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78-405: (Redirected from Conservatories ) Conservatory may refer to: Conservatory (greenhouse) , a substantial building or room where plants are cultivated, including medicinal ones and including attached residential solariums Music school , or a school devoted to other arts such as dance Sunroom , a smaller glass enclosure or garden shed attached to

156-529: A salle de verdure , this bosquet contained a path encircling a central pentagonal area. In 1671, the bosquet was enlarged with a more elaborate system of paths that served to enhance the new central water feature, a fountain that resembled a mountain, hence the bosquets new name: Bosquet de la Montagne d'Eau . The bosquet was completely remodeled in 1704 at which time it was rechristened Bosquet de l'Étoile (Marie 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). Created in 1670, this bosquet originally contained

234-455: A central rectangular pool surrounded by a turf border. Edging the pool were metal reeds that concealed numerous jets for water; a swan that had water jetting from its beak occupied each corner. The center of the pool featured an iron tree with painted tin leaves that sprouted water from its branches. Because of this tree, the bosquet was also known as the Bosquet du Chêne Vert . In 1705, this bosquet

312-605: A change in outlook as advocated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Philosophes , the winter of 1774–1775 witnessed a complete replanting of the gardens. Trees and shrubbery dating from the reign of Louis XIV were felled or uprooted with the intent of transforming the French formal garden of Le Nôtre and Hardouin-Mansart into a version of an English landscape garden . The attempt to convert Le Nôtre's masterpiece into an English-style garden failed to achieve its desired goal. Owing largely to

390-690: A distance of three-quarters of a mile. Citing repair and maintenance costs, Louis XVI ordered the Labyrinthe demolished in 1778. In its place, an arboretum of exotic trees was planted as an English-styled garden. Rechristened Bosquet de la Reine , it would be in this part of the garden that an episode of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace , which compromised Marie Antoinette , transpired in 1785 (Marie 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984; Perrault 1669; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). Originally designed by André Le Nôtre in 1661 as

468-601: A dolphin. During the replantation of 1774–1775, both the bosquets were destroyed. The areas were replanted with lime trees and were rechristened the Quinconce du Nord and the Quinconce du Midi (Marie 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). In 1665, André Le Nôtre planned a hedge maze of unadorned paths in an area south of the Latona Fountain near the Orangerie . (Loach, 1985) In 1669, Charles Perrault – author of

546-702: A halt with the onset of World War II. While the advent of insulated glass in the 1950s and 1960s saw the development of simple sunroom structures, it was not until the 1970s that creative architects and builders began to recreate the Victorian styling of 19th-century English conservatories in smaller domestic versions using insulated glass. In contemporary construction, a conservatory differs from an orangery in having more than 75% of its roof surface made from glass. Frame and roof materials include aluminium, PVCu and timber. A conservatory by definition must have more than 50% of its wall surface glazed. Contemporary conservatories use

624-480: A house, also called a conservatory Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Conservatory . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Conservatory&oldid=935576580 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

702-460: A number of technologies to ensure glass is as energy efficient as possible, ensuring it lets in the maximum light possible while maintaining a steady temperature throughout summer and winter. Technologies include argon-impregnated glass, easy clean coatings, heat reflective film, thermal ribbons or thermal breaks – hollow sections of glass that intercept heat. The latest glass technologies involve self-tinting glass that darkens as heat builds up during

780-403: A quatrefoil island surrounded by a channel that contained fifty water jets. Each lobe of the island contained a simple fountain; access to the island was obtained by two swing bridges. Beyond the channel and placed at the cardinal points within the bosquet were four additional fountains. Under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart , the bosquet was completely remodeled in 1706. The central island

858-478: A suite of rooms was arranged for the use of the empress Marie-Louise , but the gardens were left unchanged, save for the disastrous felling of trees in the Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Bosquet des Trois Fontaines . Massive soil erosion necessitated planting new trees. (Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) With the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, the gardens of Versailles witnessed the first modifications since

