Versailles: The Royal Palace in Paris Essay

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

Le Chateau is a leading Canadian specialty retailer that offers contemporary fashion apparel, accessories and footwear. Founded in 1959 by Hershel Segal, the retailer was originally named “Le Chateau Men’s Wear”. The name was

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

Louis XIV was born on September 5, 1638, and ruled as King of France and of Navarre from May 14, 1643 until his death at the age of 76. He took over the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but didn't actually assume actual control of the government until his First Minister, Jules Cardinal Mazarin, died in 1661. He was to become King of France after his father, Louis XIII, died of tuberculosis. He achieved the role of king by ways of hereditary monarchy, which is one of the ways to become a ruler, as stated by Machiavelli. Louis XIV is known as the 'The Sun King' and also known as 'Louis the Great.' He ruled over France for seventy-two years, which is the longest reign of any French or any other major European ruler and

In the documentary "Queen of Versailles," Jackie and David Siegal show the hardships of being one of the most wealthy people in the country. In the beginning of the documentary, everything in their life is close to perfect. They are a wealthy couple, have children and are building their dream house also the largest house in America. Everything was going well for them until the 2008 financial crisis occurred in which the real estate market collapsed. Although the weeks reading were hard to interpret, some of the things in them were clearly seen in the documentary.

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

Some people think that King Louis XIV did more harm to France than good. They cite his lack of moderation in managing his money. They also point out that Louis denied religious liberties to the Protestants of France and tightened control over his Roman Catholic subjects by revoking the Edict of Nantes. They also claim Louis’ war efforts were very costly and drained the treasury of France. Some say his arrogance, including his emblem of the “Sun King”, turned “his” people away from him. They think that Louis only cared about himself and what he wanted and didn’t think about future France.

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).

King Louis XIV was born in 1638. He became king at age four, and received only a mediocre education. He was taught nothing beyond pious works and decorous behavior at religious observances. He came into full power of France in 1661. Louis married Maria Theresa of Spain in 1659. When Mazarin died in 1661, Louis decided he didn’t want a powerful advisor and then started to change history. Louis had the longest reign in European history of 73 years.

Citation- Price, Munro. The Road from Versailles: Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, and the Fall of the French Monarchy. New York: St. Martin 's Press, 2003.

Versailles was a royal French palace but now it is now a national landmark. The palace of Versailles is 10.6 miles from Paris. Created for Lois XIV in 1624 by Jacques Lemercier. The palace was intended to please the king and be his own private place. Construction on the palace started in 1624. This palace was ment to be a hunting lodge and private retreat for the king and the rest of the royal family of the French throne. The palace never really stopped construction because each king and queen of the French royalty kept adding their own ideas to the palace.