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Many of these garden mazes were created throughout Europe during the Renaissance, Baroque, and Rococo periods. One example is found in the garden at the Villa d’Este, Tivoli, referred to as the finest Renaissance garden in Europe, which incorporated four mazes into its design. Another example is the garden maze that Louis XIV had constructed at Versailles near the end of the seventeenth century. Although Italy and France contained many maze gardens, it was England that was famed for its fine hedge mazes created during these periods.
Hedge mazes continue to intrigue us today, though they do not enjoy nearly the same degree of popularity as they once did. Two examples of hedge mazes created during the twentieth century are those located at the Governor’s Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia, and in Varmland, Sweden. The Virginian hedge maze includes 1,000 feet of American holly hedges that stand 5-6 feet high. Randoll Coate is identified as the designer of the hedge maze in Sweden. His design of 1979, titled Creation, "combined the maze idea with other motifs: the cosmic egg, paradise, the tree of life, Adam and Eve" (Jaskolski, 122).
Northern Europe contains many turf mazes and stone mazes that are generally thought to have originated sometime after the advent of church labyrinths, which presumably influenced their labyrinthine designs. However, it has been suggested that the turf and stone mazes originated much earlier as many are situated near sites of antiquity. In explanation of the designs resembling those of church labyrinths, it has been suggested that perhaps the church mazes derived their designs from the turf and stone mazes. It is also possible that "perhaps the stone and turf mazes were recut to resemble the church mazes when a Christian interpretation began to be placed on them" (Bord, 13).
Stone and turf mazes often have names linked with Troy, and the presence of "Troy" in the mazes’ names were previously thought to have derived from the name of the famous city. Recently, however, several scholars have suggested that "Troy" derived from Celtic and Welsh words that describe the nature of mazes and labyrinths. Specifically, "Troy" is believed to have "derived from the Celtic root ‘tro’, meaning ‘to turn’, and expressing the idea of a rapid revolution such as would occur in a ritual dance through the maze" (Bord, 13). Similarly, the definition of the Welsh ‘troi’ is ‘to turn, to revolve’.
Due to the close proximity of the turf and stone mazes to important sites of antiquity, they have been interpreted as possibly serving as a type of protective symbol that was believed to ward off evil. In support of this interpretation, there is much evidence of labyrinth, meander, and spiral symbols being displayed by several cultures as protective "threshold designs" that signified "no entry".
There are many examples of the aforementioned labyrinthine "threshold designs". One example of this can be found in the once widespread practice in Britain where "labyrinthine shapes were sometimes drawn on doorsteps to keep witches and evil spirits at bay" (Bord, 11). A similar practice existed in Scotland, the designs of which were called "tangled threid". The Dravidian culture of Southern India once drew labyrinthine "designs on their thresholds during the unlucky Tamil month of Margali, mid-December to mid-January, when the sun dies after reaching the winter solstice. This month was unlucky because all kinds of epidemics were said to occur then" (Bord, 11). A traditional practice of the Chinese was that of building "‘spirit walls’ at the entrances to their cities, set transversely to present a torturous path which will deter evil influences from entering" (Bord, 12).