Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation
Federal Agency for Education
State educational institution
Higher professional education
Tyumen State University branch in Ishim
Abstract on the subject
Monuments of world art
"Versailles (palace and park) - an example of classicism of the era of Louis XΙV."
Completed by: 1st year student
faculty of MIFUiB 2 groups
I checked
Introduction. 3
1. Versailles as a symbol of absolute monarchy in France. 5
1.1 History of the construction of Versailles. 5
2. Versailles: a grand synthesis of palace and park. 9
2.1 Architectural and artistic composition of the Palace of Versailles: a journey through the halls.. 9
2.2 Triumph of rigor: the garden “French style”. Layout and artistic decoration of the Versailles Park. 21
2.3 Trianons: unofficial "family" residences of kings. 27
Conclusion. 32
References.. 35
Appendix No. 1. 36
Appendix No. 2. 37
The Palace of Versailles is unthinkable without its park. Its layout had its prototypes in the Baroque gardens of Italy and Holland. The axial composition of the park found its application already in Vaux-le-Vicomte. What was new at Versailles was the unity of spatial design, which connected the palace and the park with a single highway and gave subordinate significance to all the coordinates associated with it.
This park was created by the wonderful master Le Nôtre. He traveled to Italy and became familiar with the images of Baroque parks. In his gardens and parks, Le Nôtre consistently pursues the principles of classicism - regularity, strict symmetry, clarity of composition. According to Le Nôtre, the palace should be clearly visible and surrounded by air. The main alley, the axis of symmetry of the park, should run from the center of the palace. Going into infinity, it should merge with the distance. Le Nôtre is fascinated by the boundless opening of space. The main alley is crossed by transverse alleys, forming rectangular or square sections of bosquets. In front of the building, clearly visible parterres and water pools should be laid out on terraces. Using these principles as the basis for his composition, Le Nôtre creates parks that are striking in scope and grandeur, comparable only to the construction of cities.
It was here that the famous “Le Nôtre scheme” received its fullest expression, which can be expressed in a simplified formula: from natural nature to architecture, then to garden art and, finally, back to nature.
Le Nôtre did not forget about gardens, fruit and vegetable gardens. Like a true artist, here too he cared about the aesthetic side of things, without separating benefits from beauty.
First of all, the sheer scale of the ensemble is striking. The length of the park with the main canal, a series of lawns, water parterres, fountains, open and closed park areas is about three kilometers. Only the so-called “small park” between the palace and the beginning of the large canal stretches for 850 meters. total area The park is 1738 hectares. It is not surprising that the number of people invited to the holidays here reached a fantastic figure - 200 thousand people.
The plan of Versailles is perfectly visible thanks to the artificially leveled soil and open layout. The view from the palace is the main one of the Versailles panorama, but there are other points of view from which the perspective of the garden is revealed.
Through skillful planting and pruning of trees, Le Nôtre reproduced clear and clear architectural volumes in living material, making park art three-dimensional for the first time. He creates walls of trimmed trees, planted next to each other without gaps, like a continuous row of houses, as if creating the space of a street.
The Versailles palace and park are given a western orientation so that the setting sun is reflected in the water surface of the large canal.
The fan composition forms the basis of the park. Le Nôtre created three converging beams. The optimal number three, used in the composition, defines a park of three parts: parterres in front of the palace, bosquets on both sides of the main axis and an array of freely growing greenery grouped near a large canal, which in 1671 received the shape of a cross.
To construct water parterres and fountains, an aqueduct was built to supply water to Versailles from Clagny and the rivers Juin and Laura.
In Versailles, strict regularity, order and symmetry reign everywhere. But the static nature of the architectural forms of Versailles does not mean that it is internally frozen and dead. The park's layout is designed to be something stationary so as not to impede human movement. The Park of Versailles assumes the movement of the viewer. It is in movement that the final meaning of the planimetric scheme, visible from the upper balconies, is revealed."
A kind of openness and non-closedness are clearly expressed in the compositional design. The viewer constantly finds himself at the intersections of radial alleys, which reveal tempting distances before him. As you move away from the palace, the sections of individual parts of the layout become larger and the spaces become wider. This “reverse perspective” gives the impression of an increase in spatial rhythm.
But the main compositional effect that amazes every attentive and leisurely viewer is the so-called “Luminous Axis” - a channel directed to the northwest and illuminated in the evenings by the setting sun. Thanks to the large length of the canal, aerial and linear perspectives and a special method of planting trees, the strip of water seems to go into infinity, merging with the horizon. There is no doubt that Le Nôtre managed to fully fulfill the “social order” of the absolute monarch. Moreover, there is an opinion that the sun descends into the waters of the canal with the greatest accuracy precisely on the king’s birthday.”
The art of Versailles is spectacular. It reveals its true calling precisely during great celebrations, when royal splendor is manifested in all its harmony. Then the object gives way to the ensemble, and the beauty of the form gives way to the perfection of the moment. It is interesting that at the beginning, as in Vaux-le-Vicomte, at Versailles the central part of the palace was supposed to be crowned with a dome, but Levo abandoned this idea. The horizontal design made it possible to subordinate the palace to the lines of the park and to include it in the composition of the park layout. The horizontal dominates the divisions of the facades, in which neither the central part nor the entrance hardly stands out from the plane of the walls. Horizontal is the main theme of the architecture of both the park and the palace.
Below the water parterre you can stop and admire the Bacchus pool (see Appendix No. 2), the Latona pool, lizards, balustrades, etc. Drawing inspiration from Ovid's Metamorphoses, the Marcy brothers, the authors of the sculptures decorating this fountain, illustrated the ancient myth about the mother of Apollo and Diana: Latona, seduced by Jupiter, gave birth to two twins, Apollo and Diana. However, she had to experience the curse of Juno, the wife of Jupiter. According to the original plan of the Marcy brothers, the sculptural group of Latona with children, completed in 1670, was installed on a small rock facing the castle, i.e. facing the king. In the period from 1687 to 1689, J. Hardouin-Mansart changed the location of the fountain and gave it a modern look.
Behind Latona's parterre, 335 m long and 64 m wide, lies the Green Lawn (otherwise known as the Royal Avenue or the Green Carpet). From here the entire perspective of the Grand Canal opens up. This long alley is flanked on both sides by twelve statues and the same number of vases. Most of them were made in the 17th century in Rome by students of the French Academy of Arts.
The green lawn gently slopes down to the pool dug in 1636, which was rebuilt in the era of Louis XIV. In 1671, a remarkable sculptural ensemble made of lead by Tubi was installed here, representing Apollo in a chariot drawn by four horses, and surrounded by newts and other sea monsters (Apollo's Pool).
Behind it stretches the Grand Canal, which took almost thirteen years to build. The length of the canal is 1650 m, the width is 62 m, the length of the transverse canal is 1013 m. The king and his courtiers often rode here on boats and ships, which were donated by the Republic of Venice to the French monarch in 1674. Venetian gondoliers lived next to the Grand Canal in a place later called Little Venice.
From the central terrace and the Water Parterre we go down a few steps to the North Parterre, built in 1664. The decorative decoration of both palace facades and fountains is entirely dedicated to water deities. The stalls are decorated with Crown pools, in which lead tritons and sirens, once sparkling with gold, “swim” - these are the works of Tubi and Le Houngre. At the end of the central alley there is a fountain "Pyramid" by Girardon, consisting of four marble bowls, placed one on top of the other, the bowls are supported by lead newts, dolphins and crayfish. The Water Alley, otherwise called the Alley of Funny Boys, smoothly descends from the “Pyramid” towards the Neptune Pool. At the very beginning of this alley is the Bath of the Nymphs, Girardon's masterpiece. The rectangular fountain, into which water cascades, is decorated with lead bas-reliefs depicting bathing Nymphs.
The water alley rests with its semicircular edge on the Dragon's pool, symbolizing the myth of the fight between Apollo and the serpent Python, in which Apollo defeats the Python; the serpent is surrounded by dolphins, cupids armed with bows and arrows, bravely riding on the backs of swans. The main jet of this fountain rises to a height of 27 meters. The sculptures that can be seen today are copies of the original compositions of the Marcy Brothers, which have been thoroughly damaged by time and bad weather.
Built under the direction of Le Nôtre in 1679-1681, the Neptune Basin was completed during the reign of Louis XV in 1738 with some modifications made by the architect Jacques Ange Gabriel. Two years later, the sculptural group “Neptune and Amphitrite”, the work of Adam Lambert-Sigisbert, was installed. On August 14, 1741, Louis XV solemnly opened the fountain, and numerous guests were able to admire the play of its 99 beating jets.
The greenhouse, over which the South Parterre extends, was built between 1684 and 1686 by the architect Hardouin-Mansart. It replaced the previous greenhouse, built according to Levo’s design. In addition to the main alleys in the Versailles park, there are secluded groves or bosquets, which served as the site of magnificent festivities held in the palace.
