A unique monument, the Ideal Palace was built at the end of the 19th century by one man alone: Postman Cheval. A self-taught artist and architect, he devoted thirty-three years of his life to construct this monumental masterpiece, a real museum of the world and a temple of nature. Independent of any artistic movement, built without any architectural rules, the Ideal Palace was admired by the Surrealists, among others. It was soon recognized as a major work of art and was classified in 1969 in the French Historical Monument list as its unique example of Naïve Architecture.