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The Palace
of
Versailles
was
the
principal
royal
residence
of
France
from
1682,
under Louis
XIV,
until
the
start
of
the French
Revolution in
1789,
under Louis
XVI.
It
is
located
in
the department of Yvelines,
in
the region of Île-de-France,
about
20
kilometres
(12
miles)
southwest
of
the
centre
of Paris.
A
simple
hunting
lodging
and
later
a
small
château
with
a
moat
occupied
the
site
until
1661,
when
the
first
work
expanding
the
château
into
a
palace
was
carried
out
for
Louis
XIV.
In
1682,
when
the
palace
had
become
large
enough,
the
king
moved
the
entire
royal
court
and
the
French
government
to
Versailles.
Some
of
the
palace
furniture
at
this
time
was
constructed
of
solid
silver,
but
in
1689
much
of
it
was
melted
down
to
pay
for
the
cost
of
war.
Subsequent
rulers
mostly
carried
out
interior
remodeling,
to
meet
the
demands
of
changing
taste,
although Louis
XV did
install
an
opera
house
at
the
north
end
of
the
north
wing
for
the
wedding
of
the Dauphin and Marie
Antoinette in
1770.
The
palace
has
also
been
a
site
of
historical
importance.
The Peace
of
Paris
(1783) was
signed
at
Versailles,
the Proclamation
of
the
German
Empire occurred
in
the
vaunted Hall
of
Mirrors,
and World
War
I was
ended
in
the
palace
with
the Treaty
of
Versailles,
among
many
other
events.
The
palace
is
now
a
historical
monument
and UNESCO World
Heritage
site,
notable
especially
for
the
ceremonial
Hall
of
Mirrors,
the
jewel-like Royal
Opera,
and
the
royal
apartments;
for
the
more
intimate
royal
residences,
the Grand
Trianon and Petit
Trianon located
within
the
park;
the
small
rustic Hameau (Hamlet)
created
for Marie
Antoinette;
and
the
vast Gardens
of
Versailles with
fountains,
canals,
and
geometric
flower
beds
and
groves,
laid
out
by André
le
Nôtre.
The
Palace
was
stripped
of
all
its
furnishings
after
the
French
Revolution,
but
many
pieces
have
been
returned
and
many
of
the
palace
rooms
have
been
restored.
In
2017
the
Palace
of
Versailles
received
7,700,000
visitors,
making
it
the
second-most
visited
monument
in
the Île-de-France region,
just
behind
the Louvre and
ahead
of
the Eiffel
Tower.
The
site
of
the
Palace
was
first
occupied
by
a
small
village
and
church,
surrounded
by
forests
filled
with
abundant
game.
It
was
owned
by
the Gondi
family and
the
priory
of
Saint
Julian.
King Henry
IV went
hunting
there
in
1589,
and
returned
in
1604
and
1609,
staying
in
the
village
inn.
His
son,
the
future Louis
XIII,
came
on
his
own
hunting
trip
there
in
1607.
After
he
became
King
in
1610,
Louis
XIII
returned
to
the
village,
bought
some
land,
and
in
1623-24
built
a
modest
two-story
hunting
lodge
on
the
site
of
the
current
marble
courtyard.He
was
staying
there
in
November
1630
during
the
event
known
as
the Day
of
the
Dupes,
when
the
enemies
of
the
King's
chief
minister, Cardinal
Richelieu,
aided
by
the
King's
mother, Marie
de'
Medici,
tried
to
take
over
the
government.
The
King
defeated
the
plot
and
sent
his
mother
into
exile.
After
this
event,
Louis
XIII
decided
to
make
his
hunting
lodge
at
Versailles
into
a
château.
The
King
purchased
the
surrounding
territory
from
the
Gondi
family
and
in
1631–1634
had
the
architect Philibert
Le
Roy replace
the
hunting
lodge
with
a
château
of
brick
and
stone
with
classical
pilasters
in
the
doric
style
and
high
slate-covered
roofs,
surrounding
the
courtyard
of
the
original
hunting
lodge.
The
gardens
and
park
were
also
enlarged,
laid
out
by Jacques
Boyceau and
his
nephew,
Jacques
de
Menours
(1591–1637),
and
reached
essentially
the
size
they
have
today.
Louis
XIV
first
visited
the
château
on
a
hunting
trip
in
1651
at
the
age
of
twelve,
but
returned
only
occasionally
until
his
marriage
to Maria
Theresa
of
Spain in
1660
and
the
death
of Cardinal
Mazarin in
1661,
after
which
he
suddenly
acquired
a
passion
for
the
site. He
decided
to
rebuild,
embellish
and
enlarge
the
château
and
to
transform
it
into
a
setting
for
both
rest
and
for
elaborate
entertainments
on
a
grand
scale.
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