The Queen's Bosquet was created in its modern form in 1775-1776 as a result of the replanting of the park carried out by order of Louis XVI. Its layout is made in accordance with the principles of “English” type parks on the site of the famous Versailles garden labyrinth that was previously located here; this labyrinth, consisting of numerous narrow alleys hiding 39 fountains, was laid out in 1666 according to the design of Le Nôtre. But, unfortunately, this corner, praised in all guidebooks of the 17th century, gradually fell into disrepair and was destroyed in 1774.
The “Autumn” and “Winter” fountains, made according to Lebrun’s sketches, are dedicated to Bacchus and Saturn, and the “Spring” and “Summer” fountains are dedicated to flora and Ceres. In 1668, in honor of the “Great Royal Divertissement,” temporary theaters were installed on the site of the “Autumn,” “Winter,” and “Summer” fountains. The most magnificent of them was the theater built by Carlo Vigarini, in which Moliere and Lully's play "The Celebrations of Love and Bacchus" was performed. The hall was designed for 1200 seats, the 12-meter wide stage was illuminated by crystal chandeliers with three hundred candles.
In the northern part of the park, between the “Green Circle” and “Star”, at some distance from the beaten alleys, a round fountain is secludedly located, in the middle of which a stone shallow rises. This is the "Children's Island", a masterpiece of freshness, the appearance of which we owe to the sculptor Ardi. Six naked children are playing with flowers on the stones; at a distance, two others are playing in the water of a fountain. The expressions of bodies and faces, imbued with gentle joy, amaze visitors who accidentally stumble upon this bosquet lost in the greenery of the park.
2.3 Trianons: unofficial "family" residences of kings
Trianon was the name of the village that Louis XIV acquired in 1668 with the intention of building a pavilion for light meals; Built in 1670 by the architect Levo, the pavilion was decorated with blue and white faience tiles imitating Delft faience, after which the pavilion was called the Porcelain Trianon.
The pavilion was difficult to maintain, by 1687 it had fallen into disrepair, and the King decided to replace it with a real residence. The architect Mansart built a palace here, which was called the Marble Trianon due to its decoration and has survived to this day under the name Grand Trianon.
Louis XV showed a late interest in the Grand Trianon, and it was only in 1750 that the former chambers of Madame de Maintenon were rebuilt for the king and Madame de Pompadour. During the time of Louis XVI, the palace began to be used less frequently, giving preference to the Petit Trianon, which was built in 1762-1768, when the monarch wished to have a small, cozy palace at his disposal.
Left wing of Trianon. In 1687-1691, the left wing of the Grand Trianon housed a chapel, a vestibule and refreshment rooms where drinks were served.
In 1691, Louis XIV ordered apartments to be built here, and in 1703 his son Dauphin, or as he was called Monsignor, moved in. Throughout the 18th century, these apartments were intended for him. Only after the Revolution, in 1805, the apartments were rebuilt for the mother of Napoleon I, and in 1810 for the Empress Marie Louise.
Right wing of Trianon. In the right wing there are two parallel suites of rooms, one of which faces the upper parterre, the other faces the King's garden. In 1691-1698, the first rooms housed the apartments of Louis XIV, and after him - the Duchess of Burgundy (mother of Louis XV), who died in 1712. After this, these rooms are equipped with apartments for receptions.
The rooms facing the King's Garden changed owners several times: first they were occupied by Madame de Maintenon, then by Louis XV and, finally, by Madame de Pompadour. Set aside as royal quarters under Louis XVI, they were rebuilt under Napoleon I, who arranged interior chambers in them; under Louis Philippe, princesses Louise and Clementine lived there.
Gardens of the Grand Trianon. According to the plan of Louis XIV, the gardens around the Trianon, as in all his residences, were designed to play a dominant role. Despite poor maintenance throughout the 18th century, the gardens of the Grand Trianon retain, in general terms, the layout dictated by the tastes of the era of the creation of the Porcelain Trianon. (1670-1687) and the landscape painter Lebouteau (Le Nôtre’s nephew). In 1687, during the reconstruction of Trianon, Le Nôtre completely changed the layout of the gardens and did this until his death in 1700. Numerous bosquets then remained unfinished; Mansart worked to complete the project. Only in 1704 were lead statues installed, which were most often transported to Trianon from the Versailles bosquets, which were gradually falling into disrepair.
The alley leads us from the Flat-bottomed pool to the bosquet of the Water Circle, located on the axis of the Garden Salon. Behind the “Water Circle”, on the axis of the outer pavilion of the Forest Trianon, rises the “Water Buffet” with stepped bowls made by Mansart. Constructed from white Carrara and red Languedoc marble, the pool is decorated with sculptures by Van Cleve, Mazières, Le Houngre, Poirier and Hardy, inspired by the legend of Neptune and Amphitrite. This is the only composition on a mythological plot in Trianon.
Walking from the "Water Buffet" through the "Green Hall" and the Chestnut Grove, we return again to the Forest Trianon. The “Hall of Ancient Art” or “Amphitheaters” is located parallel to the axis of the gallery and symmetrically to the “Horseshoe”. A semicircular pool has been preserved here, surrounded by four nymphs and 25 busts - copies of ancient models.
Having walked to the end of the Forest Trianon, where there is a shaped pool decorated with animal sculptures (possibly by Marcy), we find ourselves in the second half of the Trianon gardens. Located in the corner between the Gallery and the wing of the Forest Trianon, the Springs garden testified to a change in tastes in landscape gardening art, which already under Louis XIV gravitated towards the English type. Unfortunately, in 1776 “Springs” was demolished, and in their place an ordinary parterre was built. The only surviving monument from that time is Marcy's composition "Cupid Riding a Dolphin" (1704).
Behind him lies the former royal garden, which was once separated by a wall. Despite poor maintenance during the 18th century, it has retained its original appearance.
Petit Trianon. In 1761, Madame de Pompadour suggested to Louis XV the idea of building a palace in the French Garden. The project was entrusted to Gabriel, and already in 1768 the Petit Trianon was inaugurated (see Appendix No. 3).
This masterpiece of neoclassical architecture is without a doubt Gabriel's most accomplished creation. Located on a square site, the building rests on a plinth, above it rises a floor and an attic, which ends with a balustrade that hides the roof in the Italian style. Due to the uneven terrain, the basement level is visible only from the side of the façade facing the Main Courtyard, as well as from the side of the Temple of Amur. The facades are decorated with pilasters and powerful Corinthian columns.
Since the reign of Napoleon III, the second floor has been entirely dedicated to the memory of Marie Antoinette. Gradually, the rooms are filled with furniture from her era, which is transported from other rooms and from the furniture warehouse in Trianon in order to restore the atmosphere characteristic of the Queen's period in this small palace. Paintings in the palace have been preserved from the reign of Louis XV.
In the old chambers of the King, which occupies premises in the attic, the upholstery is being restored, woven anew according to 18th-century models, and furniture that previously belonged to monarchs or princes is being installed.
Other rooms contain 19th-century collections preserved in the Petit Trianon. This is, first of all, furniture ordered for Marie Louise or the Duchess of Orleans, who at one time had the opportunity to enjoy the comfort of this castle, but the memory of their stay in Trianon has somewhat faded.
French pavilion. In 1750, the architect Gabriel erected the French Pavilion. Louis XV loved to relax here after visits to the menagerie, which he personally accompanied. The cruciform pavilion consists of 4 cabinets, radiating from the central round salon. From the outside, the pavilion is simple and charming, the figured facades are original, and a balustrade is built on top, decorated with figures of children and vases of flowers.
Marie Antoinette Theater. In 1780, the architect Mick completed the construction of a theater located next to the Petit Trianon. The interior decoration is consistent with the decor of the Versailles Opera. The building has an oblong shape, the stage is decorated with the monogram of Marie Antoinette. The ceiling, which has not survived, was painted by Lagrene, depicting Apollo, the Muses and the Graces; today only a copy of it can be seen.
Marie Antoinette's farm. In the second half of the 18th century, the ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau about the need to return “to untouched nature"These new ideas inspired the desire to build a farm in Trianon - a kind of ideal village spread out along the shores of the Great Lake. In 1783-1785, Mick built twelve houses. Walking around the lake on the left, we first see the cheese factory and the Malbroek tower, in the basement of which there is a fisherman workshop. Nearby is the site of the former dairy and barn premises, which were also used as a ballroom. Then we pass by the guard house and the dovecote. Having passed along the bridge, we approach the billiards room, which is connected to the Queen's House by a gallery. Finally a boudoir, otherwise called the Queen's House, and a mill appear. The elegant interior decor of the Farm houses contrasts with the simplicity of their external facades. Some distance from the Farm there was a real farm: “here they planted vegetable gardens, cultivated fields, pruned trees and grew berries and fruits. From the windows of her House, the Queen could see a donkey carrying wheat to the mill - this is how Pierre de Nolyak tells us about the Farm. And Madame de Campan adds: “walking through all the departments of the Farm, milking the cows, and fishing in the lake gave the Queen real pleasure.”
