basketry. Of the six crossings of the room, the Queen can easily control the work of the fields and the activity of the hamlet. In the center of the room is a harpsichord on which Marie-Antoinette loves to play. The access to the floor is either by a large staircase inside, or by the round tower, stopping at half-height and followed by a footbridge and then a volley of ten steps reaching the outer gallery. On the ground floor, the building features a backgammon decorated with a chessboard and a simple white stone-paved dining room with the cut corners making way for small black squares. The chairs, in the backrest lyre in solid mahogany and garnished with green Morocco leather.

The tower of Marlborough, built with the appearance of a vaguely medieval lighthouse, is originally called Tour de la Pêcherie. Of the three floors of the tower, only the hexagonal base is of verge stone, to ensure its strength.  The tower is used to store boat fishing tools  in its basement. A narrow hallway allows you to go from the dairy to this circular room. From the foot of the tower, you climb up and down a wooden oak boat painted in grey, for walks on the Great Lake or fishing for carp or pike. The upper part is painted wood of a decoration imitating the stone and serves to communicate by signals with the castle.  The name Marlborough is a reference to the lullaby Marlborough going to war, written in 1722 but brought to the use of the day in 1782 thanks to Beaumarchais and its resumption to the court by the nanny of the Dauphin, Geneviève Poitrine.  After the French revolution, the tower was one of the most damaged building.

The wind mill (Moulin) is one of the most picturesque cottages, with a pictorial charm reminiscent of the role of the painter Hubert Robert in the creation of the hamlet. The four facades of the building each have a different appearance and décor, although in harmony. The wheel driven by the brook derived from the Great Lake is only a decoration element and no mechanism or millstone was installed in this factory.  The ground floor room seems to have served a time of exhibition gallery for the first models of the hamlet. At this lounge is attached a small closet, serving as wardrobe. A small hallway provides access to a side entrance door. The square room on the first floor, four meters apart, is a small dining room or room, which is not known if it ever served. It is accessed by an outside complex of  staircase of two flights of stairs. On the front, a half-timbered cabinet is constructed as an outgrowth over the brook and is connected to the first-floor room by a walkway allowing access below.  The interior of the building received a sober but neat decoration. A tile is laid in all the rooms and the two main rooms each have a chimney in marbre. A molded cornice and painted faux mahogany wood panels complete the décor. The mill has a fenced garden in the south of hedges  and a pergola. A wash house is also attached to it, at the edge of the brook.

The official Château de Versailles on the Queen’s Hamlet : https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/estate/estate-trianon/queen-hamlet

The city of Versailles tourist office on the Hameau de Marie Antoinette: https://en.versailles-tourisme.com/queen-s-hamlet.html

One of the must to see in Versailles and worth it. Another masterpiece of my belle France, and hope you have the time to see it while at this huge property that is the Domaine de Versailles. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Hameau de Marie Antoinette in Versailles , part II !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!