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This salon was used for serving light meals during evening receptions. The roofs of the buildings and houses of the new city were not to exceed the level of the Marble Courtyard, at the entrance of the castle (built above a hill dominating the city), so that the perspective from the windows of the castle would not be obstructed. The Palace of Versailles was originally constructed in 1624 as a simple, two-story hunting lodge. [173], In October 1789, early in the French Revolution, the last banquet for the royal guardsmen was hosted by the King in the opera, before he departed for Paris. [13] In 1919, at the end of the First World War, Versailles came into the limelight again as the various treaties ending the war were signed in the castle proper and in the Grand Trianon. The role of Versailles as an administrative and judicial center has been reinforced in the 1960s and 1970s, and somehow Versailles has become the main center of the western suburbs of Paris. The members of the Third Estate took the Tennis Court Oath on 20 June 1789, and the National Constituent Assembly abolished feudalism on 4 August 1789. [168] The palette of motifs beneath the frescoes glorify the deeds of Louis IX, and include images of David, Constantine, Charlemagne, and Louis IX, fleur de lis, and Louis XIV's monogram. The town developed around the 17th-century Palace of Versailles, built by Louis XIV, the principal residence of the kings of France and the seat of the government for more than 100 years. The 14th century brought the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War, and with it death and destruction. [114], By virtue of an order issued by the Versailles district directorate in August 1794, the Royal Gate was destroyed, the Cour Royale was cleared and the Cour de Marbre lost its precious floor. [185], The landscape of the estate had to be created from the bog that surrounded Louis XIII's chteau using landscape architecture usually employed in fortress building. In the end of the 11th century, the village curled around a medieval castle and the Saint Julien church. Versailles was the capital of the most powerful kingdom in Europe, and the whole of Europe admired its new architecture and design trends. Follow us on Youtube. The population of Versailles was 500 inhabitants. [75] Neoclassical additions were made to the palace with the remodeling of the Ministers' Wings[fr] in the 1770s, by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, and after the Bourbon Restoration. With 60,000 artworks, collections of Versailles illustrate 5 centuries of French History. [212][213] The building has a piano nobile, basement, and attic,[210] with five windows on each floor. End of World War I. [135][177], The first of the subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles was the Versailles Menagerie[fr],[197][198] built by Le Vau between the years 1662 and 1664,[198] at the southern end of the Grand Canal. [58], Le Vau was succeeded at Versailles by his assistant, architect Franois d'Orbay. It was 20 years later, in 1661, when Louis XIV commenced his personal reign, that the young king showed interest in Versailles. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants. 06/28/2019. The armistice signed on November 11, 1918 officially ended the hostilities, but the negotiations between the Allied victors at the Paris Peace Conference lasted six months and involved diplomatic delegations from . The palace serves as a tourist attraction and as a residence for visiting heads of state. By 1744, the population reached 37,000 inhabitants. Destinations Hotels Travel News Cruises Forums Trip Ideas. [133] Covered by around a million square feet (10 hectares) of roof, the palace has 2,143 windows, 1,252 chimneys, and 67 staircases. [220][221] The roof was clad not with porcelain but with delftware,[216][217][220] and was thus prone to leaks,[222] so in 1687 Louis XIV ordered it demolished. The Palace and Park of Versailles have had a large influence on the artistic form of other palaces and gardens in Europe. Charles de Gaulle. [64] The Nine Years' War, which began in 1688, stopped work altogether until 1698. Then in March of the same year, following the insurrection of the Paris Commune, the French Third Republic government under Thiers relocated to Versailles, and from there directed the military suppression of the insurrection. The center of the town has kept its very bourgeois atmosphere, while more middle-class neighborhoods have developed around the train stations and in the outskirts of the city. Versailles was a vast construction site for many years. [125], In 1978, parts of the palace were heavily damaged in a bombing committed by Breton terrorists.