Versailles is truly a charming region in France, whether by the history of its Palace or the beauty of its gardens. From its fashionable history to the French Revolution, here are 8 things you did not know about the Palace of Versailles.
The Palace was a hunting lodge
In 1607 Louis XIII, the heir of Henri IV, took hold of Versailles for his first hunting season. In 1623 he has installed a hunting lodge composed of two small castles
It took 40 years for the gardens to be finished
In 1661 André Le Nôtre was responsible for the layout of the Palace gardens. To this end, the assistance of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the king’s superintendent, Charles Le Brun, and later the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart was required. Over all, it took 40 years for the garden to be finished.
The first hot air balloon flight happened in Versailles
During the reign of Louis XVI, the Montgolfier brothers made the first balloon flight, in the courtyard of the castle, under the eyes of the king and his family.
The castle was not ransacked during the French Revolution
Unlike what is portrayed in several fictions, Versailles was not targeted during the French Revolution. It was only in 1793 that much of its work was transferred to museums.
It was Louis Philippe I who turned the palace into a museum
Known as the “citizen king,” Louis Philippe I decided to make Versailles a historic museum dedicated to “all the glories of France”, thus being inaugurated on June 10, 1837.
Versailles was an important location during the Great War
The place was extremely important, because the regiments occupied both the arms part and the courtyard of Versailles, soon military hospitals also settled in the space. In addition to the most important point in the history of war: The Treaty of Versailles, which proclaimed the end of the fighting and the defeat of Germany.
The palace was setting for several movies
Since 1904 the Palace has been the scene for almost 200 films, among them the beloved Marie Antoinette, recorded in 2006, which has Kirsten Dunst as the protagonist.
Versailles was responsible for concretization of the American fashion market
In 1970 Gerald Van der Kemp, who was chief curator of the Palace of Versailles, sought sponsors to finance his restoration, and so Eleanor Lambert, the famous American press officer, proposed a fashion contest at the castle. So alongside established Frenchmen like Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior, there were Americans who at the time were not internationally known as Oscar de la Renta and Stephen Burrows.