Versailles description. Versailles after the Bourbons. Grand and Petit Trianon at Versailles

Versailles of Louis XIII

How could Louis XIII, who built a modest hunting lodge in Versailles, know that his son and successor, the great Sun King, would turn this place so dear to him into a symbol of absolute monarchy, into a miracle of architecture, the luxury and splendor of which no palace in the world can surpass?

Louis XIII built hunting lodge near the village of Versailles, pursuing completely different goals. Louis XIII was not even six years old when, on August 24, 1607, being only a dauphin, he arrived for the first time in Versailles with his father Henry IV for falconry. Hunting trips with his father to Versailles were not erased from the memory of the Dauphin; when he becomes king, he will prefer the lands of Versailles and Saint-Germain to all other hunting grounds.

At that time, the village of Versailles included about 500 people, a modest church was dedicated to Saint Julien, a windmill towered on a hill, and tired hunters, including Henry IV, stopped for the night at four inns. The domain of Versailles was ruled by Henri de Gondi, Bishop of Paris, whose nephew later, on coming of age, ceded the land to another of his uncles, Jean-Francois de Gondi, Archbishop of Paris and the last master of Versailles from the Gondi family.

The village was surrounded by the magnificent forests of Ile-de-France, full of game, endless fields and swamps - perfect place for hunting at any time of the year. Located 17 kilometers from Paris, it was located quite close to Saint-Germain, one of the most beloved residences of Louis XIII. When the hunt dragged on until late and it was not possible to return to Paris, the king rode to Saint-Germain or stopped at one of the inns of Versailles or in a dilapidated old castle belonging to the Gondi family, where he slept without undressing on an armful of straw. Often he spent the night at the windmill.

Soon this state of affairs bothered the king, and he bought 40 hectares of land from 16 different owners, in the winter of 1623-1624. deciding that the time had come to build a small hunting lodge in Versailles. An unknown architect erected on a hill a U-shaped building 24 meters long and 6 meters wide from pink brick, white stone and blue tiles. Louis XIII constantly came to Versailles to oversee the progress of the work.

By summer, the house became inhabited, and the king lived there from June 28 to July 5. On August 2, he arrived at Versailles from Saint-Germain at 8:30 am to oversee the delivery of furniture and kitchen utensils, bought especially for him by M. de Blainville, the first nobleman of the chamber.

The king occupied 4 rooms in the house; Ludovic's apartment consisted of a bedroom, an office, a dressing room and a reception room. Later, these rooms will be occupied by Louis XIV, who wants to live in his father's apartments.

The furnishings of the bedroom were rather modest. There was only the bare necessities: a bed, two chairs, six benches, a table. In the evening, candles were lit in silver and crystal candlesticks. Five tapestries decorated the walls; the curtains of the bed, the carpet, the curtains and the upholstery of the furniture were made of green damask. In the office, eight tapestries reproduced the story of Mark Antony. A little later, the gallery leading to the king's bedroom will be decorated with a large painting depicting the capture of La Rochelle.

The king tried to come to Versailles as often as possible. The retinue that accompanied him was always extremely small. Of the courtiers, Louis occasionally invited only Claude de Rouvroy, the future duc de Saint-Simon, the duc de Montbazon, M. Soissons and the Duke de Mortemart. The last two usually slept on the first floor, in the room of the captain of the guards.

I must say that the courtiers considered it a great honor to be invited by the king to hunt in Versailles, but such trips were associated with great inconvenience for them. Louis XIII was a tireless and fearless hunter; for seventeen hours in a row, in any weather, he could gallop through the fields and forests, which was extremely tiring for his companions. Moreover, it is often the difficulties caused by bad weather conditions, could force him to go hunting, and no amount of persuasion could force the king to change his mind. In addition, in the hunting lodge in Versailles, amenities were minimal and could not satisfy the exacting nobles, who were faced with the need to share them with the king, indifferent to comfort.

Neither the queen mother nor the reigning queen were provided with rooms. However, several times they still came for one day to Versailles, never once spending the night there.

The usual day of the king in Versailles is described by his doctor Hérouard: “On October 12, 1624, I woke up at 6 o’clock in the morning, had breakfast at 7 o’clock and went hunting for deer. At 10 o'clock he returned, soaked through, changed his clothes and changed his shoes. At 11 o'clock I had lunch, mounted a horse and again chased the deer, reaching Porchefontaine. Returned to Versailles at 6 pm.

Versailles became for the king not only a place where one could find shelter after the hunt. The king hid in a hunting lodge when life in the Louvre became completely unbearable for him. Under the pretext of hunting, he tried to go there as often as possible in order to take a break from the court and hide his emotions from outside witnesses.

