Related Video: CNN Video: Aga Khan’s ‘live horse museum’
“The horse has always been a strong, independent animal — a friend of man, not a slave of man. And I think that’s part of the reason why it still captures our imaginations today.” — Aga Khan
Fri June 14, 2013 From Francesca Cumani and Sheena McKenzie, CNN — If you thought you were going to be reincarnated as a horse — you’d probably want to be born here.
That was the madcap idea which prompted an 18th-century French prince, Louis-Henri de Bourbon, to build the most spectacular horse stables in the world.
Legend has it that the wealthy royal commissioned the luxurious Grand Stables in northern France because he believed he would be born again as a horse — and not just any old royal box would do.
At more than 180 meters long — roughly the same size as two soccer fields — the stables at Chantilly are not only a spectacular feat of architecture, they’re also home to a famous collection of equine artworks and the rarest ponies on the planet.
This weekend the Grand Stables — and its adjoining Museum of the Horse — will again be unveiled to the world as part of a $3.3 million makeover led by the fourth Aga Khan, both a business magnate and the spiritual leader of 20 million Nizari Ismaili Muslims.
More: Billionaire spiritual leader Aga Khan funds royal horse stables museum – CNN.com.
Related: Philip Jodidio: The Museum of the Horse. Prestel Publishing (Hardcover)
The Pristine Chantilly, France, Château and Grounds of the Aga Khan
How the Fourth Aga Khan Balances Spiritual Muslim Leadership | Vanity Fair
The Aga Khan’s Earthly Kingdom: Vanity Fair Feature
Building on a duke’s legacy: Mawlana Hazar Imam gives back in his own neighbourhood of Chantilly
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