| Versailles started out as King Louis XIII's simple hunting lodge. But upon becoming king, Louis XIV decided to enlarge his predecessor's lodge and turn it into a spectacular palace. He hired France's premier architects, the landscape designer of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris, and the head of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture for the interior. Upon completion of Versailles, Louis summoned his nobles to live with him � in order to prevent plots against him. It's estimated that anywhere from 3,000 to 10,000 people (including servants) lived, flirted, played, and plotted at Versailles. The palace's luxury and extravagance has caused the French Revolution in 1789. |
