Examine individual changes

'[[File:Versailles Palace.jpg|thumb|right|350px|The Marble Courtyard (''3 on plan below'') is surrounded the oldest part of the palace. A series of decreasing courtyards draw the eye to the Sun King's bedroom (the three central windows), the heart of palace.]] [[File:LouisXIVBernini.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Louis XIV, the Sun King. A bust executed in 1665 by [[Bernini]] when he was planning to rebuild the Louvre, a project that was abandoned in favour of Versailles.]] The '''Chateau of Versailles''' is a [[Baroque]] former [[royal palace]] located in what is now a suburb of [[Paris]]. Built mostly between 1661 and 1699, it is one the most, if not the most, famous and most emulated palaces in the world. Its title of chateau (strictly meaning castle), rather than palace <ref>It should be noted that, in Europe, palaces are traditionally town residences, while country houses may bear antiquated titles such as castle or chateau regardless of their size, history or appearance. At the time of its construction Versailles was indisputably in the country</ref>, is perhaps its only inclination to modesty. Versailles was mostly the creation of one man, built to extol his own glory, [[King Louis XIV of France]]. This was the King who once said of himself, "Since we are God's divine agent it is fitting that we should share in his wisdom as well as in his authority." King Louis saw himself, and promoted himself, not just as sovereign of France, but as the "Sun King", almost a deity; in this he was supported by the [[divine right of kings]]. Thus, his residence was to become not just a royal palace, but a temple to his divine sovereignty. With this in mind, he expanded on a vast scale a hunting retreat of his father's, erected in 1661, to become a monument to himself. The King's architects, [[Louis Le Vau]] and [[Jules Hardouin Mansart]], using a method of grand perspective first used by the ancient Egyptians in the format of their temples, created a series of ever decreasing courts (aligned with grand avenues and canals) to draw the eye into the holy of holies, its presence indicated by three great windows. However, this is not a chapel as one would expect <ref>Have ref for this somewhere</ref> but the room of the Sun King, the room in which he dwelt. This, the glorification of the monarch, was the ethos and raison d'etre of Versailles. After Louis XIV's death, his successor and grandson, Louis XV, employed [[Ange-Jacques Gabriel]] from 1765 to 1771 to further embellish the chateau. However, in spite of Gabriel's huge classical wings, it is the mark and hand of Louis XIV which has remained indelibly upon the palace. For almost a century Versailles was a symbol of monarchy and splendour. Monarchs all over Europe created their own versions, with varying rates of success. During the reigns of Louis XIV's successors, Versailles came to be seen, with some justification, as a symbol of excess and oppression. It became a place not for the monarch to impress his people, but a place for him to retreat from them. Yet the size of the chateau, and the traditional access the French were permitted to their Kings, made this impossible, as the excesses of Versailles and those who dwelt within its walls were all too visible. In 178?, the French people rebelled and dragged the occupants of Versailles away and killed them. Versailles as a symbol and temple devoted to divine monarchy was looted, vandalised and desecrated. In the 19th century, a French monarch, Charles X, having seen the catastrophic results of his ancestors' excesses, had the words "a toutes whatever" stencilled above the cour d'honneur, in an effort to re-dedicate the palace and transform it into a national museum. The chateau's interior was drastically altered in an attempt to transform it into a museum extolling the glories of the people of France, rather than those of its former monarchs. Today, massively restored, the chateau is once again undergoing a transformation, this time to restore it to the glory it displayed in the late 18th century, before its owners were so violently dispossessed. ==History== ===The first royal chateau=== The earliest mention of the name of Versailles is found in a document dated 1038, the ''Charte de l'abbaye Saint-Père de Chartres'' (Charter of the Saint-Père de Chartres Abbey) in which one of the signatories was [Hugues, Seigneur de Versailles]]. <ref>Guérard, 1840.