- Type
- Ruin
- Built
- 1679 · 17th century
- Location
- Île-de-France, France
- Style
- classical architecture
- Commissioned by
- Louis XVI of France
- Architect
- Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Robert de Cotte
- Coordinates
- 48.8639°, 2.1000°
History
Weary of the ceremony of Versailles, Louis XIV commissioned Jules Hardouin-Mansart in 1679 to build an intimate retreat in the valley below Marly. A royal pavilion went up together with twelve smaller pavilions for guests lining both sides of a chain of pools, read as an image of the Sun and the twelve signs of the zodiac. To feed the fountains of Marly and Versailles the famous Machine de Marly was built on the Seine in 1684. The king came here until the end of his life and kept enlarging the gardens, while his successors visited less and less often. After the Revolution the estate was sold to an industrialist who set up a cotton mill in the palace, and in the early 19th century the buildings were demolished.
What to see
In the Domaine national de Marly-le-Roi the outlines of the royal pavilion and guest houses have been marked out in lawn and gravel, and the surviving axes, terraces and hornbeam alleys help to picture the original layout. At the foot of the park lies the monumental horse pond, the Abreuvoir, and a nearby museum displays models and paintings of the residence.
Wikipedia article Wikidata Q736185
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