Conclusion
Versailles appears before us as a grandiose ensemble. The construction expressed the ideas of a centralized monarchy that was progressive for its time, ending the feudal fragmentation of states and uniting France. Social restructuring was also associated with its economic development. These economic successes of France, an advanced country of the 17th century, were reflected in the very technique of building Versailles.
Walking through Versailles, we cross several centuries of history, glorified by the names of great masters. Suffice it to name the most famous of them: Moliere, Racine, Luly, La Fontaine, Delalande, not counting the numerous artists and sculptors who decorated the palace and gardens. They all presented their best creations to Versailles. But each of them sought to preserve a single plan and support the idea of unification, which absolutism affirmed. There is a lot of evidence for this. For example, the slender appearance of the palace, despite several architects and construction periods. It is believed that, due to the participation of many masters, the architecture of Versailles is now of a heterogeneous nature, especially since the construction of Versailles (from the appearance of the hunting castle of Louis XIII to the construction of the battle gallery of Louis Philippe) lasted about two centuries (1624-1830).
Despite the clear underlying plan, the individual parts of this ensemble are far from complete unity. The architecture of the palace facades facing the city is especially stylistically diverse. The idea can also be seen in the enfilade principle of the interiors, used for most of the interior spaces.
The ensemble of Versailles, in which the spatial scope of the Baroque is combined with the rationality of construction characteristic of classicism, had a decisive influence on the development of urban planning and park art in many European countries.
It was this royal residence that became a turning point in the transformation of traditional gardening art, understood only as the skill of creating local gardens and parks intended for an extremely limited circle of privileged people, into what is now called “landscape architecture.”
The main feature of the Versailles Park created by Le Nôtre is the grandeur of the overall perspective, the diverse and careful development of each part, and at the same time the integrity subordinated to the general architectural plan.
It would be a mistake to consider Le Nôtre the founder of the regular principle of garden planning. After all, not to mention the Italian gardens in the Baroque style - such as the Villas D'Este, Lante, Caprarola - in France itself, geometrically planned gardens appeared two centuries before. In the history of landscape art, the names of many masters of the 16th century are known. XVII centuries (Cersault, Boisseau, Mollet), who created beautiful flower parterres, trellises, alleys, green "walls" and "halls", canals and other elements of the classical garden at castles and palaces. However, they had not yet been united into a holistic and spatially developed an ensemble where the landscape component not only complements the house, but acts with it as if on equal terms. It was after Andre Le Nôtre that it became possible to talk about the emergence of a new level and quality of territorial planning, about the emergence of architectural and landscape systems of unprecedented scale, with a length of not tens and hundreds, but thousands of meters.
The park displays an amazing synthesis of sculpture with the surrounding nature and architectural space.
The glorification of absolutism - this was the ideological program that Le Nôtre had to follow. However, the artistic content in his work was much deeper than this theme alone; it approached in its philosophical level the content of the best works of classicism of that time in painting, poetry, music and other forms of art.
Bibliography
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Castles, palaces. E.V. Ananyeva. P.110
L.A. Sokolova. History of foreign countries. P.309.
E.V. Ananyeva. Castles, palaces. P.120.
Category: Paris
An amazing thing - ambition! If not for them, the world would never have seen the Palace of Versailles, this priceless gift of the French nation to enlightened humanity. The palace and park ensemble of Versailles (French Parc et château de Versailles) is a luxurious, pathetic symbol of the French monarchy and, in particular, the era of the reign of the “Sun King”, Louis XIV.
The idea of building a palace and park complex arose from the monarch's envy, which he experienced at the sight of the castle in Vaux-le-Vicomte, which belonged to the Minister of Finance Fouquet. Louis XIV immediately decided to create an architectural and landscape masterpiece, a hundred times larger than the minister's palace in size and degree of luxury. And he imprisoned his subject, the owner of the residence in Vaux-le-Vicomte.
As a result, in 1662, the architects Louis Levo, André Le Nôtre and the artist Charles Lebrun began work on the construction of the castle, which lasted until 1715, the year of the death of the “Sun King”. However, the construction did not end there. The architects Levo, Francois d'Aubray, Lemercier, Hardouin-Mansart, Lemuet, Guitard, Blondel, Dorbay, Robert de Cotte, Lassurance and a whole galaxy of great masters worked on its appearance at different times.
The majestic synthesis of palace and park subsequently passed from one dynasty of monarchs to another, and each of the royal inhabitants of Versailles made its own mark on its architecture and interior decoration.
Construction stages
Historical chronicles allow us to distinguish three stages in the construction of the Palace of Versailles.
The beginning of the first stage coincided with the twentieth anniversary of Louis XIV. The young monarch decided to expand his father's hunting castle to use it as a royal residence. A team of renowned architects expanded and renovated the castle buildings in the spirit of classicism.
The second stage of construction of the Versailles complex began after Louis XIV reached the age of thirty. During this period, a new palace was erected, surrounding the old castle like a shell or envelope. The result was a U-shaped structure, which included two main courtyards: Marble and Royal. Subsequently, theatrical life was in full swing here. The premiere of Moliere's play "The Misanthrope" took place here, within the historical walls of the Marble Courtyard of the Palace of Versailles.
The third stage started immediately after the king’s fortieth birthday, in 1678. Hardouin-Mansart, who headed further construction, set himself an ambitious goal - to speed up the progress of work as much as possible in order to fulfill the wishes of the monarch. The royal court and government of France moved to Versailles in 1682. Through the efforts of Hardouin-Mansart, the appearance of the palace changed noticeably. He now has two Ministerial wings and huge Northern and Southern wings.
During his lifetime, Hardouin-Mansart began the construction of the Royal Chapel, which was completed by his successor Robert de Cotte.
Versailles in numbers
Located in the suburbs of Paris, the small town of Versailles is associated today by most people exclusively with the Royal Palace of Versailles - the apotheosis of indulgence in the extravagant whims of the French monarchs.
- The total area of the palace and park complex is more than 800 hectares.
- Distance from Paris – 20 km.
- The number of halls of the palace is 700; number of windows – 2000; stairs – 67; There are 1,300 fireplaces alone.
- The palace-museum is furnished with 5,000 pieces of antique furniture.
- 30,000 workers were involved in construction.
- The 50 fountains of Versailles Park consume 62 hectoliters of water per hour. For their work, a special system for collecting water from the Seine was built.
- The park has 200,000 trees and 220,000 flowers are planted annually.
- The total amount of funds spent on the construction of the palace is 25,725,836 livres, equivalent to 37 billion euros. It is noteworthy that all accounts for the period 1661-1715. have still been preserved.
- 6,500 paintings and drawings, 15,000 engravings, more than 2,000 sculptures located in the halls of the palace are an integral part cultural heritage nation.
Under Louis XIV, 10,000 people could simultaneously live in the palace: 5,000 nobles and the same number of servants. Despite the fact that the ensemble of Versailles is the largest in Europe, it is characterized by amazing integrity of design, harmony of architectural forms and landscape solutions.
The splendor of the Versailles Palace and the surrounding park with well-groomed alleys and fountains inspired Peter I to build his country residence in Peterhof in 1717, which later became known as the Russian Versailles.
Historical milestones
The history of the Palace of Versailles has many ups and downs, revolutionary upheavals, enemy intervention and periods of relative calm. Let's talk briefly about the main historical milestones of the former residence of the French kings.
Under the infant monarch Louis XV, his regent Philippe d'Orléans decided to move the French royal court back to Paris. Until 1722, Versailles was in decline, until the matured Louis XV returned to the palace with his entire retinue.
At the end of the 18th century. Versailles found itself at the center of dramatic events in French history. Fate decreed that this royal residence, full of luxury and chic, would become the cradle of the Great French Revolution. In June 1789, deputies from the Third Estate solemnly swore not to disperse until their demands for political reforms were accepted.
Three months later, a crowd of revolutionaries arriving from Paris captured the palace and expelled the royal family from it. Over the next five years, the suburb of Versailles lost almost half of its population.
During the revolutionary events, the palace complex was looted, unique furniture and valuables were taken from it, but the architecture of the buildings was not damaged.
Versailles was captured by Prussian troops several times: during the Napoleonic Wars (in 1814 and 1815) and during the Franco-Prussian War. In January 1871, the Prussian King Wilhelm I set up a temporary residence in Versailles and proclaimed the news of the creation of the German Empire.
The end of the First World War was reached precisely at Versailles, where a peace treaty was signed in 1919. This extremely important event marked the beginning of the Versailles system of international relations.
The Second World War caused serious damage to the palace and park complex. The residents of Versailles had to endure a lot: brutal bombings, Nazi occupation, numerous casualties among local residents. On August 24, 1944, the city was liberated by French troops, and a new stage of development began for it.
There was a moment in the history of the castle when its fate hung in the balance. In 1830, after the July Revolution, it was planned to be demolished. The issue was put to a vote in the Chamber of Deputies. The margin of just one vote saved the Palace of Versailles for history and posterity.
Family nest of aristocrats and kings
Many famous monarchs and members of their families were born and lived in the Palace of Versailles.
