PALACE OF VERSAILLES

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE- 1

ALEENA ZIA | SEMESTER 07 | 9-30-20121

 PALACE OF VERSAILLES
The Palace of Versailles is a former royal residence located in Versailles, about 12
miles (19 km) west of Paris, France. As the centre of the French court, Versailles
was one of the grandest theatres of European absolutism.

ARCHITECTURE AND PLAN:

The Palace of Versailles is a visual history of French design from the 1630s to the
1780s.[citation needed] Its most punctual piece, the corps de logis, was worked for
Louis XIII in the style of his rule with block, marble, and record, and was saved as
the core of the castle in ensuing developments. In the 1660s, Le Vau fabricated a
new façade from light-shaded ashlar around a large portion of Louis XIII's cabin in
a Renaissance style. These extensions satisfied the requirements of Louis XIV's
extending court at Versailles, however brought about a blend of styles that was
portrayed by subjects of the seventeenth and eighteenth hundreds of years.

The castle was to a great extent finished by the passing of Louis XIV in 1715. The
eastern confronting castle has a U-molded design, with the corps de logis and
Pavilion on the south and the Gabriel Pavilion toward the north, making an
extensive cour d'honneur known as the Royal Court (Cour Royale). Flanking the
Royal Court are two gigantic asymmetrical wings that outcome in a façade of 402
meters (1,319 ft) in length. Covered by around 1,000,000 square feet (10 hectares) of
rooftop, the castle has 2,143 windows, 1,252 stacks, and 67 staircases.

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"Everything in the Versailles of Louis XIV had a symbolic meaning," said Schmidt.
"The ceilings are adorned with illustrations of Roman gods with Louis XIV himself
painted as Apollo, the Sun God.

GARDENS OF VERSAILLES:
The gardens of Versailles were planned by André Le Nôtre, perhaps the most famous and
influential landscape architect in French history. Behind the palace, the ground falls away
on every side from a terrace adorned with ornamental basins, statues, and bronze groups.
Directly west of the terrace is the Latona Fountain, designed by Le Nôtre and sculpted by
Gaspard and Balthazard Marsy. The fountain dep icts the events of Ovid’s Metamorphose.

The Royal Walk extends westward from the palace. A broad avenue centred on the grass
of the Green Carpet, it is flanked by rows of large trees and ends at the Fountain of Apollo.
Beyond the fountain, the line of walk is continued by the Grand Canal.

To the south of the terrace, raised flower beds lead to a pair of staircases that flank the
Orangerie, a grove planned by Hardouin-Mansart in 1685 that includes more than 1,000
trees. Palm, pomegranate, lemon, and orange are most common.s

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The walkways and paths of the parks are decorated with statues, vases, and manicured
yews, and they are bordered by hedges and shrubberies.

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