The ordinary French postman from the small town of Otriv had an unusual dream - about his own castle. And in the spring of 1879 the first stone for the realization of a dream was laid - in the full sense of the word. Ferdinand Cheval began to collect stones of unusual shape and color. He devoted 20 years to this occupation, right up to retirement. Neighbors considered Cheval a strange eccentric. Meanwhile, he began to build the stones of his "Ideal Castle." It took 33 years to build the palace of dreams at Cheval. To “glue” the castle, the author used a mixture of cement and lime.
Talking about the belonging of the palace to any style is difficult. This is a real architectural flight of fantasy - in the castle you can see scenes from Biblical and Hindu mythology. On the walls of the palace are the sayings of Buddha and Christ. Inside there is a mosque and the temple of the Virgin Mary. The castle also has many moves and exits. Outside, Cheval's ideal palace is decorated with stairs, fountains and sculptures.
Almost 50 years after the death of Ferdinand Cheval, his original creation was recognized by many famous personalities, including Pablo Picasso. And in 1969, the French Ministry of Culture announced that the Ideal Palace was given the official status of a historical monument.
The Garlic Museum in Pyrenees will tell visitors about the amazing plant, which has many useful properties. It is located in France, in the Toulouse region and has been open to visitors since June 2000. The museum invites visitors to visit the museum to learn about the culture of garlic, its history, varieties and devices related to the processing of garlic. The Garlic Museum holds annual festivities in honor of garlic; here you can find many recipes where garlic plays an important role in cooking, such as a garlic sausage recipe. Exhibitions of sculptures made from heads of garlic, garlic peel leaves are also on display. Since garlic is strength, health and energy, from visiting the house of Garlic you will have only positive emotions and a great mood. Any vacationer who has visited the Garlic Museum can have a picnic in nature, as well as buy braids of garlic of any length, bags and bundles of garlic.
Legend has it that on February 11, 1858, in one of the caves surrounding the city, a fourteen-year-old resident of Lourdes named Bernadette Subir appeared Holy Virgin Mary. At the place where the miraculous phenomenon took place, in the bend of the river, a sanctuary was built by the method of public construction, the Notre-Dame de Lourdes temple, to which the Saint-Michel bridge leads, which is like the entrance to the temple in the open. The functions of the nave are performed by the esplanade Protsesion, followed by the underground basilica of Sooteren Saint-Pi X, which can accommodate 20 thousand people at a time.
The basilica is somewhat reminiscent of an underground stadium, decorated with multilayer compositions of glass, illuminated from the inside. Church ceremonies are held in it during the rain. Then follows the statue of the Virgin Mary, installed, as it were, in the altar. Then the pilgrims enter the holy of holies - the temple complex, built at the end of the XIX century. Immediately after the esplanade stands the neo-Byzantine-style Roser Basilica, erected in 1889. It is followed by a crypt discovered in 1886, and above it is the basilica of the super. Only having passed all these parts of the complex, you can get into the grottoes: Miracle of Miracles, Grotto of Masabiel and Grotto of Phenomena.
Near the grottoes, 17 fonts are arranged (6 for women and 11 for men). It is believed that immersion in them helps to get rid of diseases, so about half a million pilgrims plunge into them every year in search of healing. The last case of miraculous healing was recorded in 1987, but was officially recognized by the Catholic Church only in 1999.
In the small French town of Osh for a long time was the residence of the archbishop of all of Gascony. Now this monumental historical building is occupied by the prefecture of the Jer department. In 1098, Baron de Monto donated his land on the high bank of the river for the needs of the church. Here is the residence of the bishop. In the future, the building was rebuilt many times, neighboring streets were bought for its expansion, and it acquired its final form in the middle of the XVIII century.
A monumental gate leads to the palace. Through them you can see the facade of the building with six corrugated Corinthian pilasters. Inside the building are antique furniture made of rosewood and amaranth, 18th-century tapestries, unique sculptures and artworks. A true work of art is the gilded living room-salon, where musical instruments of the 18th century are stored. It should be noted that the genuine furniture of the bishop's residence was auctioned during the French Revolution, and what remains is now stored in the museum of Osh. The courtyard has a classic French garden. Its design has not changed since its inception, the original appearance is maintained thanks to old plans and records. On one side, the garden is fenced with a stone balustrade, forming a kind of balcony, which offers a wonderful view of the lower part of the city and the terraced gardens that cover the hillsides.