Meanwhile, in 1631, Louis XIII decided to expand his holdings in Versailles and enlarge the house. On April 8, 1632, he bought from Jean-Francois de Gondi for 70,000 livres the entire seigneury of Versailles, along with the ruins of the old castle of Gondi, which he wanted to completely demolish in order to expand the park.

August 15, 1634 construction was completed. The main building, in which the king's apartments were located, had five windows on the first and second floors overlooking the courtyard; there were also five windows in two parallel wings, which now limit the Marble Court. The four outer corners of the castle were decorated with four identical pavilions. From the side of the courtyard, a portico with seven arches, covered with bars, connected the two wings. The house was surrounded by a moat without water; the gardens were enlarged by Jacques de Ménère to include an orchard and a ballroom. In 1639 the gardens were redesigned by Claude Mollet and Hilaire Masson.

Versailles was for Louis XIII not only a hunting lodge, but also a place where no one could come without his permission. In April 1637, the king was tormented by the strongest emotional experiences. The tender and sincere love that connected him with Mademoiselle de Lafayette was doomed, and he understood this very well, but, exhausted by constant persecution from the court and remorse, he decided on an act unexpected for him. Madame de Motteville writes in her Memoirs: “This great king, so wise and so constant in his courage, nevertheless experienced moments of weakness during which he hurried her<Луизу де Лафайет>that she agree to his proposal to take her to Versailles, where she would live under his protection. This proposal, so contrary to his usual feelings, forced her to leave the court. Mademoiselle de Lafayette, deeply in love with the king, was afraid that she would not be able to resist her feelings and would destroy her lover's soul by agreeing to his proposal to move to Versailles. Fearing that she would give up if the king kept asking her to do so, nineteen-year-old Louise de Lafayette retired to a convent. To hide his grief, Louis XIII went to Versailles, which never became a haven of love. In 1643, feeling the approach of death, Louis XIII said: “If the Lord restores my health, immediately after my Dauphin can mount a horse and reaches the age of majority, he will take my place, and I will retire to Versailles, and I will think only for the salvation of the soul.

After the death of the king, which occurred on May 14, 1643, Versailles will remain without a master for eighteen years. Louis XIV will order to keep his father's hunting lodge intact, making it the heart of the new ensemble.

Builders of a great masterpiece

Four people assisted the king in the construction of Versailles: Colbert, Levo, Lenotre and Lebrun. Without them, the grandiose project would never have come to fruition; however, despite the numerous and undoubted merits of all four, Louis was still the main inspirer and driving force of the project. He knew exactly what he wanted. Thanks to Mazarin, who surrounded him with beautiful things from childhood, the king developed a good taste. From year to year he became more and more refined, and this left its mark on all his affairs.

After his death, Mazarin left all his possessions to the king: paintings, books, houses, eighteen huge diamonds, known as les Mazarins, and money (and, he might add, nieces). All this was nothing compared to another priceless treasure - Colbert. He was the most remarkable minister in the history of France. He was born in 1619 to a wool merchant in Reims. His emblem was a modest grass snake, in contrast to the Fouquet squirrel, striving to climb higher and higher. Unlike Fouquet, a merry fellow and a rake, Colbert was restrained and strict. He frowned more often than smiled, and never tried to please. But everyone always knew what to expect from him. When someone, in the hope of avoiding any taxation, went straight to the king, bypassing Colbert, then at the end of the courteous reception he could hear from Louis: “Monsieur, you have to pay!” Therefore, most petitioners preferred to communicate with the gloomy-looking Colbert. Still, being at a fairly young age, he realized that the economy is a true, although not very fast track to power; and began his career by putting in order the personal affairs of Mazarin, which were terribly neglected; then, while still in the service of the cardinal, he took up public finances. When the king was a child, Colbert taught him how to keep accounts; Louis became the first king of France who knew how to do this on his own. Colbert hated Versailles, but only he was able to get the money necessary for its construction. Money immediately left, like water in the sand. Having learned that the king was going to settle in Versailles, the financier resigned himself to the inevitable and began to think about how to use this costly structure wisely and for the benefit of the country.

Colbert was an amazing person; he was distinguished by deep knowledge in the field of literature, science and art, although he himself probably considered these areas of human knowledge not the most important in life, something like an application to trade. Contributing to the development of science in France, the financier did this, primarily with the aim of attracting world markets. The minister founded the French school of painting and sculpture in Rome at the Villa Medici, opened an observatory in Paris and invited the astronomer Cassini to work there; he also bought books to replenish royal library and, finally, being the superintendent of construction, he supervised the reconstruction of Versailles.