- Philip V- the founder of the Spanish Bourbon line, thanks to whom Spain for many years was entirely under the influence of France, was actually a French province.
- Louis XV (Beloved)- a despotic and suggestible ruler, under the influence of his favorite Marquise de Pompadour, who skillfully played on the base instincts of the monarch, ruining the state with her extravagance. According to historians, it was he who owned the famous phrase “After us, even a flood.”
- Louis XVI, famous for his rejection of absolutism and becoming the first constitutional monarch in French history. Despite this, he ended his life on the scaffold, having been accused of conspiracy against the freedom of the nation.
- Louis XVIII, who left his mark on the history of the country as an astute politician and authoritative administrator, the author of many liberal reforms.
- Charles X- known for his active counter-revolutionary activities after the fall of the Bastille and decisive measures to restore the absolute monarchy in France.
Versailles is a triumph of aestheticism, a center of culture and art
The Palace of Versailles is surrounded by luxurious park ensemble, which has been captivating the minds and hearts of everyone who finds itself there for several centuries. And this is not surprising, because... Initially, the palace complex was conceived as a luxurious place for the entertainment of the twenty-year-old king.
Harmonious and perfect park sculptures, wide promenades and graceful alleys, numerous fountains spewing tons of water served as magnificent backdrops for royal entertainment. Illuminations and fireworks, performances and masquerades, ballet performances and all kinds of palace holidays - and this is not a complete list of royal entertainment events that took place in Versailles almost every day. At least until it officially became a government center.
Celebrations in honor of favorites were traditional for Versailles. The first example was set by the young Louis XIV in 1664, who established a holiday for his beloved Louise de La Vallière under the romantic name “The Delights of the Enchanted Island.” Legends and rumors about fun times at Versailles have haunted Europe for a century.
Louis XIV was a great admirer of the arts. He inherited 1,500 paintings, and over the years of his reign he increased their number to 2,300. Several parts of the Palace of Versailles were specially equipped for the exhibition of paintings, graphics and sculpture. The majestic interiors were decorated with fresco ensembles by the artist Charles Laurent. Numerous galleries displayed portraits of Louis XIV by Bernini and Varenne.
In 1797, the Museum of Arts of the French School was opened at the Palace of Versailles - as opposed to the Louvre, where works of foreign masters were kept.
Preserve the heritage of the nation for posterity
Modern rulers are no strangers to ambition - in the best sense of the word.
In 1981, French President François Mitterrand proposed turning the Louvre into the most grandiose museum in the world and building a huge glass pyramid at the entrance. By the way, this pyramid appears in John Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code.” According to the plot, it was under it that the tomb of Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail were hidden.
Two decades later, another French president, Jacques Chirac, initiated an equally ambitious project - a large-scale restoration plan for the Palace of Versailles, comparable in cost to the Louvre renovation project.
The budget for the project for the restoration of the palace and park ensemble of Versailles is 400 million euros and is designed for 20 years. It includes updating the facades of palace buildings, the interior of the Opera, and restoring the original layout of the garden landscape.
When the restoration is completed, tourists will be given free access to those parts of the castle that today can only be accessed as part of organized excursions.
Address: Place d'Armes, 78000 Versailles, France.
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And in general, looking at the palaces of France, we cannot help but look into the most probably famous palace and park complex in France. Let it be known to everyone, you have heard a lot about it, but let’s take a virtual look there for a couple of minutes.
Versailles- this name is associated throughout the world with the idea of the most significant and magnificent palace, erected by the will of one monarch. The Versailles palace and park ensemble, a recognized masterpiece of world heritage, is quite young - it is only three and a half centuries old. The Palace and Park of Versailles is one of the outstanding architectural ensembles in the history of world architecture. The layout of the vast park, the territory associated with the Palace of Versailles, is the pinnacle of French park art, and the palace itself is a first-class architectural monument. A galaxy of brilliant masters worked on this ensemble. They created a complex, complete architectural complex, which included a monumental palace building and a number of park structures of “small forms”, and, most importantly, a park that was exceptional in its compositional integrity.
The Versailles ensemble is a highly characteristic and striking work of French classicism of the 17th century. The palace and park ensemble of Versailles is the greatest architectural monument of the 17th century, which had a strong influence on the urban planning thought of the 18th century. Versailles in general became a kind of “ideal city”, which the authors of the Renaissance dreamed and wrote about and which, through the will of Louis XIV, the “Sun King”, and the art of his architects and gardeners, turned out to be realized in reality, and in close proximity to Paris. But let's talk about everything in more detail...
Mention of Versailles first appeared in a charter of 1038 issued by the Abbey of St. Peter. It spoke of a certain lord Hugo of Versailles, the owner of a small castle and the surrounding areas. The emergence of the first settlement- the small village around the castle - is usually dated to the mid-11th century. Another village soon grew up around the Church of St. Julian.
The 13th century (especially the years of the reign of Saint Louis) for Versailles, as well as for the whole of Northern France, became a century of prosperity. However, the subsequent 14th century brought with it a terrible plague epidemic and the Hundred Years' War between England and France. All these misfortunes brought Versailles into a very deplorable state: by the end of the 14th century, its population numbered just over 100 people. It began to recover only in the next 15th century.
Versailles as an architectural and park ensemble did not arise immediately; it was not created by one architect, like many palaces of the 17th-18th centuries that imitated him. At the end of the 16th century, Versailles was a small village in the forest, where he sometimes hunted Henry IV. Ancient chronicles report that at the beginning of the 17th century, Versailles was a village with a population of about 500 people; a mill then stood on the site of the future palace, and fields and endless swamps stretched all around. In 1624 it was built on behalf of Louis XIII, by the architect Philibert Le Roy, a small hunting castle near a village called Versailles.
Near it there was a medieval dilapidated castle - the property of the house of Gondi. Saint-Simon in his memoirs calls this ancient Versailles castle a “house of cards.” But soon this castle was rebuilt by the architect Lemercier by order of the king. At the same time, Louis XIII acquired the Gondi site along with the dilapidated archbishop's palace and demolished it to expand his park. The small castle was located 17 kilometers from Paris. It was a U-shaped structure with a moat. In front of the castle there were four buildings made of stone and brick with metal bars on the balconies. The courtyard of the old castle, which later received the name Mramorny, has survived to this day. The first gardens of the Versailles Park were laid out by Jacques Boisseau and Jacques de Menoir.
In the mid-16th century, the only lord of Versailles was Martial de Lomeny, Minister of Finance under King Charles IX. Charles granted him the right to hold four annual fairs in Versailles and open a weekly market (on Thursdays). The population of Versailles, which was still a small village, at this time was about 500 people. However, the French religious wars between Catholics and Protestants led to a quick change of the seigneurial dynasty. Martial was arrested for his sympathies towards the Huguenots (French Protestants) and thrown into prison. Here he was visited by the Duke de Retz, Albert de Gondi, who had long been nurturing plans to seize the Versailles territories. Through threats, he forced de Lomeny to sign a document according to which the latter ceded Versailles to him at a negligible price.
At the beginning of the 17th century, King Louis XIII began to frequently visit Versailles, who took great pleasure in hunting in the local forests. In 1623, he ordered the construction of a small castle where hunters could stop for a rest. This building became the first royal palace in Versailles. On April 8, 1632, Louis XIII completely bought the seigneury from the last Versailles owner, Jean-François de Gondi, for 66,000 livres. In the same year, the king appointed his valet Arnaud as governor of Versailles. In 1634, the architect Philibert le Roy was commissioned to rebuild the old Versailles castle into a royal palace. However, despite the changes that took place, by the end of the reign of Louis XIII, Versailles did not change its appearance much. It, as before, was a small village.
Everything changed with the accession to the throne of the king - the sun, Louis XIV. It was during the reign of this monarch (1643-1715) that Versailles became a city and a favorite royal residence.
In 1662, Versailles began to be built according to Le Nôtre's plan. Andre Le Nôtre(1613-1700) by this time had already become famous as a builder of country estates with regular parks (in Vaux-le-Vicomte, Saux, Saint-Cloud, etc.). It is interesting that in 1655-1661 N. Fouquet, the largest financier of absolutist France, according to the project of the architect Louis le Vaux rebuilt his country castle. The main thing in the palace and park ensemble of Vaux-le-Vicomte was not even the palace itself (at that time quite modest), but the general principle of creating a country residence. The whole of it was turned into a giant park, skillfully designed by the architect-gardener Andre Le Nôtre. The Vaux-le-Vicomte Palace demonstrated the new lifestyle of the French aristocrat - in nature, outside the walls of a cramped, crowded city. I liked the palace and park so much Louis XIV that he could not come to terms with the idea that they were not his property. The French king immediately imprisoned Fouquet and entrusted the architects Louis le Vau and Andre Le Nôtre with the construction of his palace at Versailles. The architecture of the Fouquet estate was adopted as a model for Versailles. Having preserved the Fouquet Palace, the king removed from it everything that could be removed and taken away, right down to the orange trees and marble statues of the park.
