Palace of Versailles
★★★★☆
Attribution: By Sebastian Luna
The Palace of Versailles is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about 18 kilometres west of Paris.
About 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.
Louis XIII built a hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623. His successor, Louis XIV, expanded the chateau into a palace that went through several expansions in phases from 1661 to 1715.
It was a favourite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the de facto capital of France.
This state of affairs was continued by Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, who primarily made interior alterations to the palace, but in 1789 the royal family and French court returned to Paris.
For the rest of the French Revolution, the Palace of Versailles was largely abandoned and emptied of its contents, and the population of the surrounding city plummeted.
Napoleon, following his coronation as Emperor, used the subsidiary palace, Grand Trianon, as a summer residence from 1810 to 1814, but did not use the main palace.
Following the Bourbon Restoration, when the king was returned to the throne, he resided in Paris and it was not until the 1830s that meaningful repairs were made to the palace.
The palace and park were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 for its importance as the centre of power, art, and science in France during the 17th and 18th centuries.
About 15,000,000 people visit the palace, park, or gardens of Versailles every year, making it one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.
Louis XIII built a hunting lodge at Versailles in 1623. His successor, Louis XIV, expanded the chateau into a palace that went through several expansions in phases from 1661 to 1715.
It was a favourite residence for both kings, and in 1682, Louis XIV moved the seat of his court and government to Versailles, making the palace the de facto capital of France.
This state of affairs was continued by Kings Louis XV and Louis XVI, who primarily made interior alterations to the palace, but in 1789 the royal family and French court returned to Paris.
For the rest of the French Revolution, the Palace of Versailles was largely abandoned and emptied of its contents, and the population of the surrounding city plummeted.
Napoleon, following his coronation as Emperor, used the subsidiary palace, Grand Trianon, as a summer residence from 1810 to 1814, but did not use the main palace.
Following the Bourbon Restoration, when the king was returned to the throne, he resided in Paris and it was not until the 1830s that meaningful repairs were made to the palace.
The palace and park were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 for its importance as the centre of power, art, and science in France during the 17th and 18th centuries.
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