</ref> During this period, the village of Versailles centered on a small chateau and church, with the area was governed by a local lord. Its location on the road from [[Paris]] to [[Dreux]] and [[Normandy]] brought some prosperity to the village but, following an outbreak of the [[Black Death|Plague]] and the [[Hundred Years' War]], the village was largely destroyed and its population sharply declined. <ref>Bluche, 1991; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985.</ref> In 1575, [[Albert de Gondi]], a naturalized [[Florence|Florentine]] who gained prominence at the court of [[Henry II of France|Henry II]], purchased the seigneury of Versailles. It was Gondi, in the early seventeenth century, who ivited [[Louis XIII]] on hunting trips in the forests surrounding Versailles. Impressed by the location, in 1624, Louis ordered the construction of a [[Hunting|hunting lodge]]. Designed by [[Philibert Le Roy]], the structure, a small château, was constructed of stone and red brick with a based roof. In 1631 Louis obtained the seigneury of Versailles from the Gondi family and began to make enlargements to the château. <ref>Batiffol, 1913; Bluche, 1991; Marie, 1968; Nolhac, 1901; Verlet, 1985)</ref> It is this chateau, recognizable, inspite of its refacing by Louis XIV, which forms the core of the present [[corps de logis]]. Later schemes to rebuild it in a higher, grander and more noble style were never realised. <ref>Saule, p10.</ref> ===Ethos=== Louis XIII was succeeded by his son,[[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] in 1636. The new king ascended the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister (''[[prime minister|Premier ministre]]''), the [[Italians|Italian]] Jules [[Cardinal Mazarin]], in 1661.<ref name=CatEn>{{cite web|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09371a.htm|title=Louis XIV|publisher=Catholic Encyclopedia|date=2007|accessdate=2008-01-19}}</ref> Louis remained on the throne until his death in September 1715, four days before his seventy-seventh birthday. His reign lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days, the longest documented for any European monarch to date.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761572792/Louis_XIV.html|title=Louis XIV|publisher=MSN Encarta|date=2008|accessdate=2008-01-20}}</ref> Louis grew up during the disorder of the [[Fronde]], a civil war between rival factions of aristocrats; so it was that on attaining his majority and true power he required a site where he could organize and completely control the [[government of France]] by absolute [[Personal Rule|personal rule]]. Louis XIV, believed strongly in the [[divine right of kings]], and chose to extract control of the government from the nobility, he achieved this by requiring that nobles of a certain rank and position spent time each year in his immediate presence, thus preventing them from developing their own [[regional power]] at the expense of his own. He also chose to distance himself from the population of Paris. As a consequence of this policy, all the power of France emanated from wherever the king happened to be: Thus it was that his court not only had to house housed government office, but also provide apartments for courtiers, their retinues and attendant functionaries. == The building works of Louis XIV == [[File:Palace of Versailles.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The red brick Chateau of Versailles, in 1662, by this time Louis XIV had only slighttly modified his father's hunting retreat, but the park was undergoing a huge project of expansion and transformation.]] ====1661-1668==== The first of Louis XIV's building campaigns is something of a misnomer, as it actually concentrated on the park, rather than the chateau. Until 1661, Louis XIV visited Versailles's rarely, the court was established at [[Saint-Germain]] where it spent 10 months of the year.