Although Colbert was twenty years older than the king, he treated his monarch with reverent awe. Leaving the country house of So, this influential and powerful man, who kept the whole of France at bay, took a piece of bread with him to the park and threw it across the canal. If the bread fell on the other side, this meant that Louis XIV would be in a good mood, if the bread fell to the input, Colbert had no doubt that thunderstorms would not pass.

Lebrun was born in the same year as Colbert and worked with him most of their lives: They were similar in that they did not shun any work. Lebrun was found by Chancellor Séguier when he was ten years old, and he drew scenes from the Apocalypse on tracing paper. He received his first serious commission in 1649; he was to decorate the Hotel Lambert, the Parisian home of a wealthy government official. He then worked for Fouquet at Vaux-le-Vicomte; in 1662 the king made him chief court painter and commissioned the decorative work of Versailles. In addition, Lebrun was the director of a large tapestry factory, which was engaged not only in the production of woven carpets, but also in almost all the furniture for Versailles. Lebrun, although he does not belong to the number of first-class painters, was an excellent designer. Almost all the furnishings and decoration of the palace: chairs, tables, carpets, trim, decorative wall panels, silver, tapestries and even keyholes are made according to his original sketches; he painted the ceilings in the Mirror Gallery, as well as in the halls of War and Peace, the facade of the small royal house in Marly. Lebrun created bow decorations for galleys and scenery for holidays. In addition, he managed to paint huge canvases on religious and mythological themes. He loved allegories and battle scenes, but was rather indifferent to nature.

Rebuilding the castle from 1661 to 1668 was the architect Levo. Lebrun and Leveaux worked in perfect harmony. The most famous buildings of Le Vaux are Vaux-le-Viscount, the Hotel Lambert and the Institute de France, built by the architect after his death. Much of his work at Versailles in later times was covered by the work of the architect Mansart. Levo left the eastern facade of brick and stone in its original form, but attached two wings to it; on the way to the building, he erected a number of pavilions intended for ministers.

Le Nôtre was born into a gardener's family and was to become a royal gardener himself. His grandfather looked after Marie de Medici parks; his father was chief gardener at the Tuileries; the husband of one of his sisters grew a young garden for Anne of Austria, and the husband of the second looked after her orange trees. Le Nôtre dreamed of becoming an artist and began life in the studio of Vouet, but soon returned to gardening. He succeeded his father at the Tuileries and gave the parks there a new look. He was noticed by Fouquet and invited to Vaud, where the result of his work did not leave the Sun King indifferent, who immediately appointed him the general manager of all his parks. We owe him not only the gardens of Versailles, but also the parks of Chantilly, Saint-Cloud, Marly, So; the famous terrace in Saint-Germain-aux-Laye, as well as numerous private parks and gardens, and a magnificent wide avenue are the creation of his hands. Champs Elysees originating from the Louvre. The city of Versailles was also built according to his design.

Le Nôtre carried an interest in painting and art throughout his life. His home at the Tuileries abounded with beautiful things, including Chinese porcelain. When he left home, he left the keys on a carnation so that art connoisseurs who came in his absence would not be disappointed and could admire the magnificent collection.

Quentini played an equally significant role in the arrangement of Versailles. He planted a garden. At first he worked as a lawyer in Poitiers, but his real passion was vegetables and fruits. His book on gardening and horticulture can be ranked among the best publications on this subject; she awakens in the reader a passion for gardening; his advice is detailed and simple enough that even a child can understand them.

The king adored Quentini. He raised him to the nobility and gave him a house in the garden, where he often visited for a walk. Today, the garden and vegetable garden remain almost unchanged, including the gate marked "Public" through which the people of Versailles entered to take free vegetables.

Quentini pears existed in Versailles until 1963, when the last two trees had to be dug up. In the 19th century, many of them were still bearing fruit and endured well the winters that killed other fruit trees.

So, after 1661, Louis XIV wished own palace, which in its splendor and luxury would surpass other castles in France and even Europe. The king chose Versailles as the place of construction, a small village with a population of five hundred, where there was a small hunting castle of Louis XIII. The best architects, sculptors, artists of the 17th century worked on the construction, huge sums of money were spent on the construction of the castle. But the Sun King spares nothing. Led to the construction of Versailles, as we see, the desire of Louis to have his own, unique palace, which was supposed to be proof of the glory and power of the king.