Le Nôtre began by building a city that would house the courtiers of Louis XIV and a large staff of palace servants and military guards. The city was designed for thirty thousand inhabitants. Its layout was subject to three radial highways, which diverged from the central part of the palace in three directions: to Seau, Saint-Cloud, and Paris. Despite the direct analogy with the Roman triradius, the Versailles composition differed significantly from its Italian prototype. In Rome, the streets diverged from Piazza del Popolo, but in Versailles they quickly converged on the palace. In Rome, the width of the streets was less than thirty meters, in Versailles - about a hundred. In Rome, the angle formed between the three highways was 24 degrees, and in Versailles 30 degrees. To settle the city as quickly as possible Louis XIV distributed building plots to everyone (of course, nobles) for a reasonable price with the only condition that buildings be built in the same style and not higher than 18.5 meters, that is, the level of the entrance to the palace.
In 1673, a decision was made to demolish the old Versailles buildings, including the church. The new Cathedral of St. Julian was erected in its place in 1681-1682. On May 6, 1682, Louis XIV, along with his entire court, moved from Paris to Versailles. This became a turning point in the history of the city. By the first quarter of the 18th century (i.e. by the end of Louis's reign), Versailles had become a luxurious royal residence, and its population was 30,000 inhabitants.
As a result of the second construction cycle, Versailles developed into an integral palace and park ensemble, which is a wonderful example of the synthesis of arts - architecture, sculpture, and landscape gardening art of French classicism of the 17th century. However, after the death of the cardinal Mazarin, Versailles, created by Levo, began to seem insufficiently majestic to express the idea of an absolute monarchy. Therefore, he was invited to rebuild Versailles Jules Hardouin Mansart, the largest architect of the end of the century, whose name is associated with the third construction period in the history of the creation of this complex, the great-nephew of the famous Francois Mansart. Mansar further enlarged the palace by erecting two wings, each five hundred meters long, at right angles to the southern and northern facades of the palace. In the northern wing he placed a church (1699-1710), the vestibule of which was finished by Robert de Cotte. In addition, Mansart built two more floors above the Levo terrace, creating a Mirror Gallery along the western facade, closing with the halls of War and Peace (1680-1886).
Adam Frans van der Meulen - Construction of the Château de Versailles
On the axis of the palace towards the entrance on the second floor, Mansart placed the royal bedroom with a view of the city and an equestrian statue of the king, which was later placed at the vanishing point of the trident of the roads of Versailles. The king's chambers were located in the northern part of the palace, and the queen's in the southern part. Mansart also built two buildings of Ministers (1671-1681), which formed the third, the so-called “court of the Ministers,” and connected these buildings with a rich gilded lattice. All this completely changed the appearance of the building, although Mansar left the same height of the building. Gone are the contrasts, the freedom of imagination, nothing remains but the extended horizontal of the three-story structure, united in the structure of its facades with the ground, front and attic floors. The impression of grandeur that this brilliant architecture produces is achieved by the large scale of the whole and the simple and calm rhythm of the entire composition.
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Mansart knew how to combine various elements into a single artistic whole. He had an amazing sense of ensemble, striving for rigor in decoration. For example, in the Mirror Gallery he used a single architectural motif - a uniform alternation of walls and openings. This classicist base creates a sense of clear form. Thanks to Mansart, the expansion of the Palace of Versailles acquired a natural character. The extensions received a strong relationship with the central buildings. The ensemble, outstanding in its architectural and artistic qualities, was successfully completed and had a great influence on the development of world architecture.
Each of the inhabitants of the Palace of Versailles left their mark on its architecture and decoration. Louis XV, the great-grandson of Louis XIV, who inherited the throne in 1715, only towards the end of his reign in 1770 decided to make changes to the architecture of the palace. He ordered separate apartments to be equipped in order to protect his life from court etiquette. In turn, Louis XV inherited from his great-grandfather a love of the arts, as evidenced by the decoration of his Inner Chambers; and the penchant for secret political intrigue passed to him from the Italian ancestors of the Medici family and the Savoy dynasty. It was in the Inner Cabinets, far from the curious court, that he who was called "Everyone's Favorite" made some of the most important decisions of the state. At the same time, the king did not neglect either the etiquette established by his predecessor, or the life of the family, of which the queen and his especially beloved daughters reminded him.
After the death of the Sun King, Philip of Orleans, who became regent under the young Louis XV, decided to move the French court back to Paris. This was a notable blow to Versailles, which immediately lost about half of its inhabitants. However, everything returned to its previous state when, in 1722, the matured Louis XV moved to Versailles again. Under his successor Louis XVI, the city had to go through many dramatic moments. By a whim of fate, this luxurious royal residence was to become the cradle of the Great French Revolution. It was here that the Estates General met in 1789, and here, on June 20, 1789, deputies from the Third Estate took a solemn oath not to disperse until their demands for political changes in France were accepted. Here, at the beginning of October 1789, a crowd of heated revolutionaries arrived from Paris, which, having captured the palace, forced the royal family to return to the capital. After this, Versailles again began to rapidly lose population: its population decreased from 50,000 people (in 1789) to 28,000 people (in 1824). During the revolutionary events, almost all the furniture and valuables were removed from the Palace of Versailles, but the building itself was not destroyed. During the reign of the Directory, restoration work was carried out in the palace, after which a museum was located here.
Louis XVI, the heir of Louis XV, whose reign was tragically interrupted by the revolution, inherited enviable heroic strength from his maternal grandfather, the Polish king Augustus of Saxony; on the other hand, his Bourbon ancestors passed on to him not only a true passion for hunting, but also a deep interest in science. His wife Marie Antoinette, daughter of the Duke of Lorraine, who later became Emperor of Austria, left a deep mark on the musical life of Versailles thanks to her love of music, inherited from both the Habsburgs of Austria and Louis XIII. Unlike his ancestors, Louis XVI did not have the ambitions of a creator king. Known for his simple tastes, he lived in the palace out of necessity. During his reign, the interior of the palace was updated, and, above all, the Queen's Small Offices, which were located parallel to his Large Chambers. During the revolution, all the furniture and decorations of the palace were stolen. Napoleon and then Louis XVIII carried out restoration work at Versailles. After the July Revolution of 1830, the palace was supposed to be demolished. This issue was put to a vote in the Chamber of Deputies. The margin of one vote was saved by Versailles. The last of the dynasty, King Louis Philippe ruled France from 1830 to 1848. In 1830, after the July Revolution, which brought him to the throne, the House of Representatives passed a law by which Versailles and Trianon passed into the possession of the new king. Wasting no time, Louis Philippe ordered the creation of a Museum in Versailles in honor of the glorious victories of France, which opened on June 1, 1837. This purpose of the castle has been preserved to this day.
The creators of the palace were not only Louis Le Vaux and Mansart. A significant group of architects worked under their leadership. Lemuet, Dorbay, Pierre Guitard, Bruant, Pierre Cottar and Blondel worked with Le Vaux. Mansart's main assistant was his student and relative Robert de Cotte, who continued to supervise the construction after Mansart's death in 1708. In addition, Charles Davilet and Lassurance worked at Versailles. The interiors were made according to drawings by Beren, Vigarani, as well as Lebrun and Mignard. Due to the participation of many masters, the architecture of Versailles is now of a heterogeneous nature, especially since the construction of Versailles - from the appearance of the hunting castle of Louis XIII to the construction of the battle gallery of Louis Philippe - lasted about two centuries (1624-1830).
During the Napoleonic wars, Versailles was captured twice by Prussian troops (in 1814 and 1815). The Prussian invasion occurred again during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. The occupation lasted 174 days. In the Palace of Versailles, chosen by the Prussian King Wilhelm I as a temporary residence, on January 18, 1871, the creation of the German Empire was announced.
In the 20th century, Versailles also witnessed major international events more than once. It was here that a peace treaty was signed in 1919, ending the First World War and marking the beginning of the Versailles system of international relations.
Main palace complex(Chateau de Versailles) was built in the 17th century by King Louis XIV, who wanted to move here from unsafe Paris. The luxurious rooms are richly decorated with marble, velvet and wood carvings. The main attractions here are the Royal Chapel, the Salon of Venus, the Salon of Apollo and the Hall of Mirrors. The decoration of the state rooms was dedicated to the Greek gods. The Salon of Apollo was originally Louis's throne room. The Hall of Mirrors contains 17 huge mirrors reflecting the tall arched windows and crystal candelabra.
Grand Trianon- a beautiful palace made of pink marble was built by Louis XIV for his beloved Madame de Maintenon. Here the monarch loved to spend his free time. The palace was later home to Napoleon and his second wife.
Petit Trianon- another love nest built by King Louis XV for Madame de Pompadour. Later, the Petit Trianon was occupied by Marie Antoinette, and even later by Napoleon's sister. The nearby Temple of Love is said to have been Marie Antoinette's favorite place for parties.
Colonnade- a circle of marble columns and arches, located within the gardens, continues the theme of the gods of Olympus. The place was the king's favorite outdoor dining area.
