Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon (French, German Petit Trianon ) is a north-west of the Palace of Versailles in the park of Versailles, there called the Petit Parc part, situated pleasure palace, which, on behalf of Louis XV. was built by Ange-Jacques Gabriel for the royal mistress Madame de Pompadour and later came into the possession of Marie Antoinette. It belongs to the City of Versailles in the French department of Yvelines in the region Ile de France.
- 2.1 The castle
- 2.2 The Park of the Petit Trianon
History of the Petit Trianon
Near the Palace of Versailles, on the north arm of the Grand Canal, a small castle was built already by Louis XIV with the Grand Trianon in the 17th century, as a retreat from the bustle and political representation at the king and his family court served. North-east of leaving his successor, Louis XV. enter the Petit Trianon Madame de Pompadour († 1764) in order, but died shortly after the start of construction, so that the castle was occasionally used by the new favorite, Madame du Barry. When Louis XVI. inherited his grandfather, he gave it to his wife, Marie Antoinette, let get ready for the building. In the 19th century, after the end of the Ancien Régime, then put the Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III here. , A collection of objects from the possession of Marie- Antoinette at. Today the castle is a museum of Versailles and is open to visitors.
The Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette
The small Trianonschlösschen is inseparable from the person of Marie Antoinette. The even as a young girl for political reasons married to the French Dauphin Marie- Antoinette came from the Habsburg imperial family. As the youngest daughter of Maria Theresa in Vienna, although she received an education that prepared them for the role of a future ruler, but the French court she felt long strange manners and customs were unknown to her and the strict etiquette of the Bourbons did the rest, the to unsettle young heir to the throne and became Queen. Louis XVI. gave her shortly after the beginning of his reign, finally, the Petit Trianon, which was to serve her off the court as a place of rest and relaxation. Louis handed her the keys allegedly with the words " because your loves flowers so much, I have a bunch for you - take the Petit Trianon ." Ludwig was from that point on only as a guest, not as a king to visit the castle.
Marie Antoinette fled like before the etiquette at court here. It is narrated that they issued a decree that no one must rise at the Petit Trianon, if they were entering one of the rooms - one for those times downright scandalous statement - even she was not too bad in the Trianon belonging theater itself on the stage to stand. She surrounded herself only with friends and confidants and away inwardly from the strict life in the palace of Versailles.
The Queen had the little castle get ready for her taste and equipped the salons and cabinets with high quality furniture, paintings and other works of art from. As they repeatedly took effect on the articles produced for them and their appearance and decoration codetermined significantly, it soon became the symbol of a queen of the Rococo. The modes, which she designed and the equipment with which they decorated the Trianon were copied shortly afterwards by the entire court and imitated. The expenditure on the castle and the acclaimed festivals brought her here but also a bad reputation a, it was regarded as wasteful and not only the common people had finally applied to, but also that part of the court nobility, which they refused access to her castle. Marie- Antoinette surrounded himself only with cronies and girlfriends, as the Princess Lamballe and the Duchesse de Polignac, which they gave to pensions, titles, and expensive gifts, while she avoided her unwelcome people aware. The thus snubbed members of the court brought a plethora of malicious rumors about the Queen and their prodigality in circulation. Here, Marie- Antoinette was also undisturbed meet with Axel von Fersen, who according to some traditions probably was a lover of the queen. This led ultimately to the fact that the negative reports and slander about Marie -Antoinette are considered as one of the causes of the French Revolution.
Buildings
The Castle
The construction of the Petit Trianon, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel was commissioned to work lasted from 1764 to 1768. Though the outer shape is in the tradition of classical French Baroque, who went back always quiet and strict forms, the building also applies as groundbreaking for the style of classicism and prime example of the Louis XVI style in architecture. The elegant facade decoration of sandstone similar to the wing Trianon sous Bois of the neighboring Grand Trianon and is designed slightly differently on each of the four sides. Time is the middle of the building with columns, stressed times with pilasters, also the castle is so integrated into the garden, that it appears three floors on two sides and two on two other sides. The attic is decorated with an encircling balustrade.
Despite its modest size, the Petit Trianon hosts a variety of spaces. The ground floor serves almost entirely as an economic sector, here you can find, among others, the kitchen, the guard chamber and the space for the silverware. There is a billiard room is located here. The first floor, which can be conditionally enter at ground level by the design of the lock at two sides, houses various salons and cabinets as well as the apartment of the queen. Upstairs various guest rooms and a suite of rooms for the king are set up.
The Park of the Petit Trianon
The Petit Trianon is surrounded by its own castle park, which is divided into a plurality of individual, merging into one another areas. The area between the Great and Little Trianon is referred to as French Garden, he is formally designed with lawns and hedges, and includes some of the outbuildings, such as the French pavilion called and the theater.
Behind the Petit Trianon is that of Marie- Antoinette commissioned English garden. This area of the park is characterized by a landscape that appears as grown. Individual groups of trees, a small stream and exposed -lying buildings, such as the "Belvedere" called the music room and the Amortempel decorate the garden. The culmination of this "natural" appearing landscape forms the Hameau de la Reine, the village of the queen. Here are several rings arranged around a lake farmhouses that are modeled on the houses of the Pays de Caux, but their interiors were worthy of a queen. This village was Marie- Antoinette's silent longing for a rural site and of course, had no resemblance to the real rural life of the 18th century.