<ref>Spawforth, p9</ref>. When he did visit his late father's retreat it was for assignations with his mistress, away from the eyes of his mother and his wife. <ref>Spawforth, p4</ref>. During this period he had the original chateau (''shaded purple'') refaced and embelished with banding, quoining and statuary. The chateau was alo enlarged vy construction the south wing (''4 & 17: shaded green'') containing new kitchens and domestic offices. However, at this time, the King's chief interest at Versailles was the park. Andre le Notre completely redesigned the landscape, as the King acquired more and more land in the vicinity, le Notre relocated entire villages, turned ponds and streams into lakes and imported mature trees. Eventually the landscaped park stretched to the horizon. <ref>Spawforth</ref> Closer to the chateau, Monumental amounts of soil were imported to make a vast terrace, below which a natural incline sloped t a series of fountains and canals. By 1668, the King had spent 1.5 million Livres on the chateau and the gardens. The grounds of Versailles were the most notable in France, lacking only a chateau of the same scale to preside over them. <ref> Spawforth, p5.</ref> [[File:Versailles bouwcampagnes(English).jpg|thumb|right|300px|Plan of Versailles, showing the stages of its development.]] ====1669-1672==== The '''second building campaign''' (1669-1672) coincided with the signing of the [[Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)|Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle]]. During this campaign, the château began to assume its present appearance. This was due to Le Vau’s large new wings which wrapped arownd and enveloped the north, west, and south facades of Louis XIII’s hunting lodge. This part of the chateau (''shaded pink on the plan'') is referred to as the ''enveloppe'' or ''chateau neuf'' The new structure provided new lodgings for the king and members of his family. The main floor — the ''piano nobile'' — of the ''château neuf'' was given over entirely to two apartments: one for the king, and one for the queen. The ''[[Grand appartement du roi]]'' occupied the northern part of the château neuf and ''[[Grand appartement de la reine]]'' occupied the southern part. The western part of the ''enveloppe'' was given over almost entirely to a terrace, which was to be later enclosed with the construction of the [[Galerie des Glaces]]. The ground floor of the northern part of the ''château neuf'' was occupied by the ''appartement des bains'', which included a sunken octagonal tub with hot and cold running water. The king’s brother and sister-in-law, the duke and duchesse d’Orléans occupied apartments on the ground floor of the southern part of the ''château neuf''. The upper story of the ''château neuf ''was reserved for private rooms for the king to the north and rooms for the king’s children above the queen’s apartment to the south (Nolhac, 1901; Marie, 1972; Verlet, 1985). [[File:Zuidgevel Corps de logis rond 1675 Anonieme schilder.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The garden facade, circa 1680, before the creation of the galerie des glaces at its centre]][[File:Vsfacade.JPG|thumb|left|200px|The garden facade today, after the creation of the galerie des glaces.]] Significant to the design and construction of the ''grands appartements'' is that the rooms of both apartments are of the same configuration and dimensions — a hitherto unprecedented feature in French palace design. It has been suggested that this parallel configuration was intentional as Louis XIV had intended to establish Marie-Thérèse d’Autriche as queen of Spain, and thus thereby establish a [[dual monarchy]] (Johnson, 1981). Louis XIV’s rationale for the joining of the two kingdoms was seen largely as recompense for [[Philip IV of Spain|Philip IV]]'s failure to pay his daughter Marie-Thérèse’s dowry, which was among the terms of capitulation to which Spain agreed with the promulgation of the [[Treaty of the Pyrenees]], which ended the war between [[France]] and [[Spain]] that began in 1635 during the [[Thirty Years’ War]]. Louis XIV regarded his father-in-law’s act as a breach of the treaty and consequently engaged in the War of Devolution. Both the ''grand appartement du roi'' and the ''grand appartement de