During the Second World War, Versailles was occupied by German troops. In addition, the city had to endure several brutal bombings, which killed 300 Versailles residents. The liberation of Versailles took place on August 24, 1944, and was carried out by French troops under the command of General Leclerc.
On February 25, 1965, a government decree was issued, according to which Versailles was to be turned into the prefecture of the new department of Yvelines, the official creation of which took place on January 1, 1968.
Today the city retains this status. Being one of the most attractive tourist destinations, Versailles is rightfully proud of its history and architectural monuments. In 1979, the palace and park of Versailles were officially included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Pierre-Denis Martin - View of Versailles
Gardens of Versailles with their sculptures, fountains, pools, cascades and grottoes soon became for the Parisian nobility the arena of brilliant court festivities and Baroque entertainment, during which they could enjoy the operas of Lully and the plays of Racine and Moliere.
Parks of Versailles spread over an area of 101 hectares. There are many observation platforms, alleys and promenades, there is even its own Grand Canal, or rather, a whole system of canals, which was called “little Venice”. The Palace of Versailles itself is also striking in its size: the length of its park façade is 640 meters, and the Gallery of Mirrors located in the center is 73 meters long.
Versailles is open to visitors
in May - September from Tuesday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:30.
the fountains are open on Saturdays from July 1 to September 30 and on Sundays from early April to early October.
How to get there - Versailles
Trains (electric trains) go to Versailles from the Gare Montparnasse station, Montparnasse Bienvenue metro station (metro line 12). The entrance to the station is directly from the metro. Continue to the stop Versailles Chantiers. Travel time is 20 minutes. The cost of a round-trip ticket is 5.00 euros.
Exit the station in the direction "Sortie" (exit), then go straight. The road will take you to the palace in 10 - 15 minutes.
The Palace of Versailles is located in the city of the same name, located 16 km southwest of Paris. It was the residence of the French kings Louis XIV, XV and XVI. The French royal court also lived here from May 6, 1682 to October 6, 1789.
The castle consists of many elements combined into an architectural ensemble. It occupies more than 63 thousand square meters, consists of 2,300 rooms, of which today 1,000 are museum premises.
The park of the Palace of Versailles extends over 815 hectares (before the Revolution - 8,000 hectares), of which 93 hectares are gardens. It consists of several elements: the Petit and Grand Trianon (Napoleon I, Louis XVIII, Charles X, Louis Philippe I and Napoleon III lived here), the queen's farm, the Grand and Petit Canals, a menagerie (destroyed), a greenhouse and a water pool.
The first mention of the settlement of Versailles occurs in 1038 in the charter of the abbey of Saint-Pere de Chartres. In 1561, Versailles with the knight's castle was sold to Martial Lomeny, secretary of finance under Charles IX.
Then the Italian favorite of Catherine de Medici, Count de Retz Albert de Gondi, became the owner of the lands and the castle.
In 1589, a month before Genich IV became King of France, the King of Navarre stopped at Versailles. He then returns there in 1604 and 1609. to hunt. At the age of 6, the future King Louis XIII comes here for the first time to hunt.
Versailles under Louis XIII
The king began to acquire possessions in Versailles in 1623. At that time, only one windmill stood on the site of the palace.
In 1623, Louis XIII, suffering from attacks of agoraphobia (fear of open spaces) and wanting spiritual relaxation, decided to build a modest hunting pavilion of stone and brick on the top of the Versailles plateau, on the road between Versailles and Trianon. He buys the mill and the miller's house, which stood on this hill surrounded by swamps. Louis was personally present during the development of the architectural plan for the pavilion and adjacent gardens. The building was modest and utilitarian. Together with the earthen ramparts and ditches surrounding it, it rather resembled an ancient feudal castle. From time to time, Queen Mother Marie de' Medici and her wife, Queen Anne of Austria, come to Louis's modest home. True, always passing through, without overnight stays, because the building did not provide women's quarters. The royal chambers consisted of a small gallery where a painting depicting the siege of La Rochelle was hung, four rooms where the walls were hung with carpets. The royal room occupied the center of the building, its placement later corresponding to the bedroom of Louis XIV.
In 1630, Cardinal Richelieu secretly came to Versailles to negotiate with the king on the occasion of excessive influence on the Queen Mother's policies. This was the first important political event within the castle walls. Richelieu remained prime minister, but the Queen Mother was exiled.
In 1632, Louis XIII bought the Versailles possession from Jean-François Gondi. A year before, work began on expanding the palace: small pavilions were added in each corner. In 1634 the wall surrounding the courtyard was replaced by a stone portico with six arcades with metal decorations. The new castle receives a floral frame for the first time: the gardens are laid out in the French style by Boisseau and Menur, decorated with arabesques and ponds. The facades are reinforced with brick and stone. In 1639, a walking terrace with a balustrade decorated with ornaments was built in front of the main façade of the castle. That castle corresponds to the modern part of the palace surrounding the famous Marble Court.
In 1643, Louis XIII dies, his four-year-old son, Louis XIV, ascends the throne, and the reins of power are transferred to the Queen Mother, Anne of Austria. Versailles ceases to be a royal residence for 18 years.
Versailles under Louis XIV
The royal family lives at this time in Paris. It is known that Louis XIV first visited Versailles in 1641, where he was sent along with his younger brother during a chickenpox epidemic at the site of the royal residence of that era.
Since 1651, the king visits the castle several times while hunting. It was also during a hunt following his wedding to Maria Theresa of Austria in 1660 that the king became truly interested in his father's former residence. The first changes affected the garden. The king wished to straighten the shape and increase the area, as well as surround it with a wall.
In 1661, the artist Charles Herrard was commissioned to tidy up the rooms of the castle. Along with changes in the composition of the royal family (the anticipation of the birth of the future Dauphin and the wedding of the king's brother) came the need for a redistribution of rooms. The castle was divided into chambers for the king and the prince, with separate staircases in the side wings. The Louis XIII staircase in the center of the loggia has been destroyed.
Serious work on changes to the castle began in 1664. Initially, the castle was criticized by the court, especially its location: Versailles seemed an unsightly, sad place in which there was nowhere to look - no forests, no water, no land, and around only sand and swamps.
Officially, the Louvre was still a royal residence. However, court holidays began to be held more and more often in Versailles. The courtiers were able to “appreciate” the inconvenience of this small castle, because... many of them could not find a roof to sleep on. Louis entrusted the project to increase the area to Le Vaud, who proposed several options: 1) destroy everything that was there and build a palace in the Italian style on this site; 2) leave the old hunting castle and surround it on three sides with new buildings, thus, as it were, enclosing it in a stone envelope. The king supported the preservation of his father's house more for financial than sentimental reasons. And Le Vaux increased the area of the palace three times, luxuriously decorated it, developing the theme of the sun, which was ubiquitous in Versailles. The king liked most of all the decoration of the garden by the sculptors Girardon and Le Houngre - in 1665 the first statues were installed, the Tethys grotto, a greenhouse, and a menagerie were built. Two years later, construction of the Grand Canal began.
The second construction campaign began after the signing of the peace treaty between France and Spain. On this occasion, on July 18, 1668, a celebration was organized, now known as the “Great Royal Entertainments at Versailles.” And again, not everyone could fit into the palace, which again led to the need to enlarge the building.
At this time, the palace begins to acquire familiar features. The most important innovation was the stone envelope, or new castle, which surrounded the castle of Louis XIII from the north, west and south. The new palace contained new apartments for the king, queen and members of the royal family. The second floor was completely occupied by two chambers: the king's (north side) and the queen's (south side). On the ground floor of the new palace, two apartments were also equipped: on the north side - the Bathroom Cabinet, on the south - the apartments of the king's brother and his wife, the Duke and Duchess of Orleans. To the west, a terrace overlooked the gardens; it was demolished a little later so as not to interfere with the passage between the apartments of the king and queen. In its place the famous Mirror Gallery was built. On the third floor were the chambers of other members of the royal house and courtiers.
On the second floor there are Ionic columns, tall rectangular windows, niches with sculptures and bas-reliefs. The third floor received Corinthian decor; there was a balustrade with trophies.
After the conclusion of a peace treaty with Holland, the third campaign for the improvement of Versailles began. Under the leadership of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the palace took on its modern appearance. The mirror gallery with twin salons - the Salon of War and the Salon of Peace, the northern and southern wings ("Noble Wing" and "Princes' Wing"), further landscaping of the garden are the distinctive characteristics of this era of the reign of the Sun King.
Construction chronicle:
1678:
— remodeling the façade in front of the gardens;
— in the Bathroom there are two bathtubs made of white marble with gilded bronze;
— the beginning of work on the layout of the Swiss pond and the Neptune pool, a new greenhouse;
1679:
— The Mirror Gallery, the Salon of War and the Salon of Peace replace the terrace and offices of the king and queen;
— the central building on the side of the marble courtyard has been increased by one floor; the new facade was decorated with a clock surrounded by statues of Mars Marcy and Hercules Girardon;
- Orbe begins the construction of a second staircase - the Queen's Staircase, intended to become a pair to the Staircase of Ambassadors;
— Upon completion of work with the ministerial wings, the construction of the Large and Small Stables began;
Work continues in the garden: more more statues and bosquets.
