Aqueduc de Maintenon - Maintenon, France
N 48° 34.848 E 001° 34.809
31U E 395281 N 5381830
[FR] L'aqueduc de Maintenon est un ouvrage d'art inachevé franchissant la vallée de l'Eure. [EN] An enormous unfinished aqueduct stretches from one side of the estate of Maintenon to the other.
Waymark Code: WMQTVX
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 03/28/2016
Views: 6
[FR] Il fait partie du Canal de l'Eure (aqueduc de Pontgouin à Versailles) initié par Louis XIV dans le but d'alimenter en eau le château de Versailles. Débutés en 1686, les travaux seront abandonnés en 1689 en raison de l'entrée en guerre du Royaume.
[EN] The structure, Vauban’s only civilian construction, was a colossal project, intended to carry the water of the River Eure to the fountains of the Château de Versailles. Although at the time it was seen as a scar in the château grounds, today the remains of the aqueduct exude a certain romantic charm.
Unlike Maintenon, Versailles had no water to feed the fountains and lakes or the 1400 waterfalls that the King wanted to remain flowing, day and night. At first, water was taken from nearby sources, then the famous Machine of Marly was constructed. The quantities of water that could be provided soon proved insufficient.
Louvois (1641-1691), Superintendent of Buildings, commissioned the surveyors of the Academy of Sciences to divert a source of water to feed the waterfalls of Versailles. La Hire (1640-1718) discovered that by using gravitational force, water from the River Eure could be diverted to the grounds and the town of Versailles. Vauban suggested that the water be taken across the grounds of Maintenon by means of a siphon. But Louis XIV wanted “the waters of the Eure to be carried through the air”. The monarch wanted to build a structure that would supersede the constructions of the Romans.
To make up for the damage caused by the building works to the grounds of the château, the King gave Madame de Maintenon the title of marquise.
The War of the League of Augsburg slowed down the works. In 1695, the coffers were empty and the work was stopped for good. Eighteen miles of conduits and some additional work was still needed before the water of the Eure could reach the waterfalls at Versailles. Louis XIV gave the unfinished aqueduct as a gift to Madame de Maintenon.
Related website: [Web Link]
When was it built?: 01/01/1685
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