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Chateau de Versailles
58 EUROPE

A magnificent palace with sumptuous interiors and splendid
gardens, Versailles represents the glory of Louis XIV's reign.
Paris Starting in 1668 with his father's modest hunting lodge, the
CHATEAU DE
VERSAILLES king commissioned the largest palace in Europe, with 700
SWITZER~N\)t'
FRANCE rooms, 67 staircases, and 1,800 acres (730 ha) of landscaped
BAY Of parkland. Architect Louis Le Vau built a series of wings that
BISCAY • Bordeaux ITALY
expanded into an enlarged courtyard. They w ere decorated
with marble busts, antique trophies, and gilded roofs. Jules
MfDfTERRANEAN
SAAIN SEA Hardouin-Mansart took over in 1678 and added the two Gold crest from the
immense north and south wings. He also designed the Petit Trianon
chapel, which was finished in 1710. Charles le Brun planned
RESIDENTS OF VERSAILLES
In 1682, Louis XIV declared Versailles the offid al the interiors and A ndre Le N6tre redesigned the gardens.
seat of the French government and court.
During his reign, I ife in this sumptuous Baroque
~South Wing
pal ace (Baroque S ty/e, seep. 80) was ordered
The wing's original apartments
by rigid etiquette. Under Louis XV (171 5-74), for great nobles wer e replaced
~ ..-~~~ in 1837 by Loui$-Philippe's
.......
it became increasingly opulent with the help ;!!'!I~
of Madame de Pompadour, the king's mistress, museum of French history.
who set a taste for elegance that soon spread
across Europe.ln 1789, Louis X\11 was forced
to leave Versailles when it was invaded by a
Revolutionary Parisian mob. The palace was
subsequently looted and left until the reign of
Louis-Phllippe ( 1830-48), who converted part
of it into a museum of French history.

THE GARDENS
Andr~ Le N otre (1613-1700), France's greatest louis XIV statue - -----=-=-..,:..;
landscape gardener, created magnificent Erected by Louis-Philippe
in 1837, this bronze
ch~teau gardens. His superb architectural
equestrian statue of the
orchestration, Classical vision and sense of Sun King stands where
symmetry are seen in the sweeping vistas of a gilded gateway once
Versailles, his greatest triumph. lhe gardens are marked the beginning
of the Royal Courtyard.
styled 1nto regular patterns of flowerbeds and
box hedges, paths and groves, ornate pools
of water, and fountains. Geometric paths and
shrubberies are features of the formal gardens. Clock v
Hercules and Mars flank
The Petit Trianon, a small chateau built as a
the clock overlooking the
retreat for L ouis XV, is found in the gardens. Marble Courtyard.
INSIDE THE CHATEAU
The lavish man apartments are on the first
Chapelle Royale >-
floor of the vast chateau complex. Around the
Marble Courtyard .:re the private apartments
of the king and queen. On the garden side are
the state apartments, where official court life
took place. These were richly decorated by
Charles L e Brun with colored marble, stones, v North Wing
and wood carvings, murals, velvet silver and
gilded furniture. Starting with the Salon
d'Hercule, each state room is dedicated to
an Ol ympian deity. The Salon d'Apollon,
dedicated to the god Apollo, was LoLis XIV's
ttrone room The dim ax is the Hall of Mirrors,
stretcllng 2~ ft (/0 m) along the west fa~de
Great state occasions were held in th1s room,
where 17 mirrors face tall, arched Windows
Another highlight is the ChapeUe Royale, With
the first floor rese1ved for the royal family and
the ground floor for the court.