Versailles: history, description and the best things to see

The Palace of Versailles is one of the French royal residences, which was built in the suburbs of Paris, Versailles, in the XVII century. Today it is one of the most popular attractions not only in France, but also in the world.

The complex of Versailles Palace, which includes several other "small palaces" and the park, is the largest in Europe. Despite its splendor and size, the overall view of the Palais Versailles is complete. Versailles himself became a symbol of excessive and irrational spending of public money during the peak of the absolute monarchy. This palace is interesting, because it is unlikely that in the near future there will be any residences that can overshadow Versailles.

History of Versailles

The history of construction of the Versailles complex is quite simple, it can be retold literally one sentence: King Louis XIV at the peak of both its own power and the strength of France itself, wanted a new residence and built it.

Once he saw the palace of Wolf-le-Vicont, Louis XIV called the same team of architects that created the palace of the minister, and set a difficult task - to do "the same, but 100 times better. The wish of the monarch was fulfilled: the architect Louis Levo began construction in 1661, and 21 years later Versailles became the official royal residence - an unprecedentedly short construction period for a grand building of more than 6 hectares, consisting of 3500 rooms! The palace and its décor were created using the latest technologies of the time: for example, the famous Mirror Hall was decorated by Italian masters, who at that time were the only ones who knew amalgamation techniques. Bricklayers from Flanders, along with their secrets, were discharged for large construction works - the professional reputation of the Flemish in those years was the best in the world.

Versailles was a small village at some distance from Paris, about 20 kilometers from the center of the French capital. The first mention is found in the document 1038, then it was owned by a certain feudal lord Hugo de Versailles. The settlement was on a busy road from Paris to Normandy, but the plague and war actually destroyed the village in the following centuries.

The history of the royal palace dates back to 1575, when the Florentine Albert de Gondy, who made his career at Charles IX's court, took possession of this land. Then, in the early 17th century, Louis XIII came to Versailles for hunting at the invitation of the Gondy family. The area was very much liked by the king and in 1624 a small royal hunting lodge was built here. After the death of the last members of the Florentine family, the land was taken over by the Crown.

The reconstruction of Versailles from the country estate to the palace that we see today was carried out in three stages, each of which began in the period between the wars waged by Louis XIV. The entire royal court did not move here from the Louvre until 1682, but the de facto king had spent much of his time in Versailles before that.

If the Palace of Versailles had been built today, it would have cost them a quarter of a trillion euros (the Americans launched 15 spacecraft to the Moon for half the amount). Add to that the costs of expanding and reconstructing the palace, the maintenance of the many thousands of courtiers and footmen, and the grandiose costs of balls and celebrations. It is obvious that the palace cost a lot for the French economy.

Today, the Palace of Versailles has the status of a museum and one of the main attractions of France, but at the same time it retains a number of official state functions. In the 20th century, after the Second World War, Versailles had to be rebuilt with money collected from all over France. For some advertising here were held absolutely all the meetings between the heads of state up to the 90s.

Now the Palace of Versailles is financially and legally autonomous, and the profit it brings 5 million people annually visiting this French sight. Also from 8 to 10 million people visit the park and gardens of Versailles.

What to see in Versailles?

The area of the Versailles Palace is 63 thousand square meters with 2,300 rooms. The most famous "room" of the palace is the Mirror Gallery (used for special occasions, such as the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette), the King's Suite (used as a living quarters for Louis XIV) and the Battle Gallery with monumental paintings, which are dedicated to the greatest battles in which France took part.

Separately from these buildings is situated the Queen's Village, which was built especially for Marie Antoinette to enjoy "country life". The village of Versailles is built in the style of a classic Norman village. It has a windmill, a billiards room, a boudoir and a queen's theatre. Marie-Antoinette adored the theatre and even participated in some of the productions. Today there are a lot of animals on the territory of the village: wild boar, chickens, rabbits, etc.

The French gardens were designed by Andre Lenotre and were unique for their time. Today you can see sculptures, fountains, statues, colonnades and even an obelisk in Versailles gardens. There is a greenhouse near the gardens where orange and lemon trees are grown.

The park of Versailles is an extension to the Palace of Versailles. Inside the Versailles park there is a huge canal (1700 meters by 1000 meters), which was designed by Andre Lenotrom himself. At the time of the king, this canal was used for mini-marine defiles with ships and gondolas.

The Potager du Roi is located at the side of the Swiss pool, near the Palace Orangery, the entrance is 10, rue du Maréchal-Joffre. Today the Potager du Roi (Versailles vegetable garden) is considered to be a historical monument and its modern appearance is very much reminiscent of its original appearance. The Potager du Roi is now run by the French National School of Landscape Arts, where landscape design architects are trained. Before it was used to grow vegetables and fruits for the royal table and because of its unusual layout, many fruits and vegetables could be grown out of season.

The Carriage Museum is located on the site of the former stables and is located opposite the Palace of Versailles at 1 Avenue Rockefeller. In general, Versailles has a huge collection of carriages even if the original carriages of the time of the kings are almost gone.