FayJuno
FayJuno

B1 · Episode 1 · 1:23

The Ideal Palace of the Postman Cheval

This episode introduces the extraordinary Ideal Palace, built over 33 years by French postman Ferdinand Cheval in Hauterive, Drôme. It describes the palace’s imaginative architecture—including temples, waterfalls, animals, and giant statues of historical figures—and Cheval’s later work on his own tomb.

Source：Manek TV · License：CC BY 3.0

Transcript

  1. Pour les armes.

    For weapons.

  2. Bonjour, c'est Bruno et aujourd'hui je vous propose les Palais Idéal des facteurs du

    Hello, I'm Bruno, and today I'm taking you to visit the Ideal Palace built by a postman—

  3. facteur Cheval.

    the Ideal Palace of postman Ferdinand Cheval.

  4. Ce site étrange se situe à Haute

    This unusual site is located in Haute

  5. Rive, excusez- moi, à Haute Rive

    Rive—sorry, Haute Rive in the Drôme department,

  6. dans la Drôme.

    France.

  7. Il s'agit du Palais Idéal imaginé par Ferdinand Cheval en 1878.

    It is the Ideal Palace conceived by Ferdinand Cheval in 1878.

  8. Ce facteur commence un travail de longue haleine,

    This postman began an arduous, long-term project:

  9. il a pris 33 ans à construire son fameux Palais Idéal.

    it took him 33 years to build his famous Ideal Palace.

  10. Ainsi, année par année, ils s'appellent à la création de plusieurs temples,

    Thus, year after year, he created several temples,

  11. des cascades et animaux, et trois impressionnants géants

    waterfalls, animal sculptures, and three impressive giant statues,

  12. qui représentent César, Verre.

    representing Caesar and Vére,

  13. Vézinge, Vercingétorix et

    Vercingétorix, Vézinge, and Archimedes.

  14. Archimède. Fernand Cheval termine

    Ferdinand Cheval completed his Ideal Palace in 1912.

  15. son palais idéal en 1912.

    (Note: The name ‘Fernand’ here should be ‘Ferdinand’.)

  16. Après la construction de cet ensemble,

    After completing this ensemble,

  17. le facteur souhaite désormais travailler sur son futur projet et son futur tombeau,

    the postman wished to work on his next project: his future tomb,

  18. qui commence dès 1914.

    which he began building as early as 1914.

  19. Il mettra huit ans à sculpter sa dernière demeure.

    He spent eight years carving his final resting place.