The humble beginnings of the grand Palace of Versailles starts in the small town of Versailles, France. The town is located only about 10 miles from the capital of France; Paris. Louis XIII first took appreciation to the land when he decided to build a small building in the town of Versailles. This building was primarily used by the king and his family for hunting parties and private get-aways for Louis XIII and his family.
The building that stood at Versailles got a major renovation when in 1661 Louis XIV decided to turn the quaint hunting lodge into a sprawling estate fit for a king. Louis XIV spared no expense when designing his palace. The palace, at the time, included architecture that was designed from the best architects the Europe had to offer at the time. The palace also included luscious grounds and gardens that were thoughtfully designed by Andre Le Notre to create symmetry to the grounds by detailed hedges and foliage to represent to beauty of France. Andre placed Large powerful fountains throughout the grounds to display the power of the king and his ultimate right to rule. In 1682 the Palace of Versailles became the official court for the government of France. Louis the XIV made the palace the central place to the court for the reason of having all his administrators and provincial rulers in a close manageable distance for Louis. Louis feared that his court might eventually form a revolt against him. Louis would make each member of the court with a high
Louis XIV’s excessive grandeur made the French economy weak. His palace at Versaille, his constant need to gain more territory, and the crumbling of France’s economic system and caused the greatest revolution the world has ever seen. His grandiose estate, the palace at Versailles, required half of Louis XIV’s revenues to maintain. Although this palace may have kept up appearances for the sake of foreign
The film is not entirely based on the positive details about Louis XIV or Versailles, but also the terrible working conditions during the building of Versailles. According to the film, it was very dangerous to work on the construction of the palace. A lot of people died on the site. People were very upset about the working conditions.
Still, the negative aspects of France’s rule under King Louis XIV far outweigh the positive ones. His reign can best be described by the statement “L’état, c’est moi,” (I am the state) that is attributed to him. King Louis XIV spent state money to pay for his own luxuries and monuments that glorified his image. It was also customary for the artists King Louis XIV sponsored to include direct or indirect allusions to him in their productions thus creating a god-like image of him. The Palace of Versailles alone used 5% of France’s income. This liberal
Castles, palaces, and cathedrals are scattered across Europe. Each one possesses unique characteristics and architecture bearing resemblance of their time. Some castles incorporate Greek influence, roman or gothic influence in design. Other castles and palaces are surrounded by sculptures outside in the courtyard or include sculptures worshiped as an altarpiece. While any one of these things would serve to make an ordinary castle more elaborate there is one palace that possesses all of these: The Palace of Versailles in France. The Palace of Versailles has managed to incorporate classic architecture, exquisite sculptures, and amalgamated the old design with the newer design trends of the day.
Before the revolution France was ruled under the Ancien Regime system, meaning the country and all its people were under the reign of an absolute monarch. This was a tradition that had been upheld through the years and the Royal family had enjoyed a life funded by the people of France, the royal family’s lifestyle unaffected by the situation outside their palace. The Palace, Versailles, was built by king Louis XIV and the expenses for building this “village” was very high, and in later years the cost for its upkeep would play a significant role in Frances financial difficulties. In order for these difficulties to be overcome France needed a tax reform. The government had a very high tax rate on the poorest of their people, the Third Estate, and they were still not getting enough money to get out of their
Great elegance and refinement marked life in Japan and Europe's capitals. In Europe and Japan great castles were built marking the capital of each separate country. The royal families promoted the arts, medicine, and science. One of the most memorable of European castles lies just outside of Paris, France. The Palace of Versailles built by King Louis XIV in the seventeenth century. In Japan however, the funerals of the emperors and empresses was more memorable. Kofun Mounds were mounds of earth piled over their ruler's graves. The largest keyhole tomb measured 486m in length, 305m in width, and 33.6m in height. It was provided for Emperor Nintoku.
He built Versailles, a beautiful palace outside of Paris for his nobles. Lined with gardens and filled with fountains + opulent architecture + decorations Versailles was a veritable playground for the nobles. There were balls, fancy clothes + huge numbers of servants, and most of the nobles¡¯ incomes were spent on these luxuries. Thus, the status of the nobles was high and they were wealthy + lived an indulgent lifestyle, but they had no political power in the French government.
