There is a France and a Palace of Versailles, whose magnificence is well-known. So that many people enter France to see it. Every year, more than four million tourists visit this historical palace and admire the magnificent architecture, beautiful water features and magnificent halls of this unique building.
In the summer season, attractive concerts are held in this beautiful palace, which attracts many tourists. If you are also eager to know interesting things about this legendary palace, join us in this article.
Versailles
Learn more about the historical palace of France
The Palace of Versailles can be mentioned as one of the magnificent buildings of France, which is located in the city of Versailles and 16 kilometers southwest of Paris. This is called the historical palace of France because it was the residence of the royal family. The city of Versailles before the construction of this palace was not of great importance and was considered like other ordinary French cities.
It was the arrival of the royal family in this city in 1682, which made Versailles distance itself from other French cities. In fact, the coming of the royal family to this city and their residence in the Palace of Versailles caused the significant prosperity of the city of Versailles. Until the French Revolution occurred in 1789, Versailles became one of the most important and large urban centers in France with a population of more than 60,000 people.
The palace has an area of about 2014 hectares and has been called the largest territory in the world. The area of the Versailles building is equivalent to 67 thousand square meters. It should be mentioned that the historical palace of Versailles has an extremely magnificent architecture, which has a great history next to it, and these two factors have caused the attention of ordinary people and historians from different parts of the world to be drawn to this palace.
Where is the location of the Palace of Versailles?
Versailles is a region where the fertility of its land makes many people eager to live in this city. In the past, it was for this reason that the attention of the French kings was drawn to Versailles. Louis XIII bought the land where the Palace of Versailles was built, he built a residence in it where he could travel and hunt only occasionally.
At that time, most of the land around Versailles was uninhabited and this caused the number of wild animals in these areas to increase. This issue, along with the fertility of the land, made Louis XIII’s attention to this area for hunting. It was like this that until the end of the reign of Louis XIII, this place remained a hunting and recreation place; But Louis XIII’s successor, namely Louis XIV, started building the Palace of Versailles and it was in the last years of his life that the construction of this magnificent palace was completed.
Where is the location of the Palace of Versailles?
The Grand Palace of Versailles was divided into two parts, south and north, and consisted of many buildings, which was considered an extraordinary phenomenon at that time. The main purpose of building this magnificent palace was to show the king’s power.
In addition to the buildings of the historical palace of Versailles, a number of large and beautiful gardens were also built in the western part of the palace, and for the construction of all the gardens, a specific design and shape has been followed. For example, one of the gardens is made in the shape of a star, which gives an amazing effect to this palace. It has also attracted many tourists. Statues and fountains were used to decorate the gardens, which sent water up with pressure by means of a hydraulic system.
What was the process of building the Palace of Versailles?
As soon as Louis XIV settled in the city of Versailles, he ordered the construction of a very luxurious palace called the Grand Trianon Palace, which was built at a distance of 1.6 km from the northwest part of the Palace of Versailles. It is interesting to know that only Louis XIV and the guests he chose had access to this palace. In other words, it was completely exclusive.
If we want to examine the Palace of Versailles in more detail, we must say that this palace consists of 350 accommodation units that are different from each other in terms of design. And of course, where each person lived in this palace and which room belonged to him, depended on the direct relationship with each person’s position in the government and their closeness to the king.
For example, the eldest son of the king and successor to the throne had a large apartment on the ground floor of the palace, while for the palace staff, no better place was considered than the attic room or under the stairs.
Louis XIV’s bedroom was located on the upper floor and in the center of the west-east axis of the palace, which has a unique design. This room was known as the most important place in the interior of the Palace of Versailles. The throne of Louis XIV was in the Hall of Apollo.
What was the process of building the Palace of Versailles?
This hall was the meeting place of the king and ministers during government decisions. The royal church was intended for religious ceremonies, which covered two floors of the palace, and is still considered one of the ancient places of worship.
Despite all the glory and splendor that the Palace of Versailles had, for a long time there was no luxurious theater in it and temporary halls were used. In the end, this hall was built by order of Louis XV. The design and mechanism of this hall was such that a place above the main stage was intended for musicians. This was because it was possible to dance and feast on the main stage.
