Water features form an impressive part of the gardens in the Palace of Versailles in Paris.
There are fountains, cascading waterfalls, calm pools and grand canals.
From the mouth of each of these animals water gushes into a basin.
The Fountain of Apollo at the Palace of Versailles.
One moved the pistons which pushed the water into the pipes and raised it up to the first reservoir.
The Machine de Marly by Pierre-Denis Martin, circa 1772.
Still it was not enough for the fountains of Versailles.
Even at half pressure, these fountains required at least four times as much water.
So fountain-rationing was necessary.
Because of the complexity of the pumps, maintaining it became a major headache.
The machine suffered from frequent breakdowns and often required costly repairs.
Much of it was rebuilt, and subsequently the paddle-wheel pumps were replaced by steam engines.
By the mid-19th century, the original structure had almost totally disappeared.
3D model of the Machine de Marly.
Image credit:Dpendery/Wikimedia Commons