Finances of France and the Palace of Versailles

When it comes to cash spent on construction sites at Versailles, historians unanimously agree that the palace cost huge sums. And if we take into account the cost of interior decoration, we get colossal numbers. Although the comptroller-general of the finances, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, tried to instill a penchant for frugality in the king, the desire for the king's glory came at a cost.

Before Colbert was yet superintendent of construction, from 1661 to 1663, Versailles was already worth a million and a half (within four years he absorbed what Fontainebleau ate in 17 years). Almost all of this amount was used, apparently without any measure, to create parks. The king bought, increased, expanded, rounded up his possession. He comes up with pools, new parterres, a greenhouse, bosquets. In 1664, Versailles cost the construction administration 781,000 livres; next year - 586,000.

Colbert was undoubtedly concerned about these numerous expenses. He was worried and even angry. In a letter he wrote to the king (September 1665), anxiety sounds. “If Your Majesty wishes to discover traces of glory in Versailles, where more than five hundred thousand crowns have been spent in two years, you will undoubtedly be upset if you do not find it.”

Colbert still believed in the future of the Louvre and the Tuileries. At this time, Lorenzo Bernini, a sculptor, artist, architect, author of the colonnade at the Cathedral of St. Peter, monuments to popes Urban VIII and Alexander VII. He had to make from the Louvre most beautiful palace peace.

But more and more money is spent on Versailles every year. If in 1668 339,000 livres were spent on construction from the budget of the Ministry of Construction, in 1669 spending reaches 676,000 livres, and in 1671 - up to 2,621,000 livres. Beginning in 1670, new furniture appeared in the palace, decorated with silver lining, and His Majesty's bedroom was covered with gold brocade.

To get an idea of ​​what the livre (subdivided into 20 soles and 240 denier) was then at the end of the 17th century, we will give a few examples. In the cities, an unskilled worker could earn between 6 and 10 soles a day when there was work; qualified (cabinet maker, locksmith, stonemason) - 20 soles. Daily laborers in rural areas, when they found work (150 days a year), received 5-6 salts per day. The parish curate, who lived without trouble, could receive from 300 to 400 livres a year, that is, 20 soles for a full day's work. It can also be assumed that a modest family lived on 25 livres a month. Thus, having calculated the average annual income of such a family, we get: per year for the construction of Versailles (data of 1664), not counting the cost of interior decoration, as much money was spent as would be enough for the comfortable living of 3,000 families.

Versailles can be called in the full sense of the word, a peacetime construction site. After all, construction work began to revive and the largest financial investments occurred just at the time when peace was concluded. Let's compare some numbers. During the War of Devolution, Versailles cost the state 536,000 francs in two years. As soon as peace came, expenses immediately increased. In 1671, Versailles cost 676,000 francs. During the five years of war, from 1673 to 1677 inclusive, the amount spent on construction at Versailles amounted to 4,066,000 livres. As soon as the Nimwegen peace was concluded, the monarch no longer saw any reason to save. In 1679, the expenses of Versailles rise to 4,886,000 francs, and in 1680 they reach 5,641,000 francs. With the beginning of the Ten Years' War, the main construction projects stopped. In the documents of the construction ministry, you can see a report on the amounts spent on Versailles (excluding water supply): in 1685 - 6,104,000, in 1686 - 2,520,000, in 1687 - 2,935,000. Preparations for war are in full swing, and therefore costs are sharply reduced in 1688: 1976,000 livres. And then, for nine whole years, from 1689 to 1697 inclusive, Versailles cost France only 2,145,000 livres. Between 1661 and 1715, Versailles, together with the castle and office premises, cost 68,000,000 francs.

We must not forget that Versailles is not the only palace being built at that time. Numerous other construction projects were also underway in Paris. Until 1670, contributions to the construction of Parisian palaces were twice those provided to Versailles. Beginning in 1670, the situation changed.

And in 1684, the Ministry of Finance allocated 34,000 francs for only one housing for workers. The statistics are certainly impressive!

But if you think about it again, these expenses do not seem so astronomical compared with the costs of wars and the degree of political and artistic flourishing of the court during the time of the great king and further, during the whole age of Enlightenment. It is impossible to say better than Pierre Verlet: "Everyone will agree that Louis XIV, having given us Versailles, enriched France ... The spending of the great king gave the world a castle that one cannot but admire."

Located 20 km southwest of Paris, the royal town of Versailles, better known as the Palace of Versailles, is a huge palace built by Louis XIV and has now become one of the most visited tourist places in France.