The interesting thing about using this hall at night was that using the opera hall at night required the use of 3,000 candles to provide lighting, and for this reason, it was not possible to use this hall at any time. Especially since the financial situation of France was not good at that time.
The interior beauty of the Palace of Versailles in France
The gardens of this palace are among the largest gardens in the world; Because they cover an area of about 2000 hectares. It is interesting to know that 210,000 flowers and 200,000 trees are planted in these gardens every year, and in 1979, the names of these gardens were registered in the UNESCO World Heritage List next to the Palace of Versailles.
The gardens of the historical palace of Versailles have a beautiful geometric design. The trees in regular rows and its sidewalks are very beautiful. The ponds and water channels of this garden are also another reason for its fame. Of course, more than anything else, the water features of the garden attract the attention of tourists. It should be mentioned that there are a total of 50 fountains with 620 fountains in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, which were built to entertain guests in these gardens. It is interesting to know that even now many of these fountains use the same old hydraulic systems that were built by order of the royal family.
The interior beauty of the Palace of Versailles in France
In the western part of the garden, they built a large water channel, which was approximately 1.6 kilometers long, and it was often used to show the equipment of the French Navy, and it was also considered as a show of power. In addition, special rowing boats were placed in this channel.
In fact, Louis XIV built this palace to show off his authority and power among other governments, and the luxury of this palace was seen by all the rulers of the time. It was for this reason that Louis XIV decided to move the center of French government to Versailles.
The Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles
One of the most famous buildings of the Palace of Versailles was called the Hall of Mirrors, which is still standing and is considered a very spectacular place of this palace. This hall consists of 17 large mirrored arches and there is a window in front of each of these arches. 21 pieces of mirrors are used in each arch and there are a total of 357 pieces of mirrors in the hall.
The length, width, and height of the Hall of Mirrors are 73, 10.5, and 12.3 meters, respectively. Among the decorations of the hall, we can mention ceiling paintings and gilded sculptures on the walls. One of the beauties of Versailles palace is several glass chandeliers in the hall and hanging from the ceiling. These chandeliers have doubled the beauty of the hall.
The knowledge of how they were built in the past with those few facilities increases the wonder of this hall. You may have heard the names of the lighting of the Palace of Versailles. It is interesting to know that inside the hall of mirrors, 20,000 candles were lit during the royal celebrations and it made the hall so bright that they chose this name for it.
Versailles palace churches
In general, five churches were built inside the Palace of Versailles, of which only one remains and is actually the last church built. It is interesting to know that this church was dedicated to Louis IX of France at the time of construction.
Among the other buildings built in the Palace of Versailles, we can mention the Grand Apartments of the King and Queen. These apartments include a number of consecutive halls where court meetings and government meetings were held. In addition to them, there are the Queen’s Apartments, which consist of a number of private rooms and the Queen’s Golden Bedroom.
An interesting thing to know is that these rooms had a secret door that was actually made for emergencies; Because the Palace of Versailles could be attacked. Marie Antoinette, the last queen before the French Revolution and the wife of Louis XVI, was able to escape from the Parisian revolutionaries using this secret door.
Chapels of the Palace of Versailles
Royal Opera House
The last building that we are going to introduce is the Royal Opera Hall of Versailles, which was the main venue for the theater and opera performances of the Palace of Versailles. The design of this hall is very special and amazing, and it was the responsibility of the famous French architect, Ange Jacques Gabriel, and that is why it is also called Gabriel’s Theater.
The interior design of the hall was done by Augustin Pajo, who worked almost all parts of the interior with wood. We have also tried to choose a color for this hall that looks like marble. It is interesting to know that this hall is designed very well in terms of sound quality and most of this feature is due to the use of wood in its interior design. One of the interesting things that we should mention is the capacity of this hall.
It should be mentioned that the capacity of the Royal Opera Hall of Versailles is more than seven hundred people.
Royal Opera House
Architecture and design of the historical palace of Versailles
One of the interesting and unique features of the Palace of Versailles is its unique architecture. Because it was built in such a way that even today’s architectural experts consider it exemplary. Today, some researchers and art history specialists consider the Versailles and Louvre palaces to be French classical architectural style.
