The Grand Canal brought Venice to Versailles
The Grand Canal, the centerpiece of the Palace of Versailles’ landscaped gardens, was one of the biggest and most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken by a European king. It was so big, in fact, that it took a whole 11 years to complete. Louis XIV didn’t just want a pond or a picturesque, ornate lake. He wanted a canal to rival those of Venice. And he didn’t just want to sit and admire it, he wanted to have fun on the water too.
Work began on the Grand Canal in 1668 and went on until 1679. In all, it stretches 1,670 metres from one end to the other. As soon as it was completed, the Sun King was determined to enjoy it. He would sail boats up and down his own private canal and then, in 1674, he went even further in his mission to bring Venice to Versailles. Louis ordered two gondolas and four gondoliers from the Italian city state and houses them in specially-made buildings at one end of the canal. This area was named, unsurprisingly enough, Little Venice.
The King would treat his favourites to gondola rides, while during the summer months the canal was also full with a variety of pleasure craft, while lantern-lit parties would be regularly held at the water’s edge. During the winter months, meanwhile, the frozen surface of the canal was used for skating and sledding.
The Grand Canal soon became one of the most popular spots of all Versailles. But people didn’t just love the canal for its engineering. The nearby Lake of the Swiss Guard could also be used for rowing. However, this body of water, as with several others, was notoriously smelly, due in no small part to the fact that the palace grounds had been built on marshland. A second canal, the Canal de l’Eure, was designed by Louis XIV’s architects as a means of addressing the insufficient water supply for the palace’s many water features and fountains. However, work was soon abandoned for financial reasons, with the treasury funds needed to fight wars instead of build follies.