Palace of Versailles
In 1623, King Louis XIII built a small hunting lodge on a wooded wetland site west of Paris. The location near the village of Versailles was considered unworthy by his courtiers. François de Bassompierre wrote that the structure would not inspire vanity in even the simplest gentleman. From 1631 to 1634, architect Philibert Le Roy replaced the original lodge with a larger château for the king. Louis XIII forbade his queen, Anne of Austria, from staying there overnight despite an outbreak of smallpox at their primary residence in 1641. After Louis XIII died in 1643, the château sat abandoned for nearly a decade while the court returned to Paris.
Louis XIV ordered the expansion of his father's château into a palace starting in 1668. He recruited architects who had worked on Nicolas Fouquet's Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte including Louis Le Vau and André Le Nôtre. Between 1668 and 1671, Le Vau encased the old château on three sides creating what became known as the enveloppe. This addition gave the building a new Italianate façade overlooking the gardens while preserving the courtyard side resulting in a mix of styles. Jules Hardouin-Mansart took over after Le Vau's death in 1670 and added the Hall of Mirrors between 1678 and 1681. The final chapel construction lasted from 1699 to 1710 under Hardouin-Mansart's direction.
In 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles making it the de facto capital of France. By 1687, all nobility understood that Versailles was now the center of French power. The king received foreign dignitaries there including the Doge of Genoa Francesco Maria Imperiale Lercari in 1685. An embassy from the Ayutthaya Kingdom visited in 1686 followed by one from Safavid Iran in 1715. The palace hosted the signing of treaties ending the American Revolutionary War on the 4th of September 1783. During the French Revolution, the royal family fled to Paris on the 6th of October 1789 after being compelled by a crowd of several thousand people who marched from Paris to Versailles.
The National Convention ordered the transfer of paintings and sculptures from the palace to the Louvre in 1792. Between the 25th of August 1793 and the 11th of August 1794, an auction sold seventeen thousand lots of furnishings and art. The empty buildings became storehouses for confiscated items while grand apartments opened for tours starting in 1793. Napoleon restored the Grand Trianon as his summer residence from 1810 to 1814 but did not use the main palace. Louis-Philippe inaugurated the Museum of the History of France on the 30th of June 1837. The German Empire was proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors on the 18th of January 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War.
Pierre de Nolhac began restoration work at the palace in 1892 as its first conservator. John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated $2,166,000 between 1925 and 1928 to restore and refurbish the building. Parts of the palace were heavily damaged by Breton terrorists in 1978. A new restoration initiative called the Grand Versailles project started in 2003 after Cyclone Lothar destroyed over 10,000 trees on the 26th of December 1999. The Hall of Mirrors restoration completed in 2006 while backstage areas of the Royal Opera received further work from 2007 to 2009. The French Ministry of Culture has managed the site since 1995 through a Public Establishment.
André Le Nôtre designed the gardens that have existed since Louis XIV's reign. The landscape was created from boggy wetlands surrounding the original château using fortress-building techniques. Water from marshes formed lakes and ponds but required massive engineering projects including damming the river Bièvre in the 1660s. An enormous pumping station at Marly-le-Roi began operation in 1681 to supply water to the estate. The gardens covered approximately 800 hectares with axial paths flowerbeds hedges and fountains creating rigid order. A wall with 24 gateways enclosed the entire estate which stretched as far as the eye could see.
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Common questions
Who built the original Palace of Versailles in 1623?
King Louis XIII built a small hunting lodge on a wooded wetland site west of Paris in 1623. The location near the village of Versailles was considered unworthy by his courtiers.
When did Louis XIV move the seat of government to the Palace of Versailles?
Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles in 1682 making it the de facto capital of France. By 1687 all nobility understood that Versailles was now the center of French power.
What happened at the Palace of Versailles on the 4th of September 1783?
The palace hosted the signing of treaties ending the American Revolutionary War on the 4th of September 1783. This event took place during the reign of Louis XIV before the French Revolution began.
How much money did John D. Rockefeller Jr. donate to restore the Palace of Versailles?
John D. Rockefeller Jr. donated $2,166,000 between 1925 and 1928 to restore and refurbish the building. His contribution helped preserve the structure after parts were heavily damaged by Breton terrorists in 1978.
Who designed the gardens surrounding the Palace of Versailles?
André Le Nôtre designed the gardens that have existed since Louis XIV's reign. The landscape was created from boggy wetlands using fortress-building techniques and covered approximately 800 hectares with axial paths flowerbeds hedges and fountains creating rigid order.