facebook
Destinations Marie Antoinette's Private Garden At The Palace Of Versailles Is Being Restored After 227 Years
Advertisement

Marie Antoinette's Private Garden At The Palace Of Versailles Is Being Restored After 227 Years

Late French Queen Marie Antoinette's private garden at the the Palace of Versailles is being restored after 227 years, with designs based on her vision.

Advertisement

By: Priyanka Chakrabarti Published: Apr 24, 2020 07:00 AM IST

Marie Antoinette's Private Garden At The Palace Of Versailles Is Being Restored After 227 Years

Late French Queen Marie Antoinette‘s private garden at the Palace of Versailles is being restored after 227 years, with designs based on her vision. By Manya Saini

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Château de Versailles (@chateauversailles) on

The Château de Versailles is one of France’s most iconic tourist spots with an average of 7 million visitors each year. The palace was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1979, and since then, there have been many proposals to restore its gardens to their former glory but none were passed.

However, now the time has finally come for one part of the neglected gardens known as Le Bosquet de la Reine or the Queen’s Grove, at the Palace of Versailles to be restored as a part of a multi-year restoration project. The design will be conceptualised on the vision of France’s last Queen Marie Antoinette, and all original plant species will be reinstated. The sculptures and furnishings which were either sent to the Louvre or were stolen after her death will also be reproduced.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Château de Versailles (@chateauversailles) on

The Queen had brought trees, shrubs and flowers from North America to adorn her garden, in the hope that it would serve as a sanctuary for her and her family, but the garden became overgrown after her death. She was executed by guillotine in October 1793, on the charges of high treason at the age of 37. The grove was also damaged in a major storm in 1999, during which almost 15,000 trees were uprooted across the estate.

The original landscape was designed by André Le Nôtre, but Queen Marie Antoinette wanted to redesign the plot in a more English garden style rather than the classic Linear French style, and for this, she had hired architect Michel-Barthélemy Hazon.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Château de Versailles (@chateauversailles) on

The restoration project worth 1.96 million dollars is now underway, with plans to plant the Virginia tulip tree in the garden and much more. The Queen’s Grove restoration project will take several years to complete but till then visitors can marvel Queen’s Hamlet part of Versailles as well as other parts of the palace.

Related: The Palace Of Versailles Is Offering Virtual Tours And We Love It!

Written By

Never miss an update

Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest on travel, stay & dining.

No Thanks
You’re all set

Thank you for your subscription.