The idea of ​​building a new castle arose from the king because of the envy he experienced when he saw the castle of his finance minister in Vaux-le-Vicomte. As a result, the king made a firm decision that his palace should, of course, surpass the palace of the minister in luxury. He hired the same team of craftsmen that built Vaux-le-Vicomte, the architect Louis Lévaux, the painter Charles Lebrun and the landscape architect André Le Nôtre, and ordered them to build something that would surpass the size of the palace of Vaux-le-Vicomte a hundred times. The Palace of Versailles has become the apotheosis of the indulgence of the whims of the French monarchs, and although you may not quite like the environment in which the extravagant and self-loving “Sun King” wished to live, the historical significance of this palace is enormous, the stories associated with it are truly fascinating, and the park around the palace is simply charming.

regular park Palace of Versailles- one of the largest and most important in Europe. It consists of many terraces, which decrease as you move away from the palace. Flowerbeds, lawns, a greenhouse, pools, fountains, as well as numerous sculptures are a continuation of the palace architecture. There are also several small palace-like structures in the park of Versailles.

The Versailles palace and park ensemble is distinguished by a unique integrity of design and harmony between architectural forms and a reworked landscape. Since the end of the 17th century, Versailles has been a model for the ceremonial country residences of European monarchs and aristocracy. In 1979, the Palace of Versailles and the park were included in the World cultural heritage UNESCO.

The history of the Palace of Versailles begins in 1623 with a very modest feudal-style hunting castle, built at the request of Louis XIII of brick, stone and roofing slate on the territory purchased from Jean de Soisy (Jean de Soisy), whose family owned the lands since the 14th century. The hunting castle was located in the place where the marble courtyard is now. Its dimensions were 24 by 6 meters. In 1632, the territory was expanded by purchasing the estate of Versailles from the Archbishop of Paris from the Gondi family, and a two-year restructuring was undertaken.

From 1661, Louis XIV began to expand the palace in order to use it as his permanent residence, since after the Fronde uprising, living in the Louvre began to seem unsafe to him. The architects André Le Nôtre and Charles Lebrun renovated and expanded the palace in the Baroque and Classicist styles. The entire facade of the palace from the garden side is occupied by a large Mirror Gallery, which makes an amazing impression with its paintings, mirrors and columns. In addition to it, the Battle Gallery, the palace chapel and the palace theater also deserve mention.

Around the palace, a city gradually arose, in which artisans settled, supplying the royal court. Louis XV and Louis XVI also lived in the Palace of Versailles. During this time the population Versailles and the adjacent city reached 100 thousand people, however, it quickly declined after the king was forced to move to Paris. May 5, 1789 in the Palace of Versailles gathered representatives of the nobility, the clergy and the bourgeoisie. After the king, who by law was given the right to assemble and dissolve such events, closed the meeting for political reasons, the deputies from the bourgeoisie declared themselves the National Assembly and retired to the Ballroom. After 1789, the Palace of Versailles was maintained only with difficulty. Since the time of Louis Philippe, many halls and rooms have been restored, and the palace itself has become an outstanding national historical museum, which exhibited busts, portraits, paintings of battles and other works of art of predominantly historical value.

The Palace of Versailles was of great importance in German-French history. After the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War, from October 5, 1870 to March 13, 1871, it was the residence of the main headquarters of the German army. On January 18, 1871, the German Empire was proclaimed in the Mirror Gallery, and Wilhelm I was its Kaiser. This place was deliberately chosen to humiliate the French. The peace treaty with France was signed on February 26, also at Versailles. In March, the evacuated French government moved the capital from Bordeaux to Versailles, and only in 1879 again to Paris.

At the end of the First World War, a preliminary truce was concluded at the Palace of Versailles, as well as the Treaty of Versailles, which the defeated German Empire was forced to sign. This time, historical place was picked up by the French to humiliate the Germans. The harsh terms of the Treaty of Versailles (including huge indemnity payments and admission of sole guilt) were a big burden on the young Weimar Republic. Because of this, it is widely believed that the consequences of the Treaty of Versailles were the basis for the future emergence of Nazism in Germany.

After World War II, the Palace of Versailles became the site of German-French reconciliation. This is evidenced by the celebrations on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Elysee Treaty, which took place in 2003.

Many palaces in Europe were built under the undoubted influence of Versailles. These include the castles of Sanssouci in Potsdam, Schönbrunn in Vienna, Great palaces in Peterhof and Gatchina, as well as other palaces in Germany, Austria and Italy.