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936-453: A summer's day and then lightens as the surface temperature of the glass cools later in the day. 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 ,

1014-496: A wider variety of plants. The term greenhouse came to describe the rooms and conservatories for tender plants. In the 18th century, sloped glass began to be used in conservatory design to allow more light into the structure, enhancing conditions for plant growth. This innovation may have been influenced by the work of Dutch scientist Jan Ingenhousz, who studied the role of light in photosynthesis. However, while his research likely contributed to advancements in horticultural practices, it

1092-554: Is an example of a large greenhouse used for growing tender and rare plants, or, less often, for birds and rare animals – sometimes with the plants and animals living together. Other examples include the Great Palm House at Kew Gardens that was built in 1844, built by Decimus Burton and the Crystal Palace , built for London's Great Exhibition of 1851 by Sir Joseph Paxton. The widespread construction of UK conservatories came to

1170-400: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Conservatory (greenhouse) Many cities, especially those in cold climates and with large European populations, have built municipal conservatories to display tropical plants and hold flower displays. This type of conservatory was popular in the early nineteenth century, and by the end of

1248-531: Is not definitively known if he directly influenced the adoption of sloping glass for conservatories The 19th century was the golden age of conservatory building, primarily in England. English conservatories were the product of English love of gardening and new technology in glass and heating technology. Many of the magnificent public conservatories, built of iron and glass, are the result of this era. Kew Gardens in London

1326-460: Is today at Versailles. (Hedin 1992; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) During this phase of construction, three of the garden's major bosquets were modified or created. Beginning with the Galerie des Antiques , this bosquet was constructed in 1680 on the site of the earlier and short-lived Galerie d'Eau (1678). This bosquet was conceived as an open-air gallery in which antique statues and copies acquired by

1404-642: The Académie de France in Rome were displayed. The following year, construction began on the Salle de Bal . Located in a secluded section of the garden west of the Orangerie , this bosquet was designed as an amphitheater that featured a cascade – the only one surviving in the gardens of Versailles. The Salle de Bal was inaugurated in 1685 with a ball hosted by the Grand Dauphin . Between 1684 and 1685, Jules Hardouin-Mansart built

1482-565: The Mother Goose Tales – advised Louis XIV to remodel the Labyrinthe in such a way as to serve the Dauphin's education (Perrault, 1669). Between 1672 and 1677, Le Nôtre redesigned the Labyrinthe to feature thirty-nine fountains that depicted stories from Aesop's Fables . The sculptors Jean-Baptiste Tuby , Étienne Le Hongre , Pierre Le Gros , and the brothers Gaspard and Balthazard Marsy worked on these thirty-nine fountains each of which

1560-423: The Bosquet du Théâtre d'Eau , Île du Roi and Miroir d'Eau , the Salle des Festins ( Salle du Conseil ), the Bosquet des Trois Fontaines in 1671; the Labyrinthe and the Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1672; the Bosquet de la Renommée ( Bosquet des Dômes ) and the Bosquet de l'Encélade in 1675; and the Bosquet des Sources in 1678 (Marie 1972, 1976; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). In addition to

1638-547: The Colonnade . Located on the site of Le Nôtre's Bosquet des Sources , this bosquet featured a circular peristyle formed from thirty-two arches with twenty-eight fountains and was Hardouin-Mansart's most architectural of the bosquets built in the gardens of Versailles (Marie 1972, 1976; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) Due to financial constraints arising from the War of the League of Augsburg and

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1716-577: The Grand Parc were parceled and dispersed. Sensing the potential threat to Versailles, Louis Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821) – director of the jardins botaniques and grandson of Claude Richard – lobbied the government to save Versailles. He succeeded in preventing further dispersing of the Grand Parc and threats to destroy the Petit Parc were abolished by suggesting that the parterres could be used to plant vegetable gardens and that orchards could occupy