la reine'' formed a suite of seven [[enfilade (architecture)|enfilade]] rooms. Each room is dedicated to one of the then known [[Astronomical object|celestial bodies]] and is personified by the appropriate [[Greco-Roman]] deity. The decoration of the rooms, which was conducted under Le Brun's direction depicted the “heroic actions of the king” and were represented in allegorical form by the actions of historical figures from the antique past ([[Alexander the Great]], [[Augustus]], [[Cyrus the Great|Cyrus]], etc.) (Berger, 1986; Félibien, 1674; Verlet, 1985). ====1678-1684==== The '''third building campaign''' at Versailles began (1678-1684) following the signing of the [[Treaty of Nijmegen]] in 1678, which ended the [[Franco-Dutch War|Dutch War]], Under the direction of the architect, [[Jules Hardouin Mansart|Jules Hardouin-Mansart]], the Palace of Versailles acquired much of the look that it has today. In addition to the Hall of Mirrors, Hardouin-Mansart designed the north and south wings, which were used, respectively, by the nobility and [[Prince du sang|Princes of the Bloods]], and the ''Orangerie''. Le Brun was occupied not only with the [[interior decoration]] of the new additions of the palace, but also collaborated with Le Nôtre's in landscaping the palace gardens (Berger, 1985; Thompson, 2006; Verlet, 1985). As symbol of France’s new prominence as a European [[Superpower|super-power]], Louis XIV officially installed his court at Versailles in May of 1682 (Bluche, 1986, 1991). ====1688-1697==== [[File:3stylesV.jpg|right|300px|thumb|On the right,b Louis XIV's last project at Versailles, the Baroque Chapel Royal (''14 on plan''). Designed by [[Robert de Cotte]] it was completed in 1710.]] The '''fourth building campaigne''' Soon after the crushing defeat of the [[War of the League of Augsburg]] (1688-1697) and owing possibly to the pious influence of [[Madame de Maintenon]], Louis XIV undertook his last building campaign at Versailles. The fourth building campaign (1699-1710) concentrated almost exclusively on construction of the royal chapel designed by Hardouin-Mansart and finished by [[Robert de Cotte]] and his team of decorative designers. There were also some modifications in the ''[[appartement du roi]]'', namely the construction of the ''[[Appartement du roi|Salon de l’Œil de Bœuf]]'' and the [[Appartement du roi|King’s Bedchamber]]. With the completion of the chapel in 1710, virtually all construction at Versailles ceased; building would not be resumed at Versailles until some twenty years later during the reign of [[Louis XV]]. <ref>Nolhac, 1911; Marie, 1976, 1984; Verlet, 1985)</ref> ==== The building works of Louis XV ==== [[File:Versaiileswing.jpg|thumb|left|300px|The point where Gabriel's classical rebuilding (''to the right'') comes to a sudden and abrupt halt, leaving the cour'd'honneur assymetrical.]] In 1770, Louis XV commissioned [[Jacques-Ange Gabriel]] built the Opera house and redesign all the facades of the Cour d'Honneur, Cour Royal and Cour Mabre. This scheme would have transformed the town side of the chateau by unifying all the elevation into a severely classical form. However, the King's death in 1774 brought the scheme to an abrupt halt with the north wing was completed. Louis XV's successor, Louis XVI had neither the resources or the inclination to complete the scheme. Thus, the public face of the chateau lacks that symmetry demanded by French formal architecture from the Renaissance onwards. This situation was somewhat alleviated, but not cured, in 1820, when Napoleon I had a terminating pavilion built to balance that of Gabriel's wing on the north side of the cour d'honneur. == Interior== ====Ground Floor==== '''The following to be properly incorporated in the text'''[[Chapels of Versailles|The Royal Chapel]] The Dauphin's apartment, yhe Dauphine's apartment, Madame Victoire's apartment, Madame Adelaide's apartment, Captain of the Guard's apartment, Marie-Antoinette's apartment. The Queen's staircase. The Lower Gallery. ====Piano nobile==== '''The following to be properly incorporated in the text''': [[Galerie des Glaces]], [[Appartement du roi]], [[Petit appartement de la reine]]<ref> check that page out, things don't