Versailles began in 1623 as a hunting lodge for Louis XIII. From 1661 his son Louis XIV turned it into the grandest palace in Europe. Louis Le Vau wrapped the old château in an Italianate shell from 1668 to 1671, and François d'Orbay and then Jules Hardouin-Mansart carried the work on. The court lived here permanently from May 6, 1682 until October 6, 1789.
Its heart is the Hall of Mirrors, begun in 1678. Its 578 mirrors face 17 windows, beneath a ceiling painted by Charles Le Brun with 30 scenes, 17 of them military victories over the Dutch. The palace has about 2,300 rooms, 2,143 windows and a facade 1,320 feet (402 m) long, and its formal gardens cover 230 acres (93 hectares).
The Treaty of Versailles, which formally ended the First World War, was signed in the Hall of Mirrors in June 1919. UNESCO inscribed the palace and park in 1979.
Comments