1794-594: The Mediterranean . Preservation of citrus and other tender plants started out as crudely as building a pergola over potted plants or beds, or simply moving potted plants indoors for the cold season. Known in Italy as limonaia, these early structures employed wood panels or open galleries to protect from the cold. Further north in Europe, the preservation of orange trees became the trend with special-purpose buildings built to protect

1872-535: The Petit Trianon as a residence that would allow him to spend more time near the jardins botaniques . It was at the Petit Trianon that Louis XV fell fatally ill with smallpox; on 10 May 1774, the king died at Versailles. (Marie, 1984; Thompson, 2006) Upon Louis XVI 's ascension to the throne, the gardens of Versailles underwent a transformation that recalled the fourth building campaign of Louis XIV. Engendered by

1950-472: The War of the Spanish Succession , no significant work on the gardens was undertaken until 1704. Between 1704 and 1709, bosquets were modified, some quite radically, with new names suggesting the new austerity that characterized the latter years of Louis XIV's reign. (Marie 1976; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) With the departure of the king and court from Versailles in 1715 following the death of Louis XIV,

2028-596: The Louis XIII's château provided a means by which, though the decoration of the garden façade, imagery in the decors of the grands appartements of the king and queen formed a symbiosis with the imagery of the gardens. (Lighthart, 1997; Mâle, 1927) With this new phase of construction, the gardens assumed the topographical and iconological design vocabulary that would remain in force until the 18th century. As André Félibien noted in his description of Versailles, solar and apollonian themes predominated with projects constructed at

2106-566: The Lycians into frogs. This episode from mythology has been seen by historians in reference as an allegory to the revolts of the Fronde , which occurred during the minority of Louis XIV. The link between Ovid's story and this episode from French history is emphasized by the reference to "mud slinging" in a political context. The revolts of the Fronde – the word fronde also means slingshot – have been regarded as

2184-680: The Revolution. In 1817, Louis XVIII ordered the conversion of the Île du Roi and the Miroir d'Eau into an English-style garden – the Jardin du Roi . (Thompson 2006) While much of the château's interior was irreparably altered to accommodate the Museum of the History of France dedicated to "all the glories of France" (inaugurated by Louis Philippe I on 10 June 1837), the gardens, by contrast, remained untouched. With

2262-602: The base of the Satory hill south of the château. Later modifications in the garden would transform this fountain into the Bassin de Neptune . (Marie 1972, 1975; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) Excavated in 1678, the Pièce d'eau des Suisses – named for the Swiss Guards who constructed the lake – occupied an area of marshes and ponds, some of which had been used to supply water for the fountains in

2340-456: The botanic gardens and working farm of Louis XV were obliterated to create an English garden, called the "Anglo-Chinese" garden at the time, which stretched to the north and east of the Petit Trianon. Some of the exotic specimens from the botanic garden were preserved in the gardens, but most were brought to the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. A lake and several meandering rivers were formed as part of

2418-517: The caravels and yachts that were received from The Netherlands and the gondolas and gondoliers received as gifts from the Doge of Venice , hence the name. (Marie 1968; Nolhac 1901, 1925; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) Above and beyond the decorative and festive aspects of this garden feature, the Grand Canal also served a practical role. Situated at a low point in the gardens, it collected water it drained from

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2496-470: The causeway was remodelled and most of the water jets were removed. A century later, in 1817, Louis XVIII ordered the Île du Roi and the Miroir d'Eau to be completely remodeled as an English-style garden. At this time, the bosquet was rechristened Jardin du Roi (Marie 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). In 1671, André Le Nôtre conceived a bosquet – originally christened Salle des Festins and later called Salle du Conseil – that featured

2574-536: The century people were also giving them a social use (e.g., tea parties). Conservatory architecture varies from typical Victorian glasshouses to modern styles, such as geodesic domes. Many were large and impressive structures and are included in the list below. In the UK , the legal definition of a conservatory is a building that has at least 50% of its side wall area glazed and at least 75% of its roof glazed with translucent materials, either polycarbonate sheeting or glass. Today,

