The Palace of Versailles, also known as Chateau of Versailles, was originated from a hunting lodge built in the wilderness-like landscape of Versailles by Louis XIII. This was a simple brick-built building of three wings that was surrounded by water. His son Louis XIV had many fond boyhood memories of this chateau and so he chose it as a refuge where he could conduct his affair with Mademoiselle de la Valiere. The exterior of the chateau was decorated for him with all manner of finery and the interior was modernized with a separate new wing added.

When Louis XIV decided to make the chateau his palace and to move the court where from Paris in 1668, he needed much more space to hold court and give reception and grand state occasions. Louis Le Vau was therefore commissioned to give the new palace a scale more becoming such a royal purpose. The grand exterior windows were further embellished by architect Jules Mansart ten years later in order to enhance the brilliance of Le Roi Soleil – the Sun King, as Louis XIV was now known.

The Palace of Versailles had to be grand by design, and it certainly succeeded in this with its “scale, design, and beauty which would remain throughout the centuries as a testimony to the self-esteem of the most powerful king in Europe. In 1682, the Versailles has twenty thousand number of courts, of which at least five thousand lived in the palace itself, which has 1,300 rooms heated by fires from 1,252 chimneys. The stables alone can house 2,500 horses and two hundred coaches. Despite wide opposition against further throwing large sums into the project, no obstacle could stand in the way of the Sun King’s obsession. That includes natural obstacles, which the king had his soldiers reclaim the swamp, plant mature trees, and dig miles of ditches to provide water for both wells and fountains.

The completed work of art has been described as “the most tremendous edifice of all architecture and garden history of the Occident” by garden historian Wilfried Hansmann. The importance of the green surroundings to the palace is revealed in the instruction given to the garden designer Andre Le Notre to design a king’s garden “such as the world has never seen before”. From then onwards the extension of the grounds surrounding the palace became the main priority above all other building work. The interior was furnished with marble, gold, and silver, while the garden was created with walkways, vistas, fountains, ponds, rills, garden statuary, and an orangery as testimony to the power of the Sun King.

Travel to the Palace of Versailles for a vacation to experience for yourself the magnificence of this architecture. The palace is located at about 12.5 miles South West of Paris. You can travel to the Palace of the Sun King for a tour and vacation by taking the fast RER train from Paris to Versailles Rive Gauche. Travelers to the Chateau of Versailles for a great vacation should take note of its opening times. It is opened from May to September 9 a.m. – 6.30 p.m.; October to April 9 a.m. – 5.30 p.m (closed Mondays).

 

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