seem right there,</ref> [[Salon d'Hercule]], the state apartments, the Queen's apartment, Madame de Maintenon's apartment, Petit appartement du roi. ====Upper Floor==== '''Links to be properly incorporated in text''':[[Petit appartement du roi]] == The chateau in the 19th century. == [[File:Battlegallery.JPG|thumb|right|100px|The ''Galerie des Batailles'' created in the 19th century from various former appartments used by the [[Prince of the Blood|Princes of the Blood.]]]] ====First Empire==== ====Napoléon I==== With the advent of [[Napoleon I of France|Napoléon]] and the [[First French Empire|First Empire]], the status of Versailles changed. Paintings and art work that had previously been assigned to ''Muséum national'' and the ''Musée spécial de l’École française'' were systematically dispersed to other locations and eventually the museum was closed. In accordance to provisions of the 1804 Constitution, Versailles was designated as an imperial palace for the department of the Seine-et-Oise.<ref>Article 16 : ''L'Empereur visite les départements : en conséquence, des palais impériaux sont établis aux quatre points principaux de l'Empire. - Ces palais sont désignés et leurs dépendances déterminées par une loi.'' Source: [http://www.conseil-constitutionnel.fr/textes/constitution/c1804.htm Constitution of 1804]</ref> While Napoléon did not reside in the château, apartments were, however, arranged and decorated for the use of the Empress [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie-Louise]]. The Emperor chose to reside at the [[Grand Trianon]]. The château continued to serve, however, as an annex of the Hôtel des Invalides (Mauguin, 1940-1942; Pradel, 1937; Verlet, 1985). Nevertheless, on 3 January 1805, [[Pope Pius VII]], who came to France to officiate at Napoléon's coronation, visited the palace and blessed the throng of people gathered on the ''parterre d'eau'' from the balcony of the Hall of Mirrors (Mauguin, 1940-1942). ====July Monarchy==== With the [[July Revolution|Revolution of 1830]] and the establishment of the [[July Monarchy]], the status of Versailles changed. In March 1832, the ''Loi de la Liste civile'' was promulgated, which designated Versailles as a crown dependency. Like Napoléon before him, [[Louis-Philippe of France|Louis-Philippe]] chose to live at the [[Grand Trianon]]; however, unlike Napoléon, Louis-Philippe did have a grand design for Versailles. In 1833, Louis-Philippe proposed the establishment of a museum dedicated to “all the glories of France,” which included the Orléans dynasty and the Revolution of 1830 that put Louis-Philippe on the throne of France. For the next decade, under the direction of [[Eugène-Charles-Frédéric Nepveu]] and [[Pierre-François-Léonard Fontaine]], the château underwent irreversible alterations (Constans, 1985; 1987; Mauguin, 1937; Verlet, 1985). The museum was officially inaugurated on 10 June 1837 as part of the festivities that surrounded the marriage of the Prince royal, [[Ferdinand Philippe, Duke of Orléans|Ferdinand-Philippe d’Orléans]] with princess [[Hélène of Mecklenburg-Schwerin]] and represented one of the most ambitious and costly undertakings of Louis-Philippe’s reign. Over 3,000 paintings depicting glorious events in French history and a small army of busts of French heroes were commissioned by Louis-Philippe to decorate his new museum.<ref>Source: [http://www.chateauversailles.fr/fr/114_Le_Musee_dHistoire_de_France.php Renseignements historiques du Château de Versailles]</ref> Louis-Philippe’s efforts were praised and condemned by his contemporaries. [[Victor Hugo]], who was present at the inaugural ceremonies, characterised the king’s efforts: {{cquote2|''What Louis-Philippe did at Versailles is good. Having accomplished this work, is to have been great as a king and impartial as a philosopher; is to have made a national monument of a monarchical monument; is to have put an immense idea in an immense edifice; is to have installed the present in the past: 1789 vis-à-vis 1688, the emperor at the king’s home – Napoléon at Louis XIV’s; in a word, it is having given to this magnificent book that is called French history this magnificent binding that is called Versailles'' (Victor Hugo).