Since 2003 Palace of Versailles became the object of one of the projects under the patronage of Jacques Chirac - a large-scale restoration plan for the palace, comparable only to Mitterrand's project to renovate the Louvre. The project, with a total budget of 400 million euros, is designed for a period of 20 years, during which the facade and interior of the Opera will be renovated, the original layout of the gardens will be restored, and the three-meter gilded King's Grille will be returned to the inner Marble Court. In addition, after the restoration, tourists will be able to visit for free those parts of the castle that today can only be accessed with organized tour. However, over the next few years, work will be limited only to the most urgent tasks: so that the roof does not leak, so that there is no short circuit in the electrical wiring, and so that interruptions in the central heating system do not allow the palace to fly into the air, because even revolutionaries.

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– residence French kings dynasty Bourbon. The masterpiece of classicism fascinates with its brilliance, and annually attracts millions of tourists from all over the world. We did not miss the opportunity to join this million.

Versailles - the history of creation

History of creation Versailles sends us back to the era of government Louis XIV who was nicknamed "sun king". And in the light of the sun, the ensemble really looks like a king (however, in rainy weather it looks no less beautiful, maybe a little more modest).

At Louis XIII on the spot modern palace there was an ordinary hunting lodge, which the king ordered to build for hunting in those places. But his son Louis XIV had their own plans for the area.

At a reception with his Minister of Finance Nicolas Fouquet in honor of the completion of the palace Vaux-le-Vicomte (Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte), Louis XIV was struck by the "royal" luxury and high cost of the building, and even enraged by the open display of all this for show. He himself did not have such a palace, and this struck at the pride of the monarch.

Upon returning from the reception, he called his faithful assistant by name d'Artagnan- a real, not a mythical hero from novels Dumas. Louis commanded d'Artagnan deal with Fouquet, And d'Artagnan figured it out. Fouquet was arrested and imprisoned for life. And his brand new castle was confiscated. So that. And you say "you can't forbid living beautifully."

Inspired by the palace Vaux-le-Vicomte, Louis lured the authors of this work - architects Louis Levo And Andre Lenotra as well as an artist Charles Lebrun on his side, and offered them to build for him a similar palace with a park, only to be "prettier, richer, and bigger." There were no options to refuse - a sad face stood before my eyes Fouquet sitting in a dungeon, and they agreed. And so it appeared.

Construction started in 1661 year and spread over many years. An unprecedented amount of money was swollen. "Sun King" built the same bright and sunny complex as he himself was. Therefore, they are invariably associated with each other, despite the fact that Versailles complex completed even after death Louis XIV his great-grandson and successor Louis XV. Additions were not as global as with "sun king", although they also cost a lot of money to the treasury. Such regular spending became one of the prerequisites for the future unrest of the French people, which will clearly manifest themselves at the end of XVIII century.

Parallel to Versailles palace ensemble the city was set up Versailles. It originally housed about 500 person, and by the time of moving Louis XIV along with his entire retinue Versailles castle, already lived in the city 30000 . The main part was made up of service personnel, as well as workers and peasants, supporting the uninterrupted and needless life of the royal French court.

However, back to our favorites 🙂

Having entered the territory through the main gate, we found ourselves on the square, at the head of which is Palace of Versailles. “Here they lived, they didn’t grieve”, I thought. The chambers of the king, queen, as well as guest rooms are located in this place. Where else is he located - not in the forest by the pond.

Finding ourselves on the other side of the fence, we did not understand where to start - we did not have any brochure, and indeed a complete idea of ​​what all this architectural ensemble, also not available. It was logical to first go through the main palace, and then act according to the circumstances.

The place where the hunting castle used to be Louis XIII now called marble yard

But here, too, there was a small problem. Fountains, which we also wanted to visit, work only twice a day - from 11 before 12 and with 15:30 before 17 . Before 15 I did not want to wait, and it was decided to go through one wing of the palace, then go to the fountains and return to inspect the palace. So we did. We went to the right wing, took an audio guide in Russian. I had headphones, and I stuck them into the socket - thus I did not have to walk, leaning the device to my ear, which is very convenient. He looked at everyone, grinning with a satisfied physiognomy.

The people, of course, darkness. Sitting practically on each other's shoulders, we moved from room to room, not forgetting to listen to the audio guide. All this was very educational.

A little less than an hour was enough for us to bypass this wing. The time was approaching 11, we left the palace and headed towards the gardens and fountains. I was immediately alarmed that a man with a serious look was standing at the exit. And if you left, they won't let you back in. Then I did not attach any significant importance to this, as I was in a hurry to the fountains.

Controllers also stood at the entrance to the fountains and checked tickets. There are a lot of controllers there - they stand at each object, because tickets for each object are sold separately, and you can not visit everything, but only what you are interested in.

Well, the time has come, and the music began to play. Fountains flowed, cameras clicked, movement began.

