Monday, March 16, 2015

Versailles Palace and Gardens


King Louis XIV was the longest European monarch on reign today. He is very well known by Europeans and by the world because of the palace of Versailles. Before the palace of Versailles, there was a palace built called the Vaux-le-Vicomte. This palace had the first baroque gardens. King Louis XIV wanted something grandeur and better than Vaux-le-Vicomte. He found a hunting lodge in Versailles built by Louis XIII and decided to expand it so he had the palace of Versailles built. Where the garden terrace used to be for the hunting lodge, made way for the hall of mirrors where the king “radiated his power and the destiny of Europe was decided over a century.”
Vaux-le-Vicomte
Although Versailles influence was pan-European, it was all about France. The baroque style garden affected the all of Europe and many gardens today are based off of the Versailles gardens. King Louis XIV made Versailles known to the world for civilization and pleasure. There are many features in the gardens that serve a purpose. The orangerie, or citrus trees, were planted for smell, color, and of course fruit. The bosquets made it feel like visitors were surrounded by woodlands, and the Bassin d’ Apollon fountain referenced the Sun King, Apollo because King Louis XIV often referred to himself as this. 
Bassin d’ Apollon
These features were all built to show how well France was doing at the time and to show that King Louis XIV is important. Versailles was mainly built as a statement of kingly power and to show French wealth. It was also built for security. King Louis XIV wanted his own place that was safe outside of Paris and Versailles was the perfect location. Versailles is also a garden of control, or a golden cage for King Louis to lock in the noblemen. All of the noblemen lived in Versailles so King Louis XIV had control of them and could keep them all in one place because he had trust issues with them. There were many concerts, theaters, pleasure grounds, and entertainment to keep the noblemen happy, busy, and again, under control. Finally, Versailles was a garden of government. It was the seat of power from 1682 and all of the ruling was done there with King Louis XIV.
(The enormous) Versailles
One tiny part of the Versailles garden. You can see the Baroque style
Because of the enormous size of the baroque style gardens of Versailles, its beauty, and all it has to offer, many European countries have based their gardens off of this one. One garden I visited during my travels was the Schonbrunn Palace and gardens in Vienna, Austria. As I have been to Versailles in the past, I was able to draw comparisons to the Schonbrunn and Versailles. They are both massive, intricate, and have many statues, and water features. It was very interesting to make these comparisons after seeing the first Baroque style garden (Versailles) and then seeing one that was based off of that (Schonbrunn).
Schonbrunn Palace and Gardens

For more information on Versailles, I found this page with TONS of useful and interesting information!
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