[126]. If I had to choose between a day at Versailles and a day split between, say, Chenonceau and Chambord, I'd take the latter. [162] The fresco depicts Louis XIV himself alongside Classical figures in the scenes celebrating moments in his reign such as the beginning of personal rule in 1661,[163] breaking from earlier frescoes at Versailles that used allegories derived from Classical and mythological scenes. Some of the objects in the collection are depicted in Ren-Antoine Houasse's painting Abundance and Liberality (1683), located on the ceiling over the door opposite the windows. [153], This was originally a chapel. Starting in the 1950s, when the museum of Versailles was under the directorship of Grald van der Kemp, the objective was to restore the palace to its state or as close to it as possible in 1789 when the royal family left the palace. [226] The east faade has a courtyard while the west faces the gardens of the Grand Trianon, and between them a peristyle. That area underwent extensive remodeling in the post-Revolutionary period, and the ground floor is now dominated by the Hall of Congress, where the Chamber of Deputies met from 1876 to 1879. [128] Another major project was the further restoration of the backstage areas of the Royal Opera of Versailles in 2007 to 2009. [4] The French Ministry of Culture has placed the palace, its gardens, and some of its subsidiary structures on its list of culturally significant monuments. The bed is a replica of the original commissioned by King Louis-Philippe in the 19th century when he turned the palace into a museum. You can see the front from the street, but the better view, the one on the postcards, is from the gardens on the other side, behind the paywall. Prior to his marriage with Marie-Louise in 1810, he had the Grand Trianon restored and refurnished as a springtime residence for himself and his family, in the style of furnishing that it is seen today. Designed to embody the power, pomp and elegance of the French monarchy and its considerable military prowess, the 73-meter gallery which was recently refurbished to its former glory features 373 mirrors situated around 17 arches. With his passing came Louis XIV who expanded the chteau into the beginnings of a palace that went through several changes and phases from 1661 to 1715. In 1837 Louis-Philippe restored the palace and turned it into a museum consecrated to all the glories of France. The German army besieging Paris in 1870 used Versailles as its headquarters, and in 1871 the German emperor was crowned there. The Bulls-Eye Salon, named for its distinctive oval window, was the anteroom where courtiers waited until the king rose. : +32 (0)2 281 5150 . Between 1925 and 1928, the American philanthropist and multi-millionaire John D. Rockefeller gave $2,166,000, the equivalent of about thirty million dollars today, to restore and refurbish the palace. Initially constructed as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII, the royal family's love for the estate saw the movement of the royal court from Paris to Versailles in 1682 by King Louis XIV, Louis XIII's son. Located there are the apartments of the dauphin, the dauphine, and the daughters of Louis XV. He ordered the restoration of the royal apartments, but the task and cost was too great. [143] It was entered from the courtyard via a vestibule that, cramped and dark, contrasted greatly with the tall, open space of the staircase famously lit naturally with a skylight so as to overawe visitors. Versailles remained the epicenter of French royal power for more than a century, until 1789, when an agitated group of revolutionaries stormed the palace and evicted Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette . In 1678, after the Treaty of Nijmegen, the king decided that the court and the government would be established permanently in Versailles, which happened on 6 May 1682. On September 4, Spain and France signed separate treaties with England at the Palace of Versailles, formally ending the war. From 1951 until France's withdrawal from the NATO unified command in 1966, nearby Rocquencourt functioned as the site for SHAPE. After 1919, as the suburbs of Paris continued to expand, Versailles was absorbed by the urban area of Paris and the city experienced a strong demographic and economic growth, turning it into a large suburban city of the metropolitan area of Paris. Versailles is also a centre of commerce and education. The growing anger in Paris led to the Women's March on Versailles on 5 October 1789. The US, Britain and the EU have pledged 60 billion to help Ukraine rebuild. The painting on the ceiling, The Apotheosis of Hercules, by Franois Lemoyne, was completed in 1736, and gave the room its name.