2652-493: The château were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List for their cultural importance during the 17th and 18th centuries. With Louis XIII's final purchase of lands from Jean-François de Gondi in 1632 and his assumption of the seigneurial role of Versailles in the 1630s, formal gardens were laid out west of the château. Records indicate that late in the decade Claude Mollet and Hilaire Masson designed

2730-432: The classic past. (Berger I, 1985; Friedman, 1988,1993; Hedin, 1981–1982; Marie, 1968; Nolhac, 1901; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1961, 1985; Weber, 1981) One of the distinguishing features of the gardens during the second building campaign was the proliferation of bosquets. Expanding the layout established during the first building campaign, Le Nôtre added or expanded on no fewer that ten bosquets: The Bosquet du Marais in 1670;

2808-556: The construction of the Aile des Nobles (1685–1686), the Parterre du Nord was remodeled to respond to the new architecture of this part of the château. To compensate for the loss of the reservoir on top of the Grotte de Thétys and to meet the increased demand for water, Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed new and larger reservoirs situated due north of the Aile des Nobles (Thompson 2006). Construction for

2886-478: The east–west axis just west and below the Parterre d'Eau , is the Bassin de Latone . Designed by André Le Nôtre, sculpted by Gaspard and Balthazar Marsy , and constructed between 1668 and 1670, the fountain depicted an episode from Ovid's Metamorphoses . Latona and her children, Apollo and Diana , being tormented with mud slung by Lycian peasants , who refused to let her and her children drink from their pond, appealed to Jupiter who responded by turning

2964-469: The east–west axis to the walls of the Grand Parc . During the Ancien Régime , the Grand Canal served as a venue for boating parties. In 1674, as a result of a series of diplomatic arrangements that benefited Louis XIV, the king ordered the construction of Petite Venise (Little Venice). Located at the junction of the Grand Canal and the junction of the northern transversal branch, Little Venice housed

3042-415: The east–west axis, these two bosquets were arranged as a series of paths around four salles de verdure and which converged on a central "room" that contained a fountain. In 1682, the southern bosquet was remodeled as the Bosquet de la Girondole , thus named due to spoke-like arrangement of the central fountain. The northern bosquet was rebuilt in 1696 as the Bosquet du Dauphin with a fountain that featured

3120-486: The exception of the state visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1855, at which time the gardens were a setting for a gala fête that recalled the fêtes of Louis XIV, Napoleon III ignored the château, preferring instead the château of Compiègne (Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). With the arrival of Pierre de Nolhac as director of the museum in 1892, a new era of historical research began at Versailles. Nolhac, an ardent archivist and scholar, began to piece together

3198-485: The expansion of existing bosquets and the construction of new ones, there were two additional projects that defined this era, the Bassin des Sapins and the Pièce d'eau des Suisses . In 1676, the Bassin des Sapins , which was located north of the château below the Parterre du Nord and the Allée des Marmousets was designed to form a topological pendant along the north–south axis with the Pièce d'eau des Suisses located at

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3276-430: The finance minister Nicolas Fouquet , who was accused by rivals of embezzling crown funds in order to build his luxurious château at Vaux-le-Vicomte , Louis XIV turned his attention to Versailles. With the aid of Fouquet's architect Louis Le Vau , painter Charles Le Brun , and landscape architect André Le Nôtre , Louis began an embellishment and expansion program at Versailles that would occupy his time and worries for

3354-416: The fountains in the garden above. Water from the Grand Canal was pumped back to the reservoir on the roof of the Grotte de Thétys via a network of windmill-powered and horse-powered pumps. (Thompson 2006) Situated above the Latona Fountain is the terrace of the château, known as the Parterre d'Eau . Forming a transitional element from the château to the gardens below and placed on the north–south axis of

