Hameau de la Reine, Marie Antoinette’s Little Village at Versailles (1783)
Marie Antoinette, wanting respite from palace life at Versailles, desired a little haven of her own. She commissioned Richard Mique to develop a small little faux town where she could retreat alone or with friends. The resulting village represents many eras and styles of rural French architecture arranged around the little lake. The little hamlet of buildings was more than just her playground, despite Marie Antoinette’s reputation. While the grounds were a place for her to relax, entertain guests, and escape the atmosphere of the palace, it was also a fully functioning farm, with a working dairy, a fisherman’s cottage, food-bearing gardens, and a barn. After the French Revolution, the Little Village fell to ruin. Napolean’s efforts to restore it resulted in some of the dilapidated buildings being removed, but restorations in the 1930s and 2006 have restored a significant amount of the village buildings.