1681:
— Charles Le Brun completes the decoration of the King’s Great Chambers;
— Marley’s machine begins to pump water from the Seine;
— the Grand Canal and the Swiss Pond were dug;
— the number of bosquets and fountains in the gardens has been increased.
1682:
In this year, the king decides that the court and center of political power in France should henceforth be located in Versailles. Thousands of people come to the palace: the royal family, courtiers, ministers, servants, employees, workers, merchants - everyone on whom the normal functioning of the castle and the state depends.
After failure in the war against the League of Augsburg and under the influence of the pious Madame de Maintenon, Louis undertook a final building campaign at Versailles (1699-1710). At this time, the last chapel was erected (the modern Versailles Chapel), built according to the plans of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, completed after his death by Robert de Cote. In the palace itself, the royal chambers are being expanded, and work on the arrangement of the Oval Window salon and the king’s bedroom are being completed.
Versailles under Louis XV
The next king of France, Louis XV, was born on February 15, 1710 in Versailles. After the death of his father in 1715, he moved with the regent to the Paris residence - Palais Royal.
In 1717, Russian Tsar Peter I visited Versailles and lived in the Grand Trianon.
In 1722, at the age of 12, Louis XV became engaged to the Spanish Infanta Maria Anna Victoria, and the court returned to Versailles after 7 years spent in Vincennes, then in the Tuileries. Such a long absence of the owners led to the decline of the palace, so considerable funds were needed to restore it to its former glory.
Under Louis XV, the Salon of Hercules was equipped in the palace, the royal opera was added, and Neptune's pond appeared in the garden. The royal chambers were radically changed. The king's ceremonial chambers were on the second floor. On the third floor, Louis arranged small chambers with an office for personal use.
In 1723, the Bathroom Cabinet was remodeled: deer heads appeared on the façade of one of the courtyards, which is why the courtyard was nicknamed the Deer Courtyard. The king's initiative showed his interest in hunting.
In 1729, work began to update the decor of the queen’s chambers, which lasted until 1735.
1736 - work on the Hercules salon was completed. It is located on the site of a chapel that was destroyed in 1710. Construction took place under the direction of Robert de Cote, the decorator of the new royal chapel. The ceiling of the salon was painted by François Lemoine in 1733-1736. It depicts the Apotheosis of Hercules. On one of the walls hangs a huge canvas by Veronese “Dinner with Simon the Pharisee”, presented to Louis XIV in 1664 by the Republic of Venice. The grand opening of the salon took place in 1739 during a ball on the occasion of the wedding of the king's eldest son with the Spanish infanta. Various special events took place in the salon: the wedding of the Duke of Chartres, the birth of the Dauphin, the reception of ambassadors from the Sultan.
1737 - Louis XV remodels the central part of the second floor along the Marble Court on the north side into private apartments intended for living and working. The silk coverings of the royal chambers are being renewed. In the same year, the royal kennel was built.
1750 - appears in the palace new type royal rooms - a dining room for eating after returning from hunting.
1752 – the staircase of Ambassadors, the small gallery and the cabinet of Medals were destroyed. These glorious witnesses to the reign of Louis XIV were destroyed so that in their place the chambers of the eldest royal daughter would appear.
1755 - the former office of the Sun King is connected with the office of the Baths and a large council salon is formed. Jules Antoine Rousseau makes wall paneling from gilded wood. Gabriel uses antique panels to decorate the walls. In the royal part of the palace there is no gilding: a variety of bright colors are used here for the statues, painted using the technique invented by Martin. The main “highlight” of the chambers is a small gallery near the Marble Court with paintings by Boucher, Karl van Loo, Pater and Parrosel, hung on multi-colored walls.
Louis XV had 8 princesses. To accommodate them in the palace, various alterations were made: the bath chambers, the staircase of the Ambassadors, and the partition of the Lower Gallery disappeared. Afterwards, the princesses' apartments were dismantled by Louis Philippe, but several magnificent wall paneling remained and demonstrate the luxury in which the ladies lived.
According to a tradition that began under Louis XIV, the Crown Prince and his wife lived in two apartments on the ground floor under the Queen's apartments and the Gallery of Mirrors. There was magnificent decor that was lost in the 19th century. The only thing that survived was the Dauphin's bedroom and his library.
1761 – 1768 Ange-Jacques builds the Petit Trianon.
1770 - opening of the Royal Opera House, the pinnacle of Gabriel's work. Construction work began in 1768, and the grand opening took place simultaneously with the wedding of the Crown Prince, the king's grandson, and Marie Antoinette of Austria. The opera building follows the rules of classical architecture with small splashes of baroque. Two stone galleries lead to the opera: through one of them the king entered the opera on the second floor of the palace. The layout of the hall was innovative for that time: it represents a truncated oval, traditional boxes were replaced by simple balconies one above the other. This location is favorable for viewing and listening - the acoustics were excellent. Moreover, the building was made of wood, and the hall resonated like a violin. The proportions are ideal, the colonnade on the fourth floor is delightful, the semi-chandeliers are reflected endlessly in the mirrors, which adds grace to the architecture. The decor is extremely sophisticated. The central lampshade is painted by Louis-Jacques Durameau, it depicts Apollo distributing crowns to the muses, and cupids are depicted on the twelve small lampshades of the colonnade. Their color scheme is in harmony with the color of the hall, painted like marble, with a predominance of green and Pyrenean marble (red with white veins). The bas-reliefs of the first row of boxes were made by Augustin Pazhu, these are the profiles of muses and graces on an azure background, the faces of the gods and goddesses of Olympus; on the second row of boxes there are cupids, symbolizing the most famous operas, and the signs of the zodiac. Antoine Rousseau is the author of stage decoration with musical instruments and weapons. The opera stage, as often happened in palace theaters, could be transformed in 24 hours into a spacious hall for a costume ball. Special mechanisms made it possible to raise the parquet flooring of the stalls to raise it to the level of the amphitheater and stage. The stage of the Versailles Opera is one of the largest in France.
1771 - Gabriel presents to the king the “Great Project” for the reconstruction of the facades of the palace from the city side. The project followed the rules of classical architecture. The king agreed, and in 1772 work began, but was not completed, but gave birth to the wing of Louis XV.
During this era, Versailles was the most luxurious royal palace in Europe. While Gabriel was reconstructing, the brilliant and luxurious life of the court continued with balls and holidays. The theater was a favorite pastime of the aristocrats; Voltaire's tragedies were especially valued. Louis XV destroyed several magnificent halls and buildings from his father's time, but he managed to create magnificent interior decoration. The gardens and the Trianon were enriched by the French Pavilion and the Petit Trianon.
Versailles under Louis XVI
Under Louis XVI, the life of the court at Versailles continued, but financial difficulties increasingly began to affect it. It cost money to maintain the palace in good condition. In addition, work was required to renovate it - there were no amenities that were becoming common in that era (bathrooms, heating). Queen Marie Antoinette invested a lot of money in the arrangement of the Petit Trianon, which was one of the reasons for her unpopularity.
Upon his accession to the throne, Louis XVI wants a rest room for himself. The choice falls on the library. Its decor is designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel and executed by the sculptor Jules-Antoine Rousseau. Jean-Claude Kerval makes a large table from a monolith of wood on which Louis displays Sèvres biscuits. Two globes - earth and sky - complete the decor in 1777.
1783 – The Gilded Cabinet is created. This room was designed to house the collections of Louis XIV. Under Louis XV, it served as a room for displaying the royal gold service, hence one of its names – “cabinet of the gold service”. It was then added to the apartments of Louis XV's daughter Adelaide, and it became a music salon, where Adelaide took harp lessons from Beaumarchais. Mozart played there for the royal family in 1763. Under Louis XVI, the room again became an exhibition hall. In 1788, he placed his own acquisition there - a cabinet of butterflies.
Versailles after the Bourbons
Versailles witnessed the apogee of Bourbon royal power and its fall. It was in Versailles that the meeting of the Estates General took place in 1789, which gave rise to the French Revolution. On October 5, 1789, the Parisians advanced on Versailles, captured it and brought the royal family to Paris. The palace was abandoned.
In 1791, paintings, mirrors and emblems of the king were torn from the walls and ceilings. The works of art were transported to the Louvre, which became the central museum in 1792.
In 1793-1796. The palace furniture was sold out. The most beautiful interior items went to England to Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
The revolutionary government at one time intended to destroy the palace. Poor people tore out flowers in the garden to plant potatoes and onions in their place. The Petit Trianon turned into a tavern, and revolutionaries met in the Opera and the royal chapel.
For some time, the castle served as a warehouse for property confiscated from aristocrats. In 1795 it became a museum.