3432-463: 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

3510-497: The garden. This water feature, with a surface area of more than 15 hectares, is the second largest – after the Grand Canal – at Versailles. (Marie 1972, 1975; Nolhac 1901, 1925; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) Modifications in the gardens during the third building campaign were distinguished by a stylistic change from the natural esthetic of André Le Nôtre to the architectonic style of Jules Hardouin Mansart . The first major modification to

3588-514: The garden; two twin octagonal basins were constructed and decorated with bronze statues representing the four main rivers of France. In the same year, Le Vau's Orangerie , located to south of the Parterrre d'Eau was demolished to accommodate a larger structure designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. In addition to the Orangerie , the Escaliers des Cent Marches , which facilitated access to the gardens from

3666-514: 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

3744-580: The gardens at Versailles, Louis XV – an avid botanist – directed his efforts at Trianon. In the area now occupied by the Hameau de la Reine , Louis XV constructed and maintained les jardins botaniques – the botanical gardens . In 1750, the year in which les jardins botaniques were constructed, the Jardinier-Fleuriste , Claude Richard (1705–1784), assumed administration of the botanical gardens. In 1761, Louis XV commissioned Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build

3822-527: 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

3900-447: The gardens during the reign of Louis XVI was the Grotte des Bains d'Apollon . The rockwork grotto set in an English style bosquet was the masterpiece of Hubert Robert in which the statues from the Grotte de Thétys were placed. (Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) At the Petit Trianon, which was gifted to Marie Antoinette by Louis XVI in 1774, the new Queen dramatically relandscaped the surrounding parkland and gardens. Between 1776 and 1786,

3978-613: The gardens during this phase occurred in 1680 when the Tapis Vert – the expanse of lawn that stretches between the Latona Fountain and the Apollo Fountain – achieved its final size and definition under the direction of André Le Nôtre. (Nolhac 1901; Thompson 2006) Beginning in 1684, the Parterre d'Eau was remodeled under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Statues from the Grande Commande of 1674 were relocated to other parts of

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4056-463: The gardens, the Parterre d'Eau provided a setting in which the imagery and symbolism of the decors of the grands appartements synthesized with the iconography of the gardens. In 1664, Louis XIV commissioned a series of statues intended to decorate the water feature of the Parterre d'Eau . The Grande Commande , as the commission is known, comprised twenty-four statues of the classic quaternities and four additional statues depicting abductions from

4134-411: The gardens, which remained relatively unchanged until the expansion ordered under Louis XIV in the 1660s. This early layout, which has survived in the so-called Du Bus plan of c.1662, shows an established topography along which lines of the gardens evolved. This is evidenced in the clear definition of the main east–west and north–south axis that anchors the gardens' layout. In 1661, after the disgrace of

4212-496: The gardens. Existing bosquets and parterres were expanded and new ones created. Most significant among the creations at this time were the Versailles Orangerie and the "Grotte de Thétys". (Nolhac 1901, 1925) The Orangery, which was designed by Louis Le Vau , was located south of the château, a situation that took advantage of the natural slope of the hill. It provided a protected area in which orange trees were kept during

4290-466: The grotto and were surrounded by various fountains and water features. (Marie 1968; Nolhac 1901, 1925; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) Technically, the "'Grotte de Thétys" played a critical role in the hydraulic system that supplied water to the garden. The roof of the grotto supported a reservoir that stored water pumped from the Clagny pond and which fed the fountains lower in the garden via gravity. Located on

4368-471: The history of Versailles, and subsequently established the criteria for restoration of the château and preservation of the gardens, which are ongoing to this day. (Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) Owing to the many modifications made to the gardens between the 17th and the 19th centuries, many of the bosquets have undergone multiple modifications, which were often accompanied by name changes. These two bosquets were first laid out in 1663. Located north and south of