<ref>“Ce que le roi Louis-Philippe a fait à Versailles est bien. Avoir accompli cette œuvre, c'est avoir été grand comme roi et impartial comme philosophe ; c'est avoir fait un monument national d'un monument monarchique ; c'est avoir mis une idée immense dans un immense édifice ; c'est avoir installé le présent dans le passé, 1789 vis-à-vis de 1688, l'empereur chez le roi, Napoléon chez Louis XIV ; en un mot, c'est avoir donné à ce livre magnifique qu'on appelle l'histoire de France cette magnifique reliure qu'on appelle Versailles.”</ref>}} Later, [[Honoré de Balzac|Balzac]] characterised, in less laudatory terms, the effort as the “hospital of the glories of France” (Balzac, 1853). The ''aile du Midi,'' was given over to the ''galerie des Batailles'', which necessitated the demolition of most of the apartments of the [[Prince du sang|Princes of the Blood]] who lived in this part of the palace during the Ancien Régime. The ''galerie des Batailles'' was an epigone of the ''Grande galerie'' of the [[Louvre]] and was intended to glorify French military history from the [[Battle of Tolbiac]] (traditionally dated 495) to the [[Battle of Wagram]] (5-6 July 1809). While a number of the paintings displayed in the ''galerie des Batailles'' were of questionable quality, a few masterpieces, such as the ''Battle of Taillebourg'' by [[Eugène Delacroix]], were displayed here. Part of the ''aile du Nord'' was converted for the ''salle des Croisades'', a room dedicated to famous knights of the Crusades and decorated with their names and coats of arms. The apartments of the dauphin and the dauphine as well as those of Louis XV’s daughters on the ground floor of the ''corps de logis'' were transformed into portrait galleries. In order to accommodate the displays, some of the ''[[boiseries]]'' were removed and either put into storage or sold. During the Prussian occupation of the palace in 1871, the ''boiseries'' in storage were burned as firewood (Constans, 1985; 1987; Mauguin, 1937; Verlet,1985). === The 20th and 21st centuries === [[File:Versailles Queen's Chamber.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Marie Antoinette's restored bedchhamber. 18th century weaving techniques have been revived inorder to reproduce the silks used in the restoration.]] The restoration initiatives launched by the [[French Fifth Republic|Fifth Republic]], have proven to be perhaps more costly than the expenditures of the palace in the [[Ancien Régime]]. Starting in the 1950s, when the museum of Versailles was under the directorship of Gérald van der Kemp, the objective was to restore the palace to its state&nbsp;– or as close to it as possible&nbsp;– in 1789 when the royal family left the palace. Among the early projects was the repair of the roof over the Hall of Mirrors; the publicity campaign brought international attention to the plight of post-war Versailles and garnered much foreign money including a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. Inspired by concurrent the Russian restoration of the palace of [[Pavlovsk]] near [[Saint Petersburg]] the French revived 18th century weaving techniques inorder to reproduce the silks used in the decoration of Versailles. <ref>Massie, 1990.</ref> The two greatest achievements of this initiative are seen today in wall hangings used in the restoration of the ''chambre de la reine'' in the ''grand appartement de reine'' and the ''chambre du roi'' in the ''appartement du roi''. While the design used for the ''chambre du roi'' was, in fact, from a design that had been used during the ''Ancien Régime'' to decorate the ''chambre de la reine. The project took over seven years to achieve and required several hundred kilograms of silver and gold to complete. <ref>Meyer, 1989.</ref> One of the most costly, but visible, endeavors has been the repurchase of original furnishings. <ref>Kemp, 1976</ref> In 2003, a new restoration initiative&nbsp;– the "Grand Versailles" project&nbsp;– was launched. This will be on-going for the next seventeen years with a state endowment of €135 million allocated for the first seven years. The project will address not only restoration, but security and tourists amenities. This is, in part, funded by, donations and expenditure from outside France. <ref>Leloup, 2006.