The Palace of Versailles

The Palace of Versailles was built under the rule of Louis XIV, built through his desire to establish a new center for the Royal Court, while also building something that was as magnificent, extravagant and powerful as his current reign over France. Louis was a man who believed in the Divine Right of Kings. He believed that each king was chosen and crowned by God, and in return accountable to him alone. It was under Louis’s rule that France became the most powerful. 

(King Louis XIV)

In 1661, Louis witnessed another garden that he believed to be more grand than his own. In response, Louis came to the obvious conclusion that he needed to have the most grand and magnificent garden in Europe...as a result: the construction of the Palace and Gardens of Versailles began.

It was in his palace that Louis saw a positive future for his ruling. By moving all of the nobility to a beautiful chateau about 15km outside of Paris, Louis hoped to keep close control over the government of his time, without any schism coming from the nobility. He hoped that if he built a large compound for them to live and be contained in, he would avoid any rebellion that could potentially overturn his current ruling. Government offices, homes, and events were all among the palace. By keeping everyone close inside this glorious compound of 700 rooms and 2,153 windows, Louis’s Palace of Versailles can be called somewhat of a “Golden Cage”.

(The Palace of Versaille)

The gardens were built to a massive scale, almost 250 acres large. As was the chateau itself, the gardens were built to mimic and celebrate the fact that France was the most powerful country in Europe. The garden held many works of art and architecture, such as the Bassin d’Appollon. This beautiful fountain was built in a celebration to Apollo, whom brought magic to Le Notre’s vision when constructing the gardens.

(Bassin d'Apollon with palace in the background)

Besides being a "Golden Cage", and a celebration of France’s power, the palace and the gardens were also meant to symbolize Louis XIV’s tremendous wealth. Not only was he able to conduct the construction of an absolutely elaborate and beautiful compound, but he was also able to maintain it throughout his rule, something that was very costly and could have been pulled of by many at this time. In his garden he had an Orangerie, with the capacity for more than 3,000 trees, and he was able to have them replanted with the coming of each new growing season. Another aspect of his gardens were the intricate Baroque style patterns that covered the gardens. He was able to keep his Baroque garden perfectly uniformed, with beautifully cut bushes that looked like embroidery on the ground. 

All in all, with 6 different components, or sections, of the garden, and a fountain running through the center almost 2 km long, the Gardens of Versailles, and the Palace itself, were an extremely impressive and extravagant feat for this time.