Another great piece of evidence supporting the statement that Louis XIV is the best example of an absolute monarch is his palace at Versailles. This palace was bigger than any other palace, more expensive, and better in just about everyway, except for being good for its country, France. The palace at Versailles was originally built as a small hunting lodge by Louis XIV’s father, Louis XIII in 1624. In 1669, Louis XIV decided to expand the palace, and moved into the palace in 1682 while parts of the building were still under construction. The palace was of monumental size, with a around 2,000 rooms, 15,000 acres of gardens and lawns and woods, and costing what would cost an estimated $2 billion in 1994, a extremely large sum of money for France. To run the fountains, it would cost so much money and use so much water that Louis’ workers would turn the fountains on when they saw him coming, and turn them off when he passed. The palace usually held about 7,000
In 1685, Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau which revoked an older edict, the Edict of Nantes. Previously, the Edict of Nantes allowed the French people to practice Calvinism alongside Catholicism, which caused the lack of religious unity. To create this religious unity in France and strengthen France as one, unified nation, Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau which revoked the Edict of Nantes and said that the French people could only practice Catholicism. In addition, Louis XIV expanded French territory so that France could reach its natural borders of the Rhine River, the Pyrenees, and the Alps. To expand to France’s natural borders, Louis invaded the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic in order to expand the French lands. Specifically, Louis XIV successfully received two fortresses which helped him control inland waterways, Maastricht and Trier. Also, Louis XIV created a system to control the nobles of the robe and prevent them from interfering with important governmental policies. In mid seventeenth century, Louis built the Court of Versailles for the nobles of the robe to stay and involve themselves with the frivolities of court life. In the Court of Versailles, these nobles would compete with each other to watch Louis XIV wake up each morning and fight over where
Louis XIV was a very generous spender. He put in large amounts of money to finance the royal court, and operated as a supporter of the arts, funding literary and cultural figures. He also kept his army in mind by building military complex known as the Hôtel des Invalides to give a home for officers and soldiers who had served him loyally in the army. The Hôtel des Invalides established new treatments frequently and set a new standard for the rather barbarous hospice treatment styles of the period. To support a Machiavellian tactic, Louis XIV didn?t have any mercenaries or auxiliaries, he controlled his own army, and was a self-sufficient ruler that didn?t rely on the help of others in battle.
Looking further we face the problem of space as such. It is something that is animated by the movements within it or the effect produced by operations of its orientation. If place is location then space is the dimensions of it, the position in which the palace was constructed. Space is more of a three dimensional term because it is determined by the operations which specify it. Considering this we still need to keep in mind that Louis XIV in his palace is immobile and a sovereign figure who beams eternity and unchangeability. This is where we understand the importance of the place related to the absolutism of the king. And while space is rather linked to an action or a process of history, place is the conclusion of the entire action. Simply put space is the largeness of the palace complex. It is what, after realizing the importance of the location, amazes the traveler.
Another thing that Louis changed was the appearance and way of life of France. These great towns of France went under a sort of "metamorphosis". The landscape was altered and monuments were built everywhere. Louis decided that he wanted to isolate the center of government from the city of Paris, so he constructed the palace of Versailles. It was an object of universal admiration and enhanced French prestige. It became Louis’ permanent address in 1682 and was also the home to thousands of the more important nobles, royal officials, and
The Palace of Versailles was built in 1624 as a modest hunting lodge and private residence for Louis XIII. Louis XIV spent time his here as a child during the civil war and grew fond of the site (Allen, 35). When Louis XIV came to power, he moved France’s capital in Paris to Versailles because he wanted to keep the royal court in one central place away from the gossip and business of Paris (Ropeik). By keeping the royal court together, he was able to centralize the French government in to an absolute monarchy and prevent any of his nobles from developing their own regional power. 1669, he expanded the existing small hunting lodge to 67,000 square meters, the equivalent to 12 football fields (Ropeik). The palace expansion was designed by Louis le Vau, the architect to the aristocracy, and took 21 years to complete. The 700 room building allowed Louis and his friends, family, courtiers, servants and soldiers to live in close proximity (Ropeik).
Title- The road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the fall of the French Monarchy
This dominance was no accident but rather was planned by King Louis XIV and his finance minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert. Jean-Baptiste Colbert declared “fashion is to France what the gold mines of Peru are to Spain.” The King and Colbert deliberately used fashion as a propaganda move to promote France and Versailles among the French people and inspire awe from foreign governments. In addition to inspiration, fashion provided Louis XIV with a distraction to occupy the minds of those at court while he manipulated political matters. By creating an elaborate dress code and complex social rules and manners, the King maintained control over a large group of nobles and soldiers living at Versailles. All who resided at or visited Versailles were expected to adhere to these regulated mannerisms of court etiquette.