[153][154]. Several times during the 1610s, the de Gondis invited King Louis XIII to hunt in the large forests around Versailles. To the east of the palace is the Place dArmes, a wide plaza that in the 21st century served mainly as a parking lot to accommodate the thousands of tourists who visited Versailles each day. Forums; Trip Ideas; But just a short distance away inside The Palace of Versailles' opulent ballrooms, thousands of people swarmed. It is also known as Chateau de Versailles and is 20 Kms (12 Miles) southwest of Paris. However, the city is extremely compartmentalized, divided by large avenues inherited from the monarchy which create the impression of several small cities ignoring each other. The city sometimes sees light snow or flurries with or without accumulation. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [188] The approach to the palace and the gardens were carefully laid out via the moving of earth and construction of terraces. It was rebuilt beginning in 1712 under the supervision of the First Architect of the King, Robert de Cotte, to showcase two paintings by Paolo Veronese, Eleazar and Rebecca and Meal at the House of Simon the Pharisee, which was a gift to Louis XIV from the Republic of Venice in 1664. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It is also a Roman Catholic diocese. But it took seven months until the official peace treaty was . [27] On 17 August 1661,[28] Louis XIV was a guest at a sumptuous festival hosted by Nicolas Fouquet, the Superintendent of Finances, at his palatial residence, the Chteau de Vaux-le-Vicomte. It was a favorite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the de facto capital of France. The auction took place between 25 August 1793 and 11 August 1794. [129], The grounds of the palace will host the equestrian competition during the 2024 Summer Olympics. [130], The Palace of Versailles is a visual history of French architecture from the 1630s to the 1780s. Under de Gaulle, the north wing of the Grand Trianon became a residence of the President of France.[224]. [227][228][229] As the centre of the French court, Versailles was one of the grandest theatres of European absolutism. Napoleon I, following his coronation, used Versailles as a summer residence from 1810 to 1814, but did not restore it. In November 1918, an armistice ended the fighting in World War I. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Located in the western suburbs of the French capital, 17.1km (10.6mi) from the centre of Paris, Versailles is a wealthy suburb of Paris with a service-based economy and is a major tourist destination. The plans provided for a city built symmetrically with respect to the Avenue de Paris (which starts from the entrance of the castle). The headquarters of the Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University are located in the city, as well as the ISIPCA, a post graduate school in perfume, cosmetics products and food flavor formulation. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. For the next seven years, during the Rgence of Philippe d'Orlans, the royal court of the young King Louis XV was the first in Paris, while the Regent governed from his Parisian residence, the Palais-Royal. In 1622, the king purchased a parcel of forest for his private hunting. Ayers 2004,also includes 700 rooms. On 6 October 1789, from the balcony of this room Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette, joined by the Marquis de Lafayette, looked down on the hostile crowd in the courtyard, shortly before the King was forced to return to Paris. [174], Louis Philippe dedicates the Galerie des Batailles, by Franois Joseph Heim (1837), The Gallery of Battles in the Museum of the History of France, The Battle of Taillebourg, by Eugne Delacroix (1837), Louis Philippe and his sons pose before the gates of Versailles, by Horace Vernet History Gallery, (1846), Shortly after becoming King in 1830, Louis Philippe I decided to transform the palace into a museum devoted to "All the Glories of France," with paintings and sculpture depicting famous French victories and heroes. Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images. The Palace of Versailles was the principal residence of the French kings from the time of Louis XIV to Louis XVI. Dignitaries gathering in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, France, to sign the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I, June 28, 1919. King Louis XIV, the Sun King, spent nearly 50 years expanding the palace, and in1682, he moved both the royal residence and French seat of government to Versailles. Gauge the moods of the European people and statesmen as Woodrow Wilson arrived to forge an end to World War I The Palace of Versailles is a masterpiece of Classical architecture that inspired many European palaces in the 18th and 19th century. The idea of leaving Paris, where, as a child, he had experienced first-hand the insurrection of the Fronde, had never left him. [197][d] After a long period of decay, it was demolished in 1801. World Heritage Site Versailles Photo by Els Slots. Updated on January 29, 2020 In 1919, a defeated Germany was presented with peace terms by the victorious powers of World War I. Germany wasn't invited to negotiate and was given a stark choice: sign or be invaded. [171] Beyond the Royal Court is the Marble Court, so named for the distinctive black and white marble tiles that adorn the terrace floor. From May 1682, when Louis XIV moved the court and government permanently to Versailles, until his death in September 1715, Versailles was the unofficial capital of the kingdom of France. Designed and built by Le Vau in 1670,[216][219] it was the first example of Chinoiserie (faux Chinese) architecture in Europe, though it was largely designed in French style. 