There are many fountains. Wandering through the labyrinths of gardens, you can stumble upon some small fountain. You can walk around and watch, or you can not walk. After the fact, I thought that it was not worth taking tickets for them - they were not impressed. I mean, fountains are like fountains, nothing special. You need to understand when they were built. Since then, they have not changed significantly. Today there are much more advanced and interesting fountains, so it is difficult to surprise people strenuously wandering around them.

We walked through the gardens, reached the big fountain of apollo.

Of course, we took pictures this way and that. That's probably why we got a little hungry. We sat down not far from the fountains on a refreshing marble bench and filled up the prepared sandwiches. After that I read on the official website Versailles that picnics are forbidden, but we were not caught, which is very encouraging.

After eating and relaxing, we went to reverse side for the purpose of reviewing Palace of Versailles. And then all the fears were confirmed - a man with a serious look refused to let us back in, strengthening his gaze with decisive gestures. He pointed to a sign with the inscription “no entry”, smiled and, completely satisfied with himself, turned away.

Not particularly upset, we decided to go around the palace, assuming that we could enter from the other side. But on the other hand, there were no serious people, no hint of an entrance, and we went to the fence, passing along which we again found ourselves in a huge crowd of people who were eager to get inside.

This is where we started scratching our turnips. What to do next was decidedly unclear. It is quite obvious that we did not go through the whole palace. Plus, there was a strong impression that there were still unseen objects (for a long time I was not so close to the truth, there were still 4 hours of such objects on foot). Standing as if rooted to the spot, and thoughtfully turning our heads in all directions, we were like Stirlitz - close to failure. And then the sign of the tourist information center caught my eye on the left. Somewhere inside the subconscious, a fragile animal called "hope" stirred slightly.

We walked cautiously in that direction. would be in Russia, no problems would have arisen, but we were in France, with the appropriate knowledge of languages. Only English at the level "es, know, idontnow". I still wonder how we even traveled abroad on our own, practically without knowing the language.

With trembling hands, we opened the door and entered. A woman came up and asked something in English. Here I fell asleep. Stumbling, I began my beautiful story about the problem that fell on us like spring snow on our heads.

For half an hour there was a verbal struggle with this woman, or rather with an overseas language. The fight was unequal - the woman obviously knew more words than I did. But I won. Almost on the fingers they explained to us that everything is not so bad. You just need to stand in line again and never leave the palace without seeing it completely. Plus, we were solemnly presented with a plan of the ensemble in Russian, with brief description and a schematic map. It was only then that I found out that we hadn't seen practically anything yet. Now we were armed with exhaustive information. With a self-satisfied gait, straightening our stooped shoulders half an hour ago, and raising our revived head high, we went to the end of the winding snake of people. The day was revived.

Free advice:

Having defended "serpentine" turn a second time, we again hoped to quickly slip through the inspection of things. But this time our trick failed. They forced me to open my backpack, and found carefully packed provisions there - buns, sausages and lettuce. They offered to hand over the backpack to the storage room and showed the direction with a hand. I thought that, firstly, then it would not be very desirable to go back for a backpack, and secondly, it would be very desirable to eat in a couple of hours. Therefore, on the way to the lockers, I pretended to forget why I was going, and turned off. Expecting the insane calls of the French, I walked without turning around, but no one paid any attention to me. Everything turned out to be very simple. In such a simple way, food was saved, and we calmly went to inspect castle of Versailles.

On the second attempt, we examined the whole castle complex completely - all kinds of chambers of the king and queen, guest rooms, a mirror gallery, and everything else (there are so many rooms that I almost got lost). The scope and luxury are simply amazing - everything is gilded, bright, shiny, beautiful. There I realized the phrase "looks like royalty". I would love to live there for a couple of centuries.

reached the famous mirror gallery. This is what she looks like in the middle of the day

And like this, when there is no one, only ghosts

To be honest, in all these rooms I am completely confused. If not to be a completely boring researcher of architecture Versailles then remembering everything is unrealistic. Who and where lived, what this or that room is for. For the most part, it's not that important. You just walk around and marvel at the wealth and luxury, as well as the taste with which it was all done. Everything is truly beautiful and wonderful.

Served as a model for many royal residences, and became a kind of starting point for the architecture of future centuries. Many monarchs who visited Versailles inspired to build their residences. Selflessly spent a lot of money, and even surpassed Palace of Versailles in wealth and grandeur. There are examples in our country - in a certain city on Neva 😉

Until the end of the 16th century, Versailles was a small village near Paris. Louis XIII built a hunting lodge there, then a small castle, and in 1632 he bought the whole village. His son, Louis XIV, the Sun King, erected a huge palace complex and turned it into main residence French monarchs.

