Gardens and parks of Versailles

Surprisingly, a few centuries ago the stunning royal palace, of whose greatness the real legends are composed, was just a small village near Paris. The expanded manor, stretching for eight thousand hectares, became home to the rulers of France and a place where political intrigues boiled. Now no tourist who dreams of getting to know Paris better will not pass over one of the most popular tourist attractions.

History of construction

It is said that the history of the erection of the palace, in which everything breathed a luxury, began after the glory of the large and majestic castle of the country's finance minister reached Louis XIV. When the "sun-king" saw with his own eyes the splendor of the decoration, he realized that the residence of his subject was much more beautiful than his own. Of course, the ruler of France could not stand it and thought about the palace, which would have eclipsed all others with its wealth.

After a recent uprising, living in the Louvre was unsafe, so for construction, the king chose the city outside Versailles. The palace and the park, which became the national treasure of the French, did not appear immediately.

Large-scale work and huge costs

For the beginning, the whole territory occupied by the marshes was drained, then it was covered with earth and stones. After careful alignment of the soils to a small hunting lodge, forests were brought in for the future construction of the royal residence.

1661 is marked by the beginning of construction. It is known of thirty thousand performers, engaged in works, to which sailors and soldiers joined on the orders of Louis XIV. During the erection of the palace there was a very stiff saving on materials sold to the workers of the ruler of France at the lowest prices, but the total amount spent exceeded 25 million lira, which by modern standards is more than 250 billion euros.

Palace-city

The official opening of the Palace of Versailles took place in 21 years, but construction did not stop there. The architectural masterpiece was constantly expanded by new buildings until the French revolution began in 1789. A small hamlet turned into a real city, in which not only the royal family lived with the courtiers, but all the servants and guardians.

Versailles: gardens and parks

The residence included a huge garden and park ensemble, the bookmark of which was verified with mathematical precision and submitted to symmetry, therefore all landscape elements have strict geometric shapes. Ideally round fountain complexes, colorful flower beds and absolutely straight alleys followed the idea of clear planning.

The huge parks of Versailles were designed by the famous landscape architect Lenotr, who adhered to the classical style. No wonder they were considered the most perfect creation of that era. A lush green hedge created real labyrinths and corridors, in which the marble sculptures of the ancient gods were hidden. Such a harmonious combination of architecture and vegetation evoked a sense of admiration. It is believed that this was the basis for the fashion for the perfectly level parks of Versailles in the classical French style, as if drawn strictly along a ruler with an emphatic breakdown into mirror symmetry.

Single palace and park ensemble

A special atmosphere of solemnity is attached to small architectural elements located in the park - bridges, ramps and stairs. And the lush vegetation looks unusually through the transparent streams of working fountains. Artificially created kilometer channels flowed throughout the territory of the pompous park. Colorful lawns were decorated with geometric patterns, lined with flowers.

LENOTR united the palace and the garden and park complex into a single ensemble, which became an important feature of Versailles. The architect took into account the peculiarities of the baroque gardens of Holland and used a three-beam composition consisting of straight alleys that diverge in different directions. At their intersection there were picturesque landscapes, and it seemed as if they stretched for several kilometers. It is this architectural solution that is famous for the park of Versailles.

Versailles, which became a real monument of the era of the "sun-king", was a grand ensemble, where nature obeyed the architectural lines of the palace - the dominants of the park complex. And the entire composition of the royal residence was subject to a single idea of praising the most powerful of all the kings of the state.

Open plan

Perfectly viewed from all sides, the Versailles Park in France with an open layout reflected the idea of Lenotra, who dreamed of showing the absence of enclosed space. He used the effect of reverse perspective, which allows, when moving away from the heart of the park, to see the growth of some elements with the enlargement of their pattern. The talented Frenchman subtly thought through the sequence of visual perception of the overall composition of the ensemble.

The beautiful park of Versailles (France), whose condition was watched by about a thousand workers, was perfectly visible from any window of the royal residence. In the view of the landscape architect, the green zone should look like a real city with paved streets, triumphal arches, columns and galleries.

Own Flotilla

It is impossible not to admire the view opening onto the Grand Canal, the area of which exceeds 20 hectares. Created under the project of Lenotra, it symbolizes the naval superiority of France's flotilla. During the colorful holidays, so beloved by Louis, the multicolored lights of the fireworks illuminated the dark channel.

During the reign of the "sun king", a special flotilla was created, consisting of copies of warships, yachts and longboats, which invariably fascinated contemporaries. Knowing the special love of Louis, the Venetian doji gave him a gondola, which became a real decoration of the collection. Arriving at the talks, diplomats from afar saw masts on ships plying the water surface of the canal, which froze in the winter, turning into a skating rink.

The view from the open terraces of Versailles surprised everyone with the special visual effect that Lenotr loved to use: a deceptive impression was created that the channel was very near the standing ones, although this was not so.

Fountains of the park

The Royal Park in Versailles boasts magnificent fountains, which are still in force today, and their constant work was considered a real technical breakthrough of that era. They were combined into a single hydraulic system, which, with the progress of progress, was improved and made it possible to pump water from the most remote sources of the country.

Fountains were whole sculptural complexes, consisting of several platforms. And the cast figure of Apollo, emerging from the water and facing the Versailles, was considered to be central. Comparison of the radiant god, personified the Sun, with a powerful monarch emphasized the brilliance of the royal palace. In addition, Louis patronized art in the same way as Apollo took care of the Muses.

Superiority of the palace over the park

But Lenotr did not forget that the Palace of Versailles should dominate, showing its clear superiority over the park complex, which the French consider the most charming on the entire globe.

Ideally inscribed in the architecture of the residence of the king is the unique park of Versailles. Versailles with strict proportions and lines does not seem monotonous, but on the contrary, produces an incredible impression of the riot of colors and special magnificence. From certain points, guests of the complex observe a linear perspective of space organized with mathematical precision.

UNESCO Heritage

UNESCO's World Heritage since 1979 takes all visitors to the era of the conceited king, like a time machine. The magnificent gardens and parks of Versailles served as a huge theatrical stage for the inhabitants of the palace. Grandiose festivals, mass festivities, mysterious masquerades were arranged here, which is not surprising, because Ludovic adored the theater and patronized him.

The troupes who put pieces by Moliere and Racine came to the palace, and the heirs of the king assembled the actors for their own theater, in which noble people took part.

Changes in the shape of the park

After Louis XVI came to power , much has changed in the guise of a green park. The bushes and trees were ruthlessly uprooted to turn the French park into a kind of English under the influence of new trends in politics. However, soon after a new aesthetics that did not take root, they refused, and gardens were again planted in the classical style.

It is known about five significant transplants of garden plants. After the devastating hurricanes, thousands of trees were affected, and this was a very perceptible damage to the parks of Versailles.

Failed recovery

Since 1837 is the museum of the history of France, the former residence of the kings of Versailles. The park, whose photo conveys a fantastic beauty green riot and clear lines, under the project of a large-scale restoration of the country's government had to undergo restoration.

However, modern realities have made significant adjustments to this plan, and so far all the work has been postponed. Contemporaries confined themselves only to the maintenance of the life of Versailles.