4446-481: The installation of the statuary by the Gilles Guérin , François Girardon , Thomas Regnaudin , Gaspard Marsy , and Balthazar Marsy , the grotto formed an important symbolic and technical component to the gardens. Symbolically, the "Grotte de Thétys" related to the myth of Apollo – and by that association to Louis XIV. It was as the cave of the sea nymph Thetis , where Apollo rested after driving his chariot to light

4524-399: The larger – Île du Roi – contained an island that formed the focal point of a system of elaborate fountains. The Île du Roi was separated from the Miroir d'Eau by a causeway that featured twenty-four water jets. In 1684, the island was removed and the total number of water jets in the bosquet was significantly reduced. The year 1704 witnessed a major renovation of the bosquet at which time

4602-675: The new landscaping and the architect Richard Mique was entrusted with designing follies to embellish the gardens like the Grotto, the Belvedere and the Temple of Love . Beyond the "Anglo-Chinese" garden, the Hameau de la Reine was built between 1782 and 1788, designed by Mique and Hubert Robert. In 1792, under order from the National Convention , some of the trees in gardens were felled, while parts of

4680-464: The open areas of the garden. These plans were never put into action; however, the gardens were opened to the public – it was not uncommon to see people washing their laundry in the fountains and spreading it on the shrubbery to dry. (Thompson 2006) In 1793 most of the decorative pieces of the Triumphal Arch Grove were destroyed. The Napoleonic era largely ignored Versailles. In the château,

4758-448: The origin of the use of the term "mud slinging" in a political context. (Berger, 1992; Marie, 1968, 1972, 1976; Nolhac, 1901; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1961, 1985; Weber, 1981) Further along the east–west axis is the Bassin d'Apollon – the Apollo Fountain. Occupying the site of Rondeau/Bassin des Cygnes of Louis XIII, the Apollo Fountain, which was constructed between 1668 and 1671, depicts

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4836-501: The palace and gardens entered an era of uncertainty. In 1722, Louis XV and the court returned to Versailles. Seeming to heed his great-grandfather's admonition not to engage in costly building campaigns, Louis XV did not undertake the costly building campaigns at Versailles that Louis XIV had. During the reign of Louis XV, the only significant addition to the gardens was the completion of the Bassin de Neptune (1738–1741). (Marie 1984; Verlet 1985) Rather than expend resources on modifying

4914-419: The remainder of his reign. From this point forward, the expansion of the gardens of Versailles followed the expansions of the château. Accordingly, Louis XIV's building campaigns apply to the gardens as well. At every stage the prescribed tour was carefully managed, under the Sun King's directions. In 1662, minor modifications to the château were undertaken; however, greater attention was given to developing

4992-498: The ruinously expensive Canal de l'Eure was inaugurated in 1685; designed by Vauban it was intended to bring waters of the Eure over 80 kilometres, including aqueducts of heroic scale, but the works were abandoned in 1690: see The problem of water . Between 1686 and 1687, the Bassin de Latone, under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, was rebuilt. It is this version of the fountain that

5070-399: The shortcomings of Versailles and began to expand the château and the gardens once again. (Verlet, 1961, 1985) Between 1664 and 1668, a flurry of activity was evidenced in the gardens – especially with regard to fountains and new bosquets; it was during this time that the imagery of the gardens consciously exploited Apollo and solar imagery as metaphors for Louis XIV. Le Vau's enveloppe of

5148-474: The sky. The grotto was a freestanding structure located just north of the château. The interior, which was decorated with shell-work to represent a sea cave, contained the statue group by the Marsy brothers depicting the sun god attended by nereids (central grouping) and his horses being groomed by attendants of Thetis (the two accompanying statue groups). Originally, these statues were set in three individual niches in

5226-417: The south, to the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses , and to the Parterre du Midi were constructed at this time, giving the gardens just south of the château their present configuration and decoration. Additionally, to accommodate the anticipated construction of the Aile des Nobles – the north wing of the château – the Grotte de Thétys was demolished. (Marie 1968, 1972, 1976; Nolhac 1899, 1901, 1902, 1925) With