The history of the emergence of Versailles as one of the symbols of France

In 1682, the royal court moved to Versailles, which became not only the de facto capital of France, but also a symbol of absolutism. From that moment on, all European rulers, wanting to emphasize their greatness, build palaces in the "Versailles" manner.

Louis XIV had reason to rush out of Paris. The capital looked too provincial for the mighty European power that France had become in these years. In addition, the king could not forgive the Parisians of the Fronde, he did not trust them and wanted to protect himself from the rebellious crowd for the future.

The arrangement of Versailles began in 1661, lasted for more than a dozen years and required huge costs, the country was practically ruined.

Description of Versailles - severity in everything

The complex was planned around three roads leading to Paris and to the royal estates of Saint-Cloud and Sault. At the point of their connection in front of the main entrance to Grand Palace Versailles has an equestrian statue of Louis XIV.

Parks of Versailles - geometric rigor of lines and proportions

On the other side of the palace, as if continuing the middle road, stretches the main alley with pools and the Grand Canal (1520 m). It clearly divides the huge park into two symmetrical halves.

The geometric rigor of lines and proportions is a distinctive feature Versailles Ensemble. It reflected the fascination of French architects with utopian architecture, originating from the fantastic "ideal cities" of the Renaissance.

It seems that the park is drawn according to the ruler, but at the same time it does not look boring or monotonous. It is enlivened by flower beds, sculptural groups, cascades, grottoes and especially fountains, the device of which was the pinnacle of engineering thought of its time. Particularly impressive visitors are the fountain of Apollo (sculptor Tyubi), depicting the chariot of the ancient god.

Luxurious halls of the Palace of Versailles

Inside, the Grand Palace consists of a suite of luxuriously decorated rooms filled with exquisite furniture, jewelry, and works of art. Separately, it is worth noting the Mirror Gallery 73 m long. Its 17 mirror panels reflect the light of 17 huge windows overlooking the park. Solemn ceremonies, balls, receptions and royal weddings took place in this sparkling hall.

It is also necessary to visit the Royal Chapel, the Venes Salon, the Apollo Salon, the Royal Opera, the Grand and Petit Trianon palaces.

The architect André Le Nôtre created absolutely new type park landscape, called the French regular (i.e., correct) garden. Such a garden, embodying the ideals of harmony, grandeur and unchanging order, became a model for the famous imperial ensembles of Peterhof and Sanssouci (Potsdam).

Like Versailles, these parks have one characteristic feature: from certain points in them one can observe a “clear linear perspective” of a properly organized space.

Gardens and parks of Versailles

The gardens and parks of Versailles with a total area of ​​101 hectares served as a grand stage for the court nobility: holidays, festivities, masquerades and other amusements took place here, in the shadow of which intrigues and palace intrigues were woven.

Louis, who turned his life into a magnificent performance, patronized the classical theater - operas by Lully, plays by Racine and Moliere were staged in Versailles. This tradition was continued by the successors, especially the wife of Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, who built her own theater and played in it herself.

The main palace complex, created in the style of French classicism, is striking in its scope. The ensemble consists of three consecutive courtyards - the Ministers, the Royal Court, where only the carriages of the monarch could enter, and the Marble Court, where the buildings of the hunting castle of Louis XIII have been preserved.

Versailles is the history of France

The history of Versailles is not limited to the lives of kings. It was here that in June 1789 the deputies of the third estate proclaimed themselves the National Assembly, and later the Constituent Assembly. In the same year, on August 26, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted at Versailles.

Here, six years earlier, a document was signed that approved the independence of the United States. On June 28, 1919, a peace treaty was signed in Versailles, which ended the First World War.

Since 1837, Versailles has been officially the Museum of the History of France.

Ten years ago, the Palace of Versailles became part of a large-scale restoration project of the palace, under the patronage of Jacques Chirac. According to the plan, within 20 years, the interior of the Opera and the facade were to be updated, the original layout of the gardens was restored, the gilded King's Grid was returned to the inner Marble Court, etc.

However, life makes its own adjustments and today the restoration work is limited to maintaining the palace in working condition.

Palace of Versailles – VIDEO tour

Versailles is a palace and park ensemble in France, the former residence of the French kings in the city of Versailles, now a suburb of Paris. total area the entire territory with gardens, fountains, pools, cascades, grottoes, sculptures and elegant palaces, truly royal, more than one hundred hectares.

http://youtu.be/gnbpr0en38M