The interesting thing about the Palace of Versailles is that almost everywhere we look, we see a symbol of something. For example, images of Roman gods are used to decorate the ceilings. In addition, in different places of the palace, you can see the initial letter of the king’s name, “L”, which is included in different carvings in a special way. All this is for the constant reminder that he is the king and God’s grace and favor is the main source of his power.
The achievements of the king are kept in the Palace of Versailles, which gave a beautiful effect to this palace and these achievements were used to decorate the palace. And it is interesting to know that the narration of the king’s life history was used to decorate the Hall of Mirrors and the “War and Peace” halls adjacent to it. For example, there are thirty panels in the Hall of Mirrors that tell epic stories of Louis XIV’s achievements.
If we want to mention it in more detail, in these narratives, special mention is made of the king’s victory in various battles. One of the interesting pictures that you can see there, for example, is of Louis XIV crossing the Rhine River with his army in 1672. Louis XIV is dressed in Roman garb, his long hair swept back in the wind, and he is holding a spear that he is about to throw at his enemies.
Architecture and design of the historical palace of Versailles
The Queen’s mansions in the historic Palace of Versailles
Marie Antoinette, the wife of Louis XVI and the last queen before the French Revolution, decided to build a separate mansion for herself near the Grand Trianon building in the palace, which consisted of several buildings, a house, a small theater and a farm. The name of this mansion was chosen Petit Trianon, which means small in French.
Also, Marie Antoinette ordered to build another building called the Temple of Love. He seems to have had a fine view of this temple from his room in the Petit Trianon mentioned. In this temple, twelve columns are used to support a large domed ceiling, and inside there is a statue of Cupid, the god of love in Greek mythology, who is sharpening a bow and arrow from the staff of Hercules.
Also, another building that Marie Antoinette ordered to be built in her mansion was a wonderful cave with a fur-covered bed and two beautiful entrances.
If we want to discuss the fate of the Palace of Versailles after the Great French Revolution, we must say that in 1789, the French Revolution reached its peak and Louis XVI, together with his queen, Marie Antoinette, were removed from power. They managed to escape; But in the end they fell into the hands of the revolutionaries and the revolutionaries brought them to Paris and executed both of them.
After this incident, the control of the Palace of Versailles officially fell into the hands of the new republican government. Many of the palace’s expensive and valuable items were sold to finance the upcoming revolutionary wars. Finally, when Napoleon was able to take control of the situation, he ordered a complete apartment to be built in the Grand Trianon and lived in it.
The Queen’s mansions in the historic Palace of Versailles
Interesting facts you don’t know about the Palace of Versailles in France
The Palace of Versailles in Paris, which was first built only as a hunting ground for the king and his companions, today after several centuries has passed, it is known as one of the attractions and attractions for tourists who go to France. Stay with us to tell you interesting things about it:
- During the French revolution, the gate of the palace was destroyed, and in 2008, this golden gate was restored and can be visited now.
- A total of 36 thousand workers were used to build the Palace of Versailles and its gardens.
- It is interesting to know that this palace has a capacity of 5000 people.
- In this palace, there are 2153 windows, 1200 fireplaces, 700 rooms and more than 67 stairs.
- Most of the palace’s valuable works were sold or transferred to other museums; But now most of them are back and placed inside the palace where you can visit them.
- In the past, a large number of valuable works of art and paintings were used to decorate the Palace of Versailles, which are extremely valuable, and their number may reach more than 5,000.
- It may be interesting to you that Louis XIV allocated one-third of the total capital included in the construction of the Palace of Versailles to its fountains.
- There are a total of 400 statues in the gardens of this palace.
- Hundreds of servants worked in the kitchen of the Palace of Versailles. Despite this, the relatively large distance between the kitchen and the palace dining hall made the king’s food often served cold.
- In 2015, a film directed by Alan Rickman was released, which depicts the story of the construction of different parts of the historic Palace of Versailles.
At the end …
Everything we knew about this historic French palace, we put it on the circle and made it available to you. After reading this article, you can visit the different parts of this magnificent palace with complete knowledge.
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