The Versailles Orangery

“The Largest Orangery in Europe – Versailles”

The Orangery at Versailles is undoubtedly one of Europe’s largest orangeries. It was designed by French architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart for 3000 orange trees at Versaille that were owned by Louis XIV. Louis XIV was known as Louis the Great, or the Sun King, and ruled as King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715.

The dimensions of the Musee de l’Orangerie measure 155 metres by 13 metres. The Orangery was a symbol of prestige and wealth, as well as and a magnificent feature of the gardens of the Palace of Versaille. It would often contain fountains, grottos, and an entertainment area.

The Gardens of Versailles

The gardens of Versailles are situated to the west of the Palace of Versailles. The gardens cover around 800 hectares of land. The gardens are absolutely spectacular when you visit them, and are, apparently, mostly landscaped in a classic French Garden style.

The gardens at Versailles were perfected by André Le Nôtre, a French landscape artist and the gardener of King Louis XIV and, nowadays, the gardens are now one of the most visited public sites in France, receiving more than six million visitors a year.

The gardens notably feature extremely well-kept lawns, beautiful flowers and intriguing sculptures, as well as fountains that are sporadically located throughout the garden.

In 1979, the Palace of Versailles and the gardens of Versailles along were listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The Orangery at Versailles

The orangery at Versailles is often overlooked because of the magnificence of the Château, as a retailer of luxury orangeries, Orangeries UK wanted to look into why the orangery is so great!

The Orangery has a large amount of space and can therefore house tall trees. Some of the orange trees from Portugal, Spain and Italy, are over 200 years old! They are kept in the orangery at Versailles in winter, until summer, when they are planted on the flowerbed at in the garden of Versaille.

As mentioned before, the orangery was built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart between 1684 and 1686 to replace a small orangery built by Le Vau in 1663. The orangery consists of a central vaulted gallery that is 150 metres long as well as two side galleries that are located under the stairways.

The large windows of the orangery mean that the orangery reflects a large amount of sunlight.
Are you interested in having an orangery installed in your home? Call Orangeries UK on 0843 8868 552.