Northern Quincunx and Southern Quincunx, Versailles

The gardens of Versailles are extensive and full of water features, lawns and bosquets. You will find the Northern Quincunx and the Southern Quincunx between the Latonia Fountain and the Grove of the Rocaille.

A “quinconce” is a quincunx and, for those of us who were never top of the class in Latin, it is a geometric pattern, elaborated by Pythagoras, consisting of four objects arranged in a square or a rectangle with a 5th object in the centre (like the five dots on a playing dice or domino).

The quincunxes at Versailles were laid out in 1660 by André le Notre and were simply named The Two Bosquets. In 1696 they were rebuilt and named the Bosquet de la Girandole with a pool and a fountain featuring a flower arrangement at its centre, and the Grove of the Dauphin with a pool and a fountain representing a dolphin in its centre.

During a replanting program in 1775 both bosquets were destroyed and lime trees were planted in their place. It was at this time they were named the Northern Quincunx (the Grove of the Dauphin) and Southern (the Grove of the Girandole).

After the Great Storm of 1999, when a large part of Versailles was devastated by the wind, an extensive reforestation program was launched and during this the lime trees were cut down and the two bosquets were restored to their original state and reclaimed their original names.