The Mill, one of the structures in Hameau de la Reine, was purely a decorative element.
No mechanism or wheel were installed in the factory.
But the interiors were extremely elegant, and used for concerts, games, and dinners.
There was a farmhouse, a dairy, a dovecote, a barn, and a mill.
Each building was decorated with a garden, an orchard or a flower garden.
Marie Antoinette would sometimes milk the cows and the sheep herself to get a taste of village life.
This led many to gossip about Marie using the retreat for secret rendezvous with counts and nobles.
The extravagance and subtle mockery of peasant life did not help Marie Antoinette’s already suffering image.
She was guillotined on 16 October 1793.
Much of Hameau de la Reine still exist today.
One of the two diaries were destroyed during the First Empire.
The rest of the estate was renovated in the late 1990s and opened to the public.
Hameau de la Reine.
Image credit:Pierre Metivier/Flickr
Image credit:Guido Andolfato/Flickr
Farm Scene in Hameau de la Reine.
Image credit:H-AB Photography / Shutterstock.com
Image credit:Chris Goldberg/Flickr
