Versailles - France
This was a hunting lodge built by Louis XIII in 1623. Louis XIV transformed the lodge into a
spectacular 1,300-room residence surrounded by a 100-hectare (247-acre) park and formal gardens.
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This is the statue of Louis XIV who requested the building of Versailles.
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The Hall of Mirror (1661 - 1666) with its marvelous
gilded wood candelabra. This is where the great
receptions and official ceremonies took place and was
where the German Empire was officially proclaimed in
1871 and where the Peace conference which led to the
signing of the Versailles Treaty was held in 1919.
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The gardens, featuring many fountains and the famous Orangery, are laid out in broad avenues lined
with trees, shrubbery, and groups of sculpture. Now, there are so many statues and groups of figures
in bronze and marble that count has been lost.
The gardens was designed by Le Notre whose genius Louis XIV had enviously admired. He strewed
maples and beeches and elms over the grounds, modeled the hawthorn, planted the linden tree,
planned a grove, created a labyrinth and fascinated the king with his creative fantasy.
Numerous galleries, salons, and royal apartments, all lavishly decorated and fitted with ornate furnishings, occupy
the interior.
