Anyway, the palace of Versailles is beautiful. It has huge gardens and was the glory of the Sun King's reign. Starting in 1668 with his father's modest huting lodge, Louis XIV built the largest palace in Euroupe housing 20,000 people at a time. Architects Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin Mansart designed the buildings; Chrarles Le Brun did the interiors; and Andre Le Norte, the great landscaper, redesigned the gardens, which are formally styled into paths and groves, hedges and flowers beds, water pools and fountains.
The courtyard walking up to The Chateau. Louis XIV made the chateau into the center of political power in France.
The Main Gate is Mansart's original gateway grille, surmounted by the royal arms, it is the entrance to the Ministers' Courtyard.
The Royal Chapel. The chapel's first floor was reserved for the royal family and the ground floor for the Court. The interior is richly decorated in white marble, gilding and Baroque murals.
The Hall of Mirrors. Incredible! Great state occasions were held in this multimirrored room stretching 233 feet along the west facade. Here in 1919 the Treaty of Versailles was ratified, ending World War 1. The left side is the mirrors, on the right side are windows as big as the mirrors.
The mirrors.
This is the ceiling in the Bulls Eye Salon room. The king choose cupids as decor because he basically hated getting older and not being able to hunt as often as he did when he was younger. The cupids reminded him of his youth.
The room Bulls Eye orignally got it's name from the Bulls Eye Window. This room was a large antechambers that was were you waited until you were admitted to the royal bedchamber. It's entrance was guarded by a Swiss Guard. I have a lot more pictures from The Chateau, but these are of my favorites. I do have some of Dean Koons, a interesting artist. I will make a seperate post with some of his work later on.
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