</ref> ==See also== *[[Galerie des Glaces]] *[[Chapels of Versailles]] *[[l'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles]] *[[Gardens of Versailles]] *[[Subsidiary structures of the Palace of Versailles]] *[[Château de Marly#The Marly "machine"|Machine de Marly]] *[[Galerie des Glaces]] *[[Chapels of Versailles]] *[[l'Opéra of the Palace of Versailles]] *[[Buildings inspired by Versailles]] ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} == References == '''These are the references being used by me. The remainder will be added, when I have verrified them - or re-attributed to books I have used'''. *{{cite book | last = Beatrix Saule | first = Daniel Meyer | year = 2008 | title = Versailles | publisher = Pierre Kegels | location = Versailles | ISBN = 9782854951172 }} *{{cite book | last = Edited by William Doyle | first = | year = 2001 | title = Old Regime France 1648-1788 | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = Oxford | ISBN = 0-19-873129-9 }} *{{cite book | last = Spawforth | first = Tony | year = 2008 | title = Versailles: A Biography of a Palace | publisher = St. Martin's Press | location = New York | ISBN = 0312357850 }} {{coord|48.804404|N|2.123162|E|type:landmark_region:FR|display=title}} == End of article. Memos to me == '''Remember following bit, the guide at cversailles' makes much it:-''' After the disgrace of [[Nicolas Fouquet]] in 1661 — Louis claimed the [[finance minister]] would not have been able to build his grand château at [[Vaux-le-Vicomte]] without having embezzled from the crown — Louis, after the confiscation of Fouquet’s state, employed the talents of Le Vau, Le Nôtre, and Le Brun, who all had worked on Vaux-le-Vicomte. == Quotes I may or may not use == *By the fall of the monarchy The Controller General of Finaces oversaw a staff of 350 at Versailles. Doyle P30. * 7 years war cost 1.2 billion livres. Doyle P 31. *Obsesion with ettiquette "affaire du bonnet" Doyle, P 51. *Louis XIV's strategy encouraged nobles to trade power for prestige. Doyle P 58. *By mid 18th centurty rigid ettiquette ws being replaced, sociability orientated on the aristocratic salons of Paris where financiers, politicians and arostos intelectuials could all meet regardless of class. Doyle P 59 *In conrast, by a regulation dated 17 April 1760 presentation at Versailles required ancestry daring to 1400. Doyle P 59 *Only presented nobles couls be promoted past the rank of colonel. Doyle P59. *By the revolution 4000 families were eligible for presenation. Doyle P 59. =Picture I may, or may not use but want to hand== <gallery> Image:Palace of Versailles.jpg|“View of Versailles from the Avenue de Paris”, ca. 1662 by [[Pierre Patel]]. This was how Versailles looked before [[Louis XIV]] began enlarging the château. Image:Zuidgevel Corps de logis rond 1675 Anonieme schilder.jpg|“Garden façade of the Palace of Versailles”, ca. 1675. Shown is the terrace that was later to become part of the Hall of Mirrors. Image:Versailles-Chateau-VueJardins1.jpg|[[Louis XIV|Louis XIV's]] third building campaign resulted in the construction of the Hall of Mirrors. Image:Schloss-Versailles.jpg|“View of the château de Versailles as seen from the Place d’Armes, 1722”, ca. 1722, by [[Pierre-Denis Martin]]. This was how Versailles looked at the end of Louis XIV’s fourth building campaign. Image:Versailles Queen's Chamber.jpg|The Queen's bedchamber. There is a barely discernible hidden door in the corner near the jewel cabinet by Schwerdfeger (1787) through which Marie Antoinette escaped the night of 5/6 October 1789 when the Paris mob stormed Versailles. Image:Reichsgründung1871-AW.jpg|”Proclamation of the [[German Empire]], 18 January 1871”, 1877 by [[Anton von Werner]] Image:William Orpen - The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles.jpg|“The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919” by Sir [[William Orpen]], KBE. File:Versaillesceiling.jpg|Can't rmember which ceoling this was - anyone know their Gods -Diana? File:WarVersailles.JPG|Salon of War File:Versaiileswing.jpg|uncomplted re-building File:Versailles Chapel - July 2006 edit.jpg|Chapel interior </gallery>'