Versailles. The gardens cover a mighty 800 hectares of land. The majority of the land

is covered by finely landscaped woodland areas and several magnificent gardens with classic

French Garden style. These gardens were founded by Louis XIII in

1632. However, many say that the real founder was his son, Louis XIV, as he was the one

who laid the real foundation for the grand garden you can see today. In 1661, Louis XIV

hired the best architects, painters, and landscape-designers to work on what would become his life project;

the Château de Versailles and its magnificent gardens. In 1682, Louis XIV had his court

moved from Paris to Versailles, making it the official royal palace of France.

From this point on, Louis began an embellishment and expansion program at Versailles that would

occupy his time and worries for the remainder of his reign. At this time, the expansion

of the gardens followed the expansions of the château and each step was carefully managed

under the king's directions. At some stages, Louis even put more focus on the gardens than

on the château itself. Throughout the gardens, Louis had a clear theme with focus on the

sun god, Apollo, and other solar imagery. This was due to the fact that Louis XIV related

himself with the sun and was commonly known as the "Sun King". With this, the gardens

assumed the topographical and iconological design that would remain in force until the

18th century. The "Sun King's" successor, Louis XV, did

not engage in the same costly building project as the prior ruler. The gardens only saw minor

additions during his 60 years at the throne. However, during the reign of the following

king, Louis XVI, the gardens underwent a major transformation, as he also had a passion for

spending money on Château de Versailles and its gardens. Several tree formations dating

back to the era of the "Sun King" were changed and tree were felled and uprooted. This wasn't

done of ill will, but rather a necessary step as many of the trees were diseased or over-grown

and needed to be replaced. Also, as the 17th century garden had fallen out of fashion,

this re-plantation sought to establish a more up to date style in the gardens, a style that

would also be less expensive to maintain. The majority of the gardens you can see today

dates back to this era, even though minor re-plantations has taken place after the rule

of Louis XVI, mainly due natural wear and tear caused for example by storms and erosions.

After the following French Revolution, some of the trees in the gardens were felled on

order from the reigning National Convention. Sensing the potential threat to Versailles,

as it has strong links to the monarchy the revolution sought to destroy, some prominent

people convinced the National Convention to open the gardens for the public instead of

destroying it. The suggestion was accepted, which likely saved the gardens from destruction.

During the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte in early 19th century, Château de Versailles

and its gardens were to a large extent ignored. Napoleon had more important things to worry

about and cared little about architecture and gardening.

Today however, the gardens are everything but ignored. It is one of the most visited

sites in France, with several million visitors each year. Both tourists and locals come to

the gardens to experience the serenity and beauty it offers.

The gardens along with the chateau were inscribed on the UNESCO world heritage list in 1979

and is today seen as one of the icons of France. Inside the gardens you can admire more than

50 fountains, several statues of bronze and marble and a multitude of beautiful tree formations.

Or why not take a walk along the Grand Canal, reaching more than 1.5 km into vast gardens.