VERSAILLES, PALACE OF. About 13 Miles (21 Kilometers) Southwest Of Paris, In The

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Term Paper Title	VERSAILLES, PALACE OF. About 13 Miles (21 Kilometers) Southwest Of Paris, In The
# of Words	1202
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.81

VERSAILLES, PALACE OF. About 13 miles (21 kilometers) southwest of Paris, in the city of Versailles, stands the largest palace in France. It was built because of the consuming envy of King Louis XIV, and once completed it became the object of envy of every other monarch in Europe. The Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, Schönbrunn in Vienna, and Herrenchiemsee in Bavaria are only three of the royal palaces built in imitation of the Palace of Versailles. Versailles itself served as a royal residence for a little more than a century--from 1682 until 1789, when the French Revolution began.
On Aug. 17, 1661, the French superintendent of finances, Nicolas Fouquet, presided over a large celebration in honor of Louis XIV. The festivities took place at Fouquet's magnificent newly completed château, Vaux-le-Vicomte. When Louis saw this palace he was outraged that one of his ministers should have such a home, while he did not. He had Fouquet thrown into prison and hired the men who had designed and built the palace to do the same for him at Versailles.
Versailles was not even a town when the king's predecessor, Louis XIII, built a hunting lodge there in 1624. This small structure became the base on which was constructed one of the most costly and extravagant buildings in the world. It was meant to be a home for Louis XIV, known as the Sun King, who boasted of himself, "I am the state." The men in charge of the project were Louis Le Vau, architect; Charles Le Brun, painter and decorator; and André Le Nôtre, landscape architect. About 37,000 acres (15,000 hectares) of land were cleared to make room for tree-lined terraces and walks and thousands of flowering plants. In the center the cross-shaped Grand Canal was laid out. It was 1,737 yards (1,588 meters) long and 67 yards (61 meters) wide. There were 1,400 fountains and 400 pieces of new sculpture.
The beginnings of the palace in 1669 were fairly humble compared to the finished structure. The architect Le Vau enclosed the hunting lodge and gave it the appearance of a small palace. In 1676 another architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, was put in charge of redesigning and enlarging the building. Starting with Le Vau's plans, Hardouin-Mansart added a second story and built the magnificent Hall of Mirrors and the north and south wings. Hardouin-Mansart's facade, facing the garden, was 1,903 feet (580 meters) long.
Construction of the palace went on through the next century. More than 36,000 workers were involved in the pro...

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