Frontal View of the Garden and Palace at Versailles
Louis XIV (The Sun King) and his palace
The history of Château de Versailles starts with the “Sun King”, Louis XIV. He had grown up during the disorder of the Fronde; a short civil war between rival factions of aristocrats (To learn more about that go HERE. For this reason, the newly appointed king wanted a center where he could organize and completely control a government of France by absolute personal rule. The place he chose for his new palace was the royal hunting lodge, located at the small village of Versailles.
Louis XIV quickly became more or less obsessed with his new palace, and spent the majority of his time and effort on it. What started as a hunting lodge was soon to become one of the largest palaces in the world.
The first Construction Campaign
The construction and expansion of Château de Versailles was done through four distinct building campaigns over a 50 year period. The first campaign started in mid 17th century and was initiated because Louis was about to host a major party for the two queens of France. During this phase, the palace witnessed alterations in the both the building and gardens in order to accommodate the 600 guests invited to a party.
The Second Construction Campaign
The second building campaign started a few years later. During this campaign, Château de Versailles began to assume some of the appearance that it has today. This phase included the construction of several apartments and lodging facilities, including the classic “Grand Appartement Du Roi”.
The Third Construction Campaign
The third campaign began some 10 years later. During this phase, the Château de Versailles acquired much of the look that it has today, including the brilliant Hall of Mirrors. It was at this time, in 1682, that Louis XIV officially installed his court at Versailles.
By moving his court and government to Versailles, Louis hoped to extract more control of the government from the nobility. By now, all the power of France emanated from this center. The government offices were moved here as well as the homes of thousands of courtiers and their retinues. With this, the village of Versailles quickly grew.
The Fourth Construction Campaign
Louis XIV undertook his last building campaign at Versailles at the start of the 18th century. The fourth building campaign concentrated almost exclusively on construction of the royal chapel as well as some modifications in the Appartement Du Roi.
The Chateau After Louis XIV
After the death of the Louis XIV in 1715, the five-year old king Louis XV with his court returned to Paris but they would return a few years later. During the reign of the new king, Château de Versailles underwent transformation, but not on the scale that had been seen during the reign of his father.
The same was true for his successor, Louis XVI. Much of his contributions to Château de Versailles were largely dictated by the unfinished projects left to him by his grandfather.
The Chateau after the French Revolution
Not surprisingly, Château de Versailles lost its function as a royal palace after the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. The temporary government in charge, the National Convention, arranged for the majority of the palace furniture to be either sold or rented.
Only items of particular artistic or intellectual value were exempt from the sale. These items were consigned to be part of the collection of a museum, which had been planned at the time of the sale of the palace furnishings.
During the time after the revolution - with Napoleon Bonaparte, the Bourbon Restoration and the Second Empire - the palace received little attention. It was primarily used for different state events and during visits by political and royal foreigners.
RevivalIt was not until after the Second World War that the palace once again gained some attention, this time in the form of renovations. A major project was initiated in the mid 20th century in an attempt to bring back to its former glory and to once again put it on the world map. A new roof to the Hall of Mirrors was added and several chambers and apartments were restored.
Additionally, a policy was established in which the French government would aggressively seek to acquire as much of original furniture and artwork as possible, as much had been dispersed at the time of the Revolution.