It has been overlooked for centuries, but Marie Antoinette’s private garden at the Château de Versailles is finally getting a makeover.
The executed French royal’s private garden, known as Le Bosquet de la Reine or the Queen’s Grove, is set to be revamped as part of a multi-year restoration project. The palace was built in the mid-17th century during the reign of Louis XIV to project the absolute power of the French monarchy, which was then at the height of its glory. It features magnificent landscaped formal gardens originally designed by André Le Nôtre. However, when Marie Antoinette later resided at Versailles, she hired architect Michel-Barthélemy Hazon to redesign the plot located to the west of the Orangerie as her private sanctuary.
Marie Antoinette introduced trees, shrubs, and flowers from North America into her garden, hoping it would become a sanctuary for herself and her relatives. However, the garden fell into neglect and became overgrown after her death. She was convicted of high treason and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Révolution in October 1793, at just 37 years of age. Furthermore, damage to the grove occurred during a major storm in 1999, which uprooted approximately 15,000 trees across the estate. Currently, a €1.8 million ($1.96 million) restoration project is underway. This project will reintroduce the Virginia tulip tree to the garden, as it was the late queen’s favorite.
The design will closely follow Marie Antoinette’s vision for the garden, reinstating original plant species along with reproductions of the original sculptures and furnishings that were either moved to the Louvre or stolen after her death.
You can learn more about the Château de Versailles on its website here.