85,461. The Hall of Mirrors is a long gallery at the westernmost part of the palace that looks out onto the gardens. The hall is flanked on opposite ends by the equally striking Salon of Peace and Salon of War. Originally arranged for the use of the Marie-Thrse, consort of Louis XIV, the rooms were later modified for use by Marie Leszczyska and finally for Marie-Antoinette. Their home stadium is the Stade de Montbauron, which has a capacity of 6,208 people. Versailles again became the unofficial capital of France from March 1871, when Adolphe Thiers' government took refuge in Versailles, fleeing the insurrection of the Paris Commune, until November 1879, when the newly elected government and parliament returned to Paris. Most of the apartments of the palace were entirely demolished (in the main building, practically all of the apartments were annihilated, with only the apartments of the king and queen remaining almost intact), and turned into a series of several large rooms and galleries: the Coronation Room (whose original volume was left untouched by Louis-Philippe), which displays the celebrated painting of the coronation of Napoleon I by Jacques-Louis David; the Hall of Battles; commemorating French victories with large-scale paintings; and the 1830 room, which celebrated Louis-Philippe's own coming to power in the French Revolution of 1830. At the death of the Sun King in 1715, the village of Versailles had turned into a city of approximately 30,000 inhabitants. A monumental painting by Vernet features Louis Philippe himself, with his sons, posing in front of the gates of the palace. According to a report by The Sun, the first season of Versailles cost the makers around 20 million with a lavish production comprising elaborate costumes and beautiful backdrops. 06/23/2023. [189] It was also modified by Mansart, who, from 1681 to 1685, totally rebuilt it and doubled its size. 2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. Restoration of a monarchy almost occurred in 1873, with parliament offering the crown to Henri, comte de Chambord, but his refusal to accept the tricolor flag that had been adopted during the Revolution made the restoration of monarchy impossible for the time being. [198] The Versailles Orangery, just to the south of the palace,[201] was first built by Le Vau in 1663,[202] originally as part of the general moving of earth to create the Estate. The government and the French parliament stayed in Versailles after the quelling of the Commune (May 1871), and it was even thought[by whom?] Louis XIV, byname Louis the Great, Louis the Grand Monarch, or the Sun King, French Louis le Grand, Louis le Grand Monarque, or le Roi Soleil, (born September 5, 1638, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Francedied September 1, 1715, Versailles, France), king of France (1643-1715) who ruled his country, principally from his great palace at Versailles, during one of its most brilliant periods and who . The National Constituent Assembly followed the king to Paris soon afterwards, and Versailles lost its role of capital city. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Palace-of-Versailles, Art Encyclopedia - Palace of Versailles, France, UNESCO World Heritage Convention - Palace and Park of Versailles, Academia - Palace of Versailles UNESCO heritage site: Survivor of the French Revolution, LiveScience - Palace of Versailles: Facts and History, Khan Academy - Chteau de Versailles, France, Official Site of the Palace of Versailles, France, Palace of Versailles - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Omissions? This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/place/Versailles-France, Versailles - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Versailles - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). [236] This was the third time since 1848 that a French president addressed a joint session of the French Parliament at Versailles. The treaty includes no provisions for the economic rehabilitation of Europe - nothing to make the defeated central empires into good . He and his successors Louis XV and Louis XVI used these rooms for official functions, such as the