From Olympic dressage events to contemporary art installations by the likes of Lee Ufan and Anish Kapoor, the gardens at the Palace of Versailles still have main character energy centuries after the French monarchy’s end. The buildings and the grounds have undergone many changes since their first layout over 360 years ago under the Sun King Louis XIV, having been converted from a palace to a museum and, more recently, to a boutique hotel.
The gardens have always been central to the full experience of Versailles. Louis XIV, even wrote a manual, How to show the gardens of Versailles (c. 1689–1705), which outlined his version of a proper garden itinerary. Some sites, such as the Orangery and the Summer Fountain, have withstood these centuries of change. Others have been resurrected from history: the latest is the Water Theatre Grove, starring a fountain designed by Jean-Michel Othoniel.
A handful of other remarkable features have been entirely lost from the gardens of Versailles, however, including these three.
1. The Labyrinth of Versailles
The fountains for the fable “Fox and the Stork” can be seen on either side of the alley. in this painting of the entrance to the wood leading into the labyrinth in the gardens of Versailles by Jean Cotelle, 17th century. Gouache. Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images.
The labyrinth of Versailles is one of the most mourned elements lost to history. Designed by André Le Nôtre around 1665–73, and inspired by an idea from the writer Charles Perrault, the narrow and lush thicket maze featured 39 fountains based on Aesop’s fables. Each fountain was composed of lead animal sculptures, painted in life-like colors, and placed in rockwork basins of crystals, shells, and polychrome glass. A tablet, set into the base of each fountain, featured a quatrain of poetry and easily decoded the fables for the visitors.
The maze was constructed partly as a pedagogical tool for the Dauphin, the eldest son of Louis XIV. Fables such as the “Fox and the Stork” offered invaluable social lessons to the young prince and reinforced existing hierarchies among the courtiers. For instance, the fountain for “The Owl and the Birds,” at the heart of the maze, underscored how inappropriate social ambitions would be publicly punished.
Board depicting the Fables in the Labyrinth and the layout of the labyrinth at Versailles, France 18th Century. Photo by DeAgostini/Getty Images.
In 1776, the maze was destroyed in favor of an English-style landscape. Nicknamed the Queen’s Grove, it was designed for Marie Antoinette and featured many non-native North American trees. Luckily, the labyrinth remains well-documented, thanks to The Labyrinth of Versailles (1675), written by Charles Perrault with detailed engravings by Sebastian LeClerc.
2. The Ancient Gallery
Martin Jean Baptiste, Perspective View from the Galerie des Antiques at Versailles (1688). Palace of Versailles. Photo by: Christophel Fine Art/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.
Located northwest of the palace, a verdant grove of chestnut trees hides its storied past as an outdoor sculpture park. The Ancient Gallery was created by André Le Nôtre around 1678-79. It was essentially a long oblong island bordered by a water channel and decorated with 24 sculptures alongside topiaries, water jets, and fountains. Notably, the center was paved with black and white marble tiles.
The sculptures were purchased in Italy and included ancient works as well as modern copies. Their subjects ranged from ancient gods and heroes, such as Pandora and Bacchus, to historic figures such as Cleopatra. This early open-air museum was partially inspired by the antique sculpture gallery installed on the ground floor of the Louvre (now Salle des Cariatides), and boosted the French Crown’s ambition to claim artistic dominance over Italy.
Jacques Rigaud, La Salle aux Marronniers. The Chestnut Room. Photo by Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images.
In 1704, Jules Hardouin-Mansart eliminated the fountains and the central island, replacing them with two rows of chestnut trees. Many of the sculptures were removed: a few were moved to other parts of Versailles, some were sent to royal châteaus (including the Château de Marly), and four were kept in the Chestnut Grove (including the statue of Meleager and the Vestal).
Surprisingly, what motivated this reversal was a concern for forestry management. At this time, the French Crown became increasingly concerned about the rampant deforestation of England and the Low Countries, resulting from their respective military endeavors. Since Versailles was meant to be a microcosm of France, planting more trees there symbolized the country’s boundless natural resources and, by extension, its military power. Although the Ancient Gallery is long gone, the Chestnut Grove can still be visited today.
3. ‘Little Venice’ and the Royal Flotilla
Jean-Baptiste Rigaud, Le Bassin d’Apollon (The Apollo Basin), etching and engraving. Photo by: Sepia Times/Universal Images Group via Getty Images.
The iconic Grand Canal of Versailles was excavated over a decade from 1668 to 1679. Around this time, different types of ships populated the waterways including gondolas sent by the Republic of Venice in 1674. Venetian gondoliers accompanied the gift and lived in a small boatyard complex appropriately called “Little Venice.”
Beyond pleasure cruises on small crafts, the aquatic entertainments at Versailles included naumachia, a type of ancient Roman entertainment based on staged sea battles. Central to this nautical pageantry was the royal flotilla, a model fleet that included galleys, galliots, brigantines, feluccas, and frigates all overseen by its own admiral, the Marquis de Langeron. More than amusements, these demonstrations advertised the Crown’s maritime supremacy to visitors and foreign ambassadors to Versailles at the very moment the French navy was establishing its might.
This naval display also had an unsettling history. As uncovered in Meredith Martin and Gillian Weiss’s The Sun King at Sea, these fleets were not only powered by salaried rowers and convicts but also by enslaved laborers. The historical record shows that in 1680, 54 enslaved men from the Ottoman Empire and present-day Morocco were brought to Versailles to row a replica galley ship. This was not unique to Versailles, as the gardens at Buen Retiro, a former royal palace built for Philip the IV of Spain, also used enslaved labor to staff their own model navy.
L’orangerie du château de Versailles. Found in the collection of Musée de l’Histoire de France, Château de Versailles. Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images/Getty Images.
Together, these three historic features show that the gardens of Versailles were more than just a bucolic escape. They also served complex educational and strategic roles. But even though their effects on French and global history continue to resonate today, the attractions themselves only survive in scholarship.