Versailles

France 2011
Picture 01 Versailles Cathedral (Cathedrale Saint-Louis de Versailles), Versailles
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Picture 02 The first stone was laid by Louis XV on 12 June 1743 and the church was consecrated on 24 August 1754.
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Picture 03 Louis XIV expanded the hunting lodge in Versailles into one of the larest palaces in the world, Chateau de Versailles, Palace of Versailles
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Picture 04 Louis XIV known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, the longest reigning king in European history, reigning for 72 years and 110 days.
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Picture 05 Chateau de Versailles, Palace of Versailles
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Picture 06 The earliest mention of the name of Versailles is in a document dated 1038, relating to the village of Versailles.
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Picture 07 In 1575, the seigneury of Versailles was bought by Albert de Gondi, a naturalized Florentine, who invited Louis XIII on several hunting trips in the forests...
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Picture 08 Eight years later, Louis obtained the seigneury of Versailles from the Gondi family and began to make enlargements to the chateau. This structure became the...
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Picture 09 Louis XIII's successor, Louis XIV expanded the palace and following the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678, he began to gradually move the court to Versailles. The...
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Picture 10 For Versailles, there were four distinct building campaigns.
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Picture 11 The first building campaign (1664–1668) involved alterations in the chateau and gardens to accommodate the 600 guests invited to the party, Plaisirs de l’Île...
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Picture 12 The second building campaign (1669–1672) was inaugurated with the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of Devolution.
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Picture 13 During this second campaign, the chateau began to assume some of the appearance that it has today.
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Picture 14 The most important modification of the chateau was Le Vau’s envelope of Louis XIII’s hunting lodge.
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Picture 15 With the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678, which ended the Dutch War, the third building campaign at Versailles began (1678–1684).
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Picture 16 Under the direction of the architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the Palace of Versailles acquired much of the look that it has today. In addition to the Hall of...
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Picture 17 Soon after the defeat of the War of the League of Augsburg (1688–1697), Louis XIV undertook his last building campaign at Versailles.
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Picture 18 The fourth building campaign (1699–1710) concentrated almost exclusively on construction of the royal chapel designed by Hardouin-Mansart and finished by Robert...
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Picture 19 With the completion of the chapel in 1710, virtually all construction at Versailles ceased; building did not resume at Versailles until some twenty one years...
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Picture 20 The crowning achievements of Louis XV’s reign were the construction of the Opera and the Petit Trianon.
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