The labyrinth of Versailles

The labyrinth of Versailles
"Plan du Labirinte de Versailles", printed at the Royal Press, Paris and illustrated by Sébastien Leclerc
General information
Status	Destroyed
Type	labyrinth
Architectural style	fantasy
Town or city	Versailles
Country	Kingdom of France
Groundbreaking	1665
Demolished	1778
Client	Louis XIV
Grounds	Gardens of Versailles
Design and construction
Architect(s)	André Le Nôtre
Other designers	Charles Perrault

The labyrinth of Versailles was a hedge maze in the Gardens of Versailles with groups of fountains and sculptures depicting Aesop's Fables. [1] André Le Nôtre initially planned a maze of unadorned paths in 1665, but in 1669, Charles Perrault advised Louis XIV to include thirty-nine fountains, each representing one of the fables of Aesop. Labyrinth The work was carried out between 1672 and 1677. Water jets spurting from the animals mouths were conceived to give the impression of speech between the creatures. There was a plaque with a caption and a quatrain written by the poet Isaac de Benserade next to each fountain.^[1] A detailed description of the labyrinth, its fables and sculptures is given in Perrault's Labyrinte de Versailles, illustrated with engravings by Sébastien Leclerc.

In 1778 Louis XVI had the labyrinth removed and replaced by an arboretum of exotic trees planted as an English landscape garden.