Under Napoleon, the palace was transferred to imperial ownership. Napoleon arrives and decides to settle in the Grand Trianon. And improvement work began again: in 1806, a series of tapestries were ordered for the palace and statues were removed from museums. Numerous plans to improve and remodel the palace under Napoleon cannot be implemented.
After the Restoration, Louis XVIII undertook a series of works with the aim of turning the palace into his summer residence. However, he understands that living in Versailles will have a bad effect on his image, and abandons the idea.
In 1833, King Louis Philippe entrusts his minister Camille Baschasson with the task of transforming the palace into a museum of French history, dedicated to the military victories of the old regime, the French Revolution, the Empire and the Restoration. The restoration of the palace was undertaken by the architect Pierre Fontaine. For his personal use, Louis Philippe orders the Grand Trianon to be put in order. In 1837, the wedding of his daughter, Princess Mary, is celebrated there.
For the museum of the military glory of France, in the southern wing of the palace, instead of the prince’s chambers, the Battles gallery is being built, striking in its size (120 m long and 13 m wide). It was decorated with 32 huge paintings glorifying the victories of France from the Battle of Tolbiac in 496 to the Battle of Wagram in 1809. The most popular paintings were those of Horace Vernet.The museum became very popular.
During the Second Empire, a hall was added to the museum to commemorate the victories in the Crimean and Italian campaigns. Napoleon III maintained the palace in good condition. And Empress Eugenie contributed to the partial return of the original furniture.
In 1870, France was defeated by Prussian troops, and Versailles became the headquarters of the Prussian headquarters during the siege of Paris. IN Hall of Mirrors set up a hospital; The Crown Prince of Prussia awards his officers at the statue of Louis XIV. The birth of the German Empire is proclaimed at Versailles.
In 1871, the administration of France passes to the Paris Commune, its administrative bodies are located in Versailles. The National Assembly meets in the former royal opera house; 23 thousand prisoners are taken to the greenhouse, many of whom are executed in the park. In 1879, the parliament moved to Paris, but until 2005, both chambers maintained their premises in Versailles.
An important role in the preservation of Versailles was played by the historian Pierre de Nolac, who was appointed custodian of the palace in 1887. By that time, the palace and gardens had been neglected for 20 years, so much so that even the names of the ponds were forgotten. Nolyak plans to equip a real historical museum, organized according to all the rules of science. He strives to return the palace to its pre-revolutionary appearance. High society rushes to the opening of the new Versailles. Nolyak invites foreign guests and arranges receptions for potential patrons of the arts.
On June 28, 1919, an agreement was signed in Versailles to end the First World War, called the Treaty of Versailles. The location was not chosen by chance: France was waiting for revenge after a humiliating defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.
The palace and gardens suffer from a lack of finances. In 1924 and 1927, John Davison Rockefeller donated to the restoration of palace artwork and fountains. The nobility of the American millionaire prompted the French government to allocate budget money for restoration.
In the second world war The Germans have the palace again.
In the post-war period, the curator of Versailles, Morichaud-Beaupré, was again concerned with raising funds for the restoration of the palace and park. In 1952, he addressed the French on the radio: “To say that Versailles is in ruins is to say that Western culture is losing one of its pearls. This is a masterpiece, the loss of which will be a loss not only for French art, but also for the image of France that lives in each of us and which cannot be replaced by anything else.” The call was heard, many French took part in raising funds for the restoration of Versailles.
Versailles becomes a state palace at the disposal of the president. It has hosted foreign heads of state, such as John Kennedy in 1961, Elizabeth II in 1957 and 1972, the Shah of Iran in 1974, Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985 and Boris Yeltsin in 1992. In 1959 General de Gaulle is undertaking work to reconstruct the Grand Trianon for the accommodation of foreign guests; one wing is allocated to the French president. In 1999, these rooms were again renovated to their original condition.
The history of Versailles in a mini-film:
1. from Louis to the Revolution -
2. after the Revolution -
3. Versailles Gardens -
a selection of useful services and sites for the traveler.
The display of luxury of the French Empire at the Palace of Versailles is amazing in its scale. This ensemble is included in all textbooks on landscape art as a standard. There are luxurious apartments in the halls, beautiful views and landscapes in the fresh air. There's a lot to see here.
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Versailles became a royal residence only during the reign of Louis XIV, or as he was called the Sun King.
When he was 20 years old, in 1662, he decided to create an architectural and park masterpiece here, following the example of the one built by the then French Minister of Finance Nicolas Fouquet, only a hundred times better. He invited the same architect as Fouquet - Louis de Vaux.
The master of landscape art Andre Le Nôtre, who by that time had already created the famous Vaux-le-Vicomte, worked on the park. To create the park, 800 hectares of swamps had to be drained. In this ensemble, the main thing was not even the castle itself, but the combination of the palace and the park in one style.
In 1682, the king, along with all his courtiers, began to live in the Palace of Versailles. From this moment on, the once small town begins to turn into a royal residence, sparkling with its luxury. But to the forty-year-old Louis XIV, the palace begins to seem insufficiently majestic. He invites the then very famous architect Jules Hardouin Mansart, who orders him to change the appearance of the palace as soon as possible.
For this purpose, two five-hundred-meter wings were completed and two floors were added. The royal bedroom was located on the second floor. The famous mirror gallery, also created by Mansart, closed with the halls of War and Peace. The building has completely changed, becoming grandiose. A balance was achieved between the grandiose scale of the park and the palace. The ensemble turned out to be majestic, as it should be to demonstrate the greatness of the monarch.
Halls of the Palace of Versailles
All accounts related to the construction of Versailles have survived to this day. The estimated amount spent on the construction of Versailles, according to experts, is about 260 billion euros in modern terms. Most of this amount was spent on interior decoration halls and galleries.
In the stunning Hall of Mirrors, on a seventy-meter wall there are 17 very large and beautiful mirrors separated by gilded lamps in the form of sculptures. In 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed here, which determined the post-war fate of European states. The chapel, decorated in white and gold Baroque style, was the site of the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.
All halls and chambers are decorated with great luxury and grace. Every corner, including the ceiling and walls, is covered with wood and marble carvings. Everything is decorated with frescoes, paintings, sculptures. There is an opera and theater in the palace with a large oval hall illuminated by 10,000 candles.
You should definitely visit the queen's chambers in the northern wing of the palace. Every centimeter of them is decorated with gold.
It is interesting that the center of the palace was not the throne room or even the office. All important decisions were made in the royal bedroom.
Park of the Palace of Versailles
The day flies by if you're walking around palace park. Absolutely everything here speaks of care and concern. Carefully trimmed trees are planted along the Grand Canal. The setting sun is reflected in the water surface.
Garden sculptures were selected with great skill. There are 50 beautiful fountains in the park.
The fountains do not always work. Before visiting Versailles, you should check the schedule on the website. But if you find yourself at this festival of music and water, you will remember this show forever. The jets of the fountains dance synchronously to the music. On summer Saturday evenings there are light shows with fountains and fireworks.
Against the backdrop of these well-kept gardens, fountains, lakes, ponds, and carefully selected flowers in the flower beds, turn on your imagination and you will find yourself at a royal court ball.
Other sights of Versailles
On the side opposite the palace are the Small and Grand Trianon. Trianon translated means a small elegant villa.
Louis XIV built the Grand Trianon from pink marble, a one-story Italian-style pavilion surrounded by a garden. In the main palace, the king even had to dine in front of a large crowd of spectators. The Trianon was supposed to be a place of solitude.
The Petit Trianon is a rather simple building, built in 1773 by order of Louis XV by the architect Gabriel for Madame du Barry.
Later it became the favorite place of Marie Antoinette, who also wanted to retire from the formalities of the main palace. Behind this pavilion on the shore of the pond she built a small village with a dairy farm.
Working hours
It is better to check the opening hours of the Palace of Versailles on the website. It is usually open from April to October from 9:00 to 18:30, the rest of the time from 9:00 to 17:30, except Mondays.
Ticket price
Admission to the park is free. But on days the fountain is open it will cost about 8€. There are several types of tickets for visiting the palace and other buildings. You can visit the palace separately and explore its halls, the Mirror Gallery, and the chambers of the king and queen. A full ticket for visiting on days when the fountains are open costs more than on other days.
How to get there on your own
There are several ways to get to the palace:
Take the RER metro yellow line C to the Versailles-Rive Gauche terminus. Leaving the station, turn right and follow Royal Street to the main entrance of the park.
By train from the Gare Montparnase or Gare St-Lazar stations, respectively, to the Versailles-Chantiers or Versailles-Rive Droite stations.
From Pont de Sevres metro station, take bus number 171 to Place d Armes in Versailles.
It is also possible by car on the A13 highway.
Use kiwitaxi services and at the airport, at the specified time, a driver will be waiting for you, help with your luggage and promptly take you to the hotel. Several classes of cars are available - from economy to Minibus with 19 seats. The price is fixed and does not depend on the number of passengers and address within Paris. A taxi from/to the airport is a convenient and comfortable way to get to your desired location.
