Did it stink at Versailles?

Everywhere you go, you're reminded of the foul stench that emanates from the walls, from the cesspits, and even from the gardens. No place is safe. Although today we think of Versailles as an architectural masterpiece, to the people living there, it was like being in a smelly nightmare.



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While it smells fine now, hygiene practices (or the lack thereof) in France during Louis XIII's reign meant that the palace smelled like urine, fecal matter, and more. Some claim that a lack of toilets in the palace even led some visitors to relieve themselves behind curtains and pillars.

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Despite its reputation for magnificence, life at Versailles, for both royals and servants, was no cleaner than the slum-like conditions in many European cities at the time. Women pulled up their skirts up to pee where they stood, while some men urinated off the balustrade in the middle of the royal chapel.

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Disease Riddled the Court Louis XIV (1638–1715) was known to have only bathed three times in his entire life. Although the palace of Versailles had running water and numerous baths, there was a common belief that water spread disease, so the less you bathed, the safer you were.

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Regular bathing was still uncommon; many people would go without washing their bodies for extended periods. Clean water was often scarce and expensive, making regular bathing a luxury that only the affluent could afford. This resulted in body odor and skin conditions being prevalent among the general population.

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Beds used to be short because people didn't use to sleep lying down because old superstitions considered it to be the position of the dead. So they slept in half sitting position.

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