Palace of Versailles
Palace Of Versailles
In 1624 his father, Louis XIII, started building the palace when he wanted a hunting lodge. In 1661, Louis XIV started designing the palace gardens. Architects Luios Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansard made the palace bigger and made adjustments. Louis ran his court at his magnificent palace of Versailles several miles outside of Paris. Much of the reason for building the palace goes back to the Fronde that had driven Louis from Paris as a young boy. Ever since then, Louis has distrusted the volatile Paris mob and was determined to move the court away from the influence of the city. Versailles was also the showpiece of Louis' religion, glorifying him as the Sun King with its magnificent halls and gardens. The Palace of Versailles was estimated to cost around 2.5 billion dollars in 2003. The gardens the Louis built stretched 5,000 acres around the palace and included gardens, lawns, fountains and woods. The fountains ran so much water that they had to turn off the fountains less there was a special event, and the servants only turned them on when Louis walked near them, and back off when he left. Inside the palace, the Hall of Mirrors is known to be the most beautiful room in the whole palace. There are 17 mirrors that stretch high to the ceiling, with guilded stautes, crystal chandeliers and painted ceilings. Because of it's great size, the Palace of Versailles was like a small, royal city. The rich decoration clearly showed Louis' wealth and power to everyone who visited the beautiful palace.