ceremonial lever ("waking up") and the coucher ("going to bed") of the monarch, which was attended by a crowd of courtiers. This former unofficial capital of France sits just 10 miles from Paris and is easily reachable by train. Prior to the war, "if you were going to be a European power, you had to have colonial possessions," he says. Since 1972, Versailles has been the seat of one of France's 30 nationwide acadmies (districts) of the Ministry of National Education. However, due to the expense of the King's continental wars, the project was put aside. [197] The apartments, overlooking the pens,[46][199] were renovated by Mansart from 1698 to 1700,[198] but the Menagerie fell into disuse in 1712. In 1624 the king entrusted Jacques Lemercier with the construction of a chteau on the site. However, the adjoining Satory plateau is the location of armament and high-tech (electronics) industries. [18], In 1783, the palace was the site of the signing of the last two of the three treaties of the Peace of Paris (1783), which ended the American Revolutionary War. [24][29] Louis XIV was impressed by the chteau and its gardens,[29][30] which were the work of Louis Le Vau, the court architect since 1654, Andr Le Ntre, the royal gardener since 1657, and Charles Le Brun,[15] a painter in royal service since 1647. [16][18], When Louis XIII died in 1643, Anne became Louis XIV's regent,[19] and Louis XIII's chteau was abandoned for the next decade. The town of Versailles is now a local administrative centre and residential suburb of Paris. [175], The overthrow of Louis Philippe in 1848 put an end to his grand plans for the museum, but the Gallery of Battles is still as it was, and is passed through by many visitors to the royal apartments and grand salons. [203], In late 1679,[204] Louis XIV commissioned Mansart to build the Chteau de Marly,[99] a retreat at the edge of Versailles's estate, about 5 miles (8.0km) from the palace. With Paris men's fashion week officially over on June 25, the off-calendar shows have begun! The Potager du roi is a kitchen garden created under Louis XIV to supply fruits and vegetables to the Court. In 1632, the king bought the totality of the land and seigneury of Versailles from Jean-Franois de Gondi. It is located in the city of Versailles, Yvelines dpartement, le-de-France rgion, northern France, 10 miles (16 km) west-southwest of Paris. A 25-mile (40km) long, 10-foot (3.0m) high wall with 24 gateways enclosed the estate. prot.) [155], The Salon of Mercury was the original State Bedchamber when Louis XIV officially moved the court and government to the palace in 1682. [31] Vaux-le-Vicomte's scale and opulence inspired Louis XIV's aesthetic sense,[6] but also led him to imprison Fouquet that September, as he had also built an island fortress and a private army. [184], The estate was established by Louis XIII as a hunting retreat,[5][185] with a park just to the west of his chteau. Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs. King Louis XIV, son of Louis XIII, was only four years old when his father died. On both sides of the Avenue de Paris were built the Notre-Dame neighborhood and the Saint-Louis neighborhood, with new large churches, markets, aristocratic mansions, all built in very homogeneous style according to the models established by the Surintendant des Btiments du Roi. occ.) [123], The palace returned to the world stage in June 1919, when, after six months of negotiations, the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the First World War, was signed in the Hall of Mirrors. Eventually, however, left-wing republicans won a string of parliamentary elections, defeating the parties supporting a restoration of the monarchy, and the new majority decided to relocate the government to Paris in November 1879. It was constructed in 1623 and transformed and expanded by Louis XIV - today, it is a stunning example of 17th- and 18th-century French architecture and art, with many rooms to peruse. The argument over the etymology of Versailles tends to privilege the Latin word versare, meaning "to keep turning, turn over and over",[4] an expression used in medieval times for plowed lands, cleared lands (lands that had been repeatedly "turned over"). During the Revolution of 1789, city officials had proposed to the convention to rename Versailles Berceau-de-la-Libert ("Cradle of Liberty"), but they had to retract their proposal when confronted with the objections of the majority of the population.[5]. [178] Beyond these stables is the Place d'Armes[fr],[179][180] where the Avenue de Paris meets the Avenue de Sceaux[fr] and Avenue de Saint-Cloud[fr] (see map), the three roads that formed the main arteries of the city of Versailles. The empty grand apartments were opened for tours beginning in 1793, and a small museum of French paintings and art school was opened in some of the empty rooms.