The Balbi park is an English type park, located next to the king's kitchen garden in Versailles. Its access is free and its entrance is located rue du Maréchal Joffre.
Chronology of the Balbi park
Before 1730, the location of the Balbi park was an afforestation belonging to different owners.
In 1785, the Comte de Provence (brother of King Louis XVI and future Louis XVIII) bought a set of parcels in order to create a garden of irregular type, a sort of small rural retreat, where the count could receive his intimates and his Mistress in title, Anne de Caumont La Force, Countess of Balbi. The garden is designed by the architect Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin. A survey is carried out by Du Caille: on this map one can discover the pavilion of Monsieur (to the south of the plot), a piece of water extended by a river, a pile of stone constituting a cave surmounted by a belvedere, Factories, tanks and a greenhouse.
1786: The garden takes its definitive form. It has become a "collectable" garden. Indeed, the Comte de Provence had a special interest in plants and their constitution. The garden consisted of tropical and rare trees and shrubs as well as other tree species (maples, ash trees ...). Moreover, the poplar, a tree in vogue at the time, is introduced on the banks of the pond. The Count's aim was to "travel in his garden".
1791: The count and the countess must exile and leave the garden.
Autumn 1792: At the departure of the count, the rare plants are removed to enrich the collection of the Jardin des Plantes of the Museum by André Thouin, chief gardener of the National Garden of Plants of Paris.
1792 - 1810: The park belongs to many successive owners. It is poorly maintained, the factories are degraded and the greenhouse and the dwelling house are destroyed.
1810: Citizen Bouillat enters a park where the vegetation has densified. It carries out a few plantations and modifies slightly the path of the aisles in order to preserve the character of amenity of the garden but maintains it little.
1828: The children of Bouillat sell the garden to the State.
1842: The Grand Seminary of Versailles buys the park. Rehabilitation works are carried out (wall of fence, clearing of the piece of water, maintenance of the pavilion of the belvedere, disappearance of the river ...).
1907: The school Jules Ferry has the rental of the park. A door between the park and the king's vegetable garden is created.
1912: A plan is drawn by René-Edouard André.
1914: The park is allocated to the Ecole Nationale Superieure d'Horticulture, which was founded in 1873 by Pierre Joigneaux.
1914 - 1918: First World War. The park is not maintained.
1926: The kitchen garden of the King and the park of Balbi are classified under historical monuments by decree of March 15, 1926.
1930: A project of redevelopment and restoration of the park is realized (layout of the alleys, room of water ...).
1939 - 1945: Second World War. The park is abandoned again. Trees are cut down due to the shortage of wood during the war and the park is partially converted into an orchard.
1960: New redevelopment work is carried out (removal of fruit trees, re-alignment of alleys, replanting of trees). The Friends of the Vegetable Garden Association is created. Visits to the Balbi park are organized.
1982: An agreement between the ENSH and the Agence des Espaces Verts of the Ile-de-France Region is signed with a view to opening the park to the public. Development work is carried out (fencing around the cave, repairing the edges of the pond, clearing the pond, pruning the trees, etc.).
1992: A new phase of work is launched.
Fall 2004: The rehabilitation of the cave and its surroundings began (by two students of the École nationale supérieure du paysage, Céline Batisse and Julien Decker) with a view to the reopening of this cave to the public.
Fall 2005: Opening of the cave to the public in guided tours.
Autumn 2006: New opening to the public during the weekend of the flavors of the king's kitchen garden (in October).
Winter 2006-2007: Work on afforestation (selection, cutting, replanting ...).
October 2007: New opening on the occasion of "Versailles and the flavors of the king's kitchen garden". Sunday, October 7: 1,200 people visited the cave and its surroundings.