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What historical changes have the Palace of Versailles experienced?

The Palace of Versailles (French: Chateau de Versailles) is located in the town of Versailles, the capital of Yvelines, on the outskirts of Paris, France. Russian Kremlin). In 1979, it was listed as the “World Cultural Heritage List”.

The area where the Palace of Versailles is located turned out to be a forest and swampy wasteland. In 1624, King Louis XIII of France bought 117 acres of wasteland at a price of 10,000 livres, and built a two-story red brick building here as a hunting palace. On the second floor, there are rooms such as the king’s office, dormitory, reception room, clothing room, and entourage’s bedroom, and the first floor is a furniture storage room and a weapons storehouse. The palace at that time had 26 rooms, now it has 2300 rooms, 67 stairs and 5210 pieces of furniture. As a French court for 107 years (1682-1789).

On October 6, 1789, Louis XVI was taken into Paris by the people, and the history of Versailles as a royal palace came to an end. During the terrifying period of the French Revolution that followed, the Palace of Versailles was sacked by the people many times. The furniture, murals, tapestries, chandeliers and furnishings in the palace were looted, and the doors and windows of the palace were smashed and demolished.

In 1793, all the remaining artworks and furniture in the palace were shipped to the Louvre. Since then, the Palace of Versailles has been in ruins for 40 years. It was not until 1833 that King Louis-Philippe of the Orleans Dynasty ordered the restoration of the Palace of Versailles and turned it into a history museum.

Origin

In 1624, King Louis XIII of France bought the forest, wasteland and swamp area near the original site of the Palace of Versailles with an area of ​​117 acres at a price of 10,000 livres and built a two-story red brick building as a hunting palace. At that time, the Palace of Versailles only had 26 rooms. The first floor was a furniture storage room and an armory, and the second floor was the king’s office, dormitory, reception room, clothes room, and entourage’s bedroom.

When Louis XIII died in 1643, when Louis XIV was only five years old, the royal pavilions at that time were located in the Louvre and Saint-Germain-en-Laye. After the marriage of Louis XIV in 1664, he decided to move the royal palace to Versailles, that is, to build the palace on the basis of the hunting lodge built by his father.

During the 50 years of Louis XIV’s reign, the Palace of Versailles eclecticly embodies the design essence of many French artists and architects, becoming the grandest and most gorgeous palace in Europe.

Louis XV and Louis XVI successively added new content to the palace, redecorating and incorporating all architectural styles, ranging from French classicism, Rococo to neoclassical architecture. The final layout of the building is simply enormous, with more than 700 rooms and an area of ​​51,000 square meters.

Historical Evolution

On May 6, 1682, Louis XIV announced that the French court would be moved from Paris to Versailles. In 1688, the construction of the main part of the Palace of Versailles was completed. In 1710, the construction of the entire Palace and Gardens of Versailles was completed and immediately became the largest, most majestic and most luxurious palace building in Europe and the center of activity, art and cultural fashion of the nobles in France and even Europe.

In its heyday, there were as many as 36,000 princes, grandsons, ladies, princes, nobles, bishops and their servants living in the palace. Also stationed at Versailles are the Swiss Centenary Guard, the Scottish Guard, the Court Police, 6,000 Royal Guards, 4,000 Infantry and 4,000 Cavalry. So when the construction is completed, there are more than 1,300 rooms in total, and the whole palace looks huge. In order to accommodate his many “official mistresses”, Louis XIV also built the Grand Trianon and Marly Palaces. During the period of French King Louis XV and Louis XVI, buildings such as the Petit Trianon Palace and the Swiss Farm were built.

In 1762, the French royal family moved from the Louvre in Paris to settle here. On October 6, 1789, Louis XVI was kidnapped into the city of Paris by the people of Paris during the French Revolution, and was later pushed to the guillotine and beheaded. The history of Versailles as the French court ended.

In the following period of revolutionary terror, the Palace of Versailles was repeatedly looted by the people. The furniture, murals, tapestries, chandeliers and furnishings in the palace were looted, and the doors and windows of the palace were also smashed and demolished. In 1793, the remaining works of art and furniture in the Palace of Versailles were transferred to the Louvre, another art treasure in Paris, and the Palace of Versailles was reduced to ruins.

In 1833, King Louis-Philippe of the House of Orleans ordered the restoration of Versailles, turning it into a history museum.