|
King Louis XIV chose to move to Versailles in 1682. He moved from another Royal palace and his home named the Louvre, in Paris.
|
|
The gardens of the Palace of Versailles cover 30,000+ acres. The gardens included 400 sculptures and 1400 fountains.
|
|
There were two smaller palaces at the Palace of Versailles including the Petit Trianon - which was Marie Antoinette's personal escape from palace life.
|
|
The Palace of Versailles contained more than 5,000 pieces of furniture, and 6,000 paintings.
|
|
The kitchens of the Palace of Versailles were massive. They were also located far from the King's dining room that food was often cold by the time it arrived.
|
|
There were more than 200 servants in the Palace of Versailles to serve the King of France. Some of the servants had the job of emptying the royal chamber pot (toilet).
|
|
King Louis XIV made everything he did into a ceremony, including waking up in the morning.
|
|
The Palace of Versailles contains a room called the Hall of Mirrors. The room is one of the most spectacular in the palace and was originally lit with candles (3000).
|
|
The design of the Palace of Versailles has been copied in various European countries because it was admired so much when it was built in the 1600s.
|
|
When the French Revolution began much of the artwork at the Palace of Versailles was moved to the Louvre.
|
|
The French people looked at the Palace of Versailles as a symbol of what was wrong with life in France at the time. The nobility and the aristocracy had everything they wanted and more, and the people of France were poor, and often starving.
|
|
The Palace of Versailles, where the French Revolution began, later became a place to end wars.
|
|
The signing of the treaty that ended the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 took place at the Palace of Versailles.
|
|
The end of World War I was officially ended in 1919 with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty was signed in the Hall of Mirrors.
|
|
World War II caused damage to some parts of the palace and the gardens. Efforts to restore the damaged portions have been mostly successful, but very expensive.
|
|
It is estimated that approximately 5 million people visit the Palace of Versailles each year as tourists, and between 8 and 10 million people walks the gardens of the palace each year.
|
