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Moberly–Jourdain incident

1901 in FranceCulture of the French RevolutionFrench ghostsPalace of Versailles
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The Moberly–Jourdain incident (also the Ghosts of Petit Trianon or Versailles, French: les fantômes du Trianon / les fantômes de Versailles) is a claim of time travel and hauntings made by Charlotte Anne Moberly (1846–1937) and Eleanor Jourdain (1863–1924). In 1911, Moberly and Jourdain published a book entitled An Adventure under the names of "Elizabeth Morison" and "Frances Lamont". Their book describes a visit they made to the Petit Trianon, a small château in the grounds of the Palace of Versailles, where they claimed to have seen the gardens as they had been in the late eighteenth century, as well as ghosts, including Marie Antoinette and others. Their story caused a sensation and was subject to much ridicule.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Moberly–Jourdain incident (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Moberly–Jourdain incident
Cour du Petit Trianon, Versailles

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N 48.8158 ° E 2.1097 °
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Le Petit Trianon (Château du Petit Trianon)

Cour du Petit Trianon
78000 Versailles, Notre-Dame
Ile-de-France, France
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Théâtre de la Reine
Théâtre de la Reine

The Théâtre de la Reine (Queen's Theater) ou Théâtre du Trianon (Trianon Theater) is a theater built for Queen Marie-Antoinette by the architect Richard Mique from June 1778 to July 1779. It is located in the grounds of the Petit Trianon, in the park of the Palace of Versailles, hidden between the tree tunnel of the French Garden and the tall trees of the Alpine Garden. The exterior of the building, which looks like an outbuilding, contrasts with the sophisticated decoration of its interior, which is adorned with blue silk and velvet and gilded sculptures, yet is all pretense. It was inaugurated in 1780, ten years after the opening of the "Grand Théâtre", as the Royal Opera of Versailles was then called. This small comedy hall was a secret place for the Queen, far from the court of Versailles and its torments. She herself came to play comedy, with a troupe reduced to her intimate entourage, in memory of her taste, since childhood, for theater and declamation. The authors in fashion were performed, some of them, such as Beaumarchais, were even forbidden at court. The stage, twice as large as the hall, as well as the machinery, complex and of the most modern, are the work of the machinist Boullet, of the Paris Opera. The theater was spared during the French Revolution, as it was considered worthless. Several queens and empresses, Marie-Louise, Marie-Amélie and Eugénie, appropriated the place in the course of the 19th century, which became a sort of women's privilege. It has been assigned to the museum, but is rarely visited and, after several restoration campaigns, has remained intact to this day, including its machinery, an almost unique example of the eighteenth century.

Hameau de la Reine
Hameau de la Reine

The Hameau de la Reine (French pronunciation: [amo də la ʁɛn], The Queen's Hamlet) is a rustic retreat in the park of the Château de Versailles built for Marie Antoinette in 1783 near the Petit Trianon in Yvelines, France. It served as a private meeting place for the queen and her closest friends and as a place of leisure. Designed by Richard Mique, the queen's favoured architect, with the help of the painter Hubert Robert, it contained a meadowland with a lake and various buildings in a rustic or vernacular style, inspired by Norman or Flemish design, situated around an irregular pond fed by a stream that turned a mill wheel. The building scheme included a farmhouse, (the farm was to produce milk and eggs for the queen), a dairy, a dovecote, a boudoir, a barn that burned down during the French Revolution, a mill and a tower in the form of a lighthouse. Each building is decorated with a garden, an orchard or a flower garden. The largest and most famous of these houses is the "Queen's House", connected to the Billiard house by a wooden gallery, at the center of the village. A working farm was close to the idyllic, fantasy-like setting of the Queen's Hamlet. The hameau is the best-known of a series of rustic garden constructions built at the time, notably the Prince of Condé's Hameau de Chantilly (1774–1775) which was the inspiration for the Versailles hamlet. Such model farms, operating under principles espoused by the Physiocrats, were fashionable among the French aristocracy at the time. One primary purpose of the hameau was to add to the ambiance of the Petit Trianon, giving the illusion that it was deep in the countryside rather than within the confines of Versailles. The rooms at the hameau allowed for more intimacy than the grand salons at Versailles or at the Petit Trianon. Abandoned after the French Revolution, it was renovated a first time under Napoleon I, then in the 1930s and again in late 1990. Buildings are still being periodically renovated until this day. It is open to the public.

Gardens of Versailles
Gardens of Versailles

The Gardens of Versailles (French: Jardins du château de Versailles [ʒaʁdɛ̃ dy ʃɑto d(ə) vɛʁsɑj]) occupy part of what was once the Domaine royal de Versailles, the royal demesne of the château of Versailles. Situated to the west of the palace, the gardens cover some 800 hectares of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French formal garden style perfected here by André Le Nôtre. Beyond the surrounding belt of woodland, the gardens are bordered by the urban areas of Versailles to the east and Le Chesnay to the north-east, by the National Arboretum de Chèvreloup to the north, the Versailles plain (a protected wildlife preserve) to the west, and by the Satory Forest to the south. Administered by the Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles, an autonomous public entity operating under the aegis of the French Ministry of Culture, the gardens are now one of the most visited public sites in France, receiving more than six million visitors a year.In addition to the meticulous manicured lawns, parterres, and sculptures are the fountains, which are located throughout the garden. Dating from the time of Louis XIV and still using much of the same network of hydraulics as was used during the Ancien Régime, the fountains contribute to making the gardens of Versailles unique. On weekends from late spring to early autumn, the administration of the museum sponsors the Grandes Eaux – spectacles during which all the fountains in the gardens are in full play. Designed by André Le Nôtre, the Grand Canal is the masterpiece of the Gardens of Versailles. In the Gardens too, the Grand Trianon was built to provide the Sun King with the retreat he wanted. The Petit Trianon is associated with Marie Antoinette, who spent her time there with her closest relatives and friends.In 1979, the gardens along with the château were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their cultural importance during the 17th and 18th centuries.