5304-406: The sun god driving his chariot to light the sky. The fountain forms a focal point in the garden and serves as a transitional element between the gardens of the Petit Parc and the Grand Canal . (Marie 1968; Nolhac 1901, 1925; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985) With a length of 1,500 metres and a width of 62 metres, the Grand Canal , which was built between 1668 and 1671, physically and visually prolongs

5382-459: The tasty, but delicate fruit. Orangeries , as they came to be called, were typically enclosed structures built with wood, brick or stone with tall vertical windows on the south walls. The citrus trees were typically in huge pots or tubs, and wheeled outside for the summer months, as at the Gardens of Versailles . Use of these rooms expanded socially and practically, being used to entertain and to host

5460-468: The terms sunroom, solarium and conservatory are used interchangeably by the public, but in general the term conservatory and particularly English conservatory evoke the image of an ornate structure, echoing the traditions of that Victorian era of conservatory building. Modern conservatories tend also to be graced with a traditional cresting and finial, along with single, double patio or even bi-folding doors. These structures have been designed and built around

5538-444: The time: "Since the sun was the emblem of Louis XIV, and that poets join the sun and Apollo, there is nothing in this superb house that does not relation to this divinity." (Félibien, 1674). Three additions formed the topological and symbolic nexus of the gardens during this phase of construction: the completion of the "Grotte de Thétys", the " Bassin de Latone ", and the " Bassin d'Apollon ". Started in 1664 and finished in 1670 with

5616-560: The topology of the land, the English esthetic was abandoned and the gardens replanted in the French style. However, with an eye on economy, Louis XVI ordered the palissades – the labour-intensive clipped hedging that formed walls in the bosquets – to be replaced with rows of lime trees or chestnut trees. Additionally, a number of the bosquets dating from the time of the Sun King were extensively modified or destroyed. The most significant contribution to

5694-713: 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

5772-485: The winter months. (Nolhac 1899, 1902) The "Grotte de Thétys", which was located to the north of the château, formed part of the iconography of the château and of the gardens that aligned Louis XIV with solar imagery. The grotto would be completed during the second building campaign. (Verlet 1985) By 1664, the gardens had evolved to the point that Louis XIV inaugurated the gardens with the fête galante called Les Plaisirs de l’Île enchantée . The event, which officially

5850-466: The world, in private gardens, parks, and botanical institutions. Smaller garden conservatories have become popular, which may be dual-function, equally devoted to horticulture and recreation , or favor the latter, as a solarium or sunroom . Conservatories originated in the 16th century when wealthy landowners sought to cultivate citrus fruits such as lemons and oranges that began to appear on their dinner tables brought by traders from warmer regions of

5928-556: Was accompanied by a plaque on which the fable was printed, with verse written by Isaac de Benserade ; from these plaques, Louis XIV's son learned to read. Once completed in 1677, the Labyrinthe contained thirty-nine fountains with 333 painted metal animal sculptures. The water for the elaborate waterworks was conveyed from the Seine by the Machine de Marly . The Labyrinthe contained fourteen water-wheels driving 253 pumps, some of which worked at

6006-466: Was destroyed in order to allow for the creation of the Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon , which was created to house the statues had once stood in the Grotte de Thétys . During the reign of Louis XVI, Hubert Robert remodeled the bosquet, creating a cave-like setting for the Marsy statues. The bosquet was renamed the Grotte des Bains d'Apollon (Marie 1968, 1972, 1976, 1984; Thompson 2006; Verlet 1985). Originally designed in 1671 as two separate water features,

6084-450: Was to celebrate his mother, Anne d'Autriche , and his consort Marie-Thérèse but in reality celebrated Louise de La Vallière , Louis' mistress, was held in May of that year. Guests were regaled with fabulous entertainments in the gardens over a period of one week. As a result of this fête – particularly the lack of housing for guests (most of them had to sleep in their carriages), Louis realized

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