The Queens Hamlet (Le hameau de la reine)

The Queen’s Hamlet

The Queen's Hamlet (Hameau de la Reine) is a rustic retreat in the park of the Château de

Versailles built for Marie Antoinette between1783 and 1787 near the Petit Trianon in the

Yvelines, France. Designed by the Queen's favoured architect, Richard Mique, and with the

help of the painter Robert Hubert, it contained a meadowland with lakes and streams, a

classical Temple of Love on an island with fragrant shrubs and flowers, and an octagonal

Belvedere, with a neighbouring grotto and cascade.

The twelve cottages constructed in the hamlet can be divided into two groups: five were

reserved for use by the Queen; the other seven had a functional purpose and were used

effectively for agriculture. Marie Antoinette had her own house, connected to the pool.

Nearby was her boudoir. The mill and the dairy received frequent visits from the Queen.

The Queen’s House and Billiard Room

The Queen's House is located in the centre of the hamlet. It is joined by a wooden

gallery to the Billiard Room and upstairs apartment. The Queen's House has a

dining room and a games room on the first floor and a large and a small living

room, and a Chinese room on the second floor.

The Queen’s House and Marlborough Tower

The Boudoir, (4.6 x 5.2 metres) to which Marie Antoinette retired alone, was originally nicknamed "the Queen's

little house". It is a living room and wardrobe for the Queen's use.

The Warming Room (the Kitchen and Bakery) is recessed at the rear of the Queen's house. It was used to

prepare the dishes for dinners given by the Queen in the house or mill.

The Mill, built and fitted from 1783 to 1788, was never used for grinding grain, contrary to what is often

argued. The wheel is driven by a stream derived from the Grand Lake and is only a decorative element. No

mechanism or wheel were installed in the factory. The interior decoration was simple and neat.

The Marlborough Tower (The Fishery Tower) is a lighthouse used for sending signals to the Palace of

Versailles. Boating parties set off from this tower and fishing equipment was stored here.

The Dairy. Initially, there were two dairies: the "Preparation Dairy" which produced creams and cheeses, is

located near the tower. It was where the milk was skimmed and the butter beaten. In the second dairy, the Queen

tasted the dairy products from tables of veined white marble supported by fourteen carved consoles and

arranged around the room.

The Queen’s House

The Boudoir

The Warming Room

The Mill

The Grand Lake

The Diary and Marlborough Tower

The Belvédère

The Grotto

The Temple of Love was built in 1778 and situated in the

far end of the Versailles garden between the Petit Trianon

and Le Hameau. It was built with white marble and

consists of columns, friezes and a circular dome.

THE FARM

The Farm was set apart from the hamlet because it was a functioning structure, rather

than a play house.

The Housekeeper's Cottage is located at the water's edge.

The Barn was used as a ballroom. It was badly damaged during the French Revolution

and destroyed during the First Empire.

The Dovecote. The dovecote and pigeon coops were near the lake. Roosters and hens of

different species were brought from the west of France and settled in the aviary in 1785.

Marie Antoinette, born

an archduchess of Austria,

was Dauphine of France

from 1770 to 1774 and

Queen of France and Navarre

from 1774 to 1792.

She was the fifteenth and

penultimate child of

Holy Roman Emperor Francis I

and Empress Maria Theresa.

Images and text: Internet

Music: Mozart-Piano Concerto #20

in D Minor K466 (Romance)

Adriana