THE QUEEN'S HAMLET (Versailles)

THE QUEEN'S HAMLET

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The Hameau de la Reine ( The Queen's Hamlet) is the rustic retreat that was built for Marie Antoinette.
It is situated in a secluded section of the Trianon gardes, within the park of Versailles.

The hameau, a small and rustic ersatz farm meant to evoke a peasant village in Normandy,
was built on the far side of a landscaped pond.Begun in 1783 and finished in 1787 to designs of
the Queen's favoured architect, Richard Mique, the hamlet was complete with farmhouse, dairy,
and mill. The simple and rustic ambiance at the hameau has been evoked in paintings by Fragonard;
however, inside the farmhouse, the rooms were far from simple, featuring the luxury and comfort
to which Marie Antoinette and her ladies were accustomed.
Yet, the rooms at the hameau allowed for more intimacy than the grand salons at Versailles,
or at the Petit Trianon itself.
Such model farms operating under principles espoused by the Physiocrats, were fashionable among
the French aristocracy at the time, and one primary purpose of the hameau was to add to
the ambiance of the Petit Trianon, giving the illusion that it was deep in the countryside
rather than within the confines of Versailles.

Le Hameau de la Reine -06	Petit Trianon de Versailles - 07
Hameau de la Reine - 20	Hameau de la Reine 15
Hameau de la Reine 14	Hameau de la Reine 13
Hameau de la Reine 12	Hameau de la Reine 11
Hameau de la Reine 10	Hameau de la Reine 09
Hameau de la Reine 08	Hameau de la Reine 07
Hameau de la Reine 06	Hameau de la Reine 05
Hameau de la Reine 04	Hameau de la Reine 03
Hameau de la Reine 02	Hameau de la Reine 01