Versailles Royal Estate - 1715, the buildings

Landscapes of Versailles Versailles in words Caracteristics of the poster

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The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate - 1715
The details : the buildings, the ornemental lakes and ponds, the gardens

Buildings of Versailles
The King's bedroom
	La chambre du roi At first a *central drawing room*, this room became the King's bedroom, the actual décor of chich dates back to 1701. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The marble courtyard
	La cour de marbre The ancient courtyard of Louis XIII's old castle was renovated during Louis XIV's reign in chequered black and white marble. The addition of antique busts at the forfront was the only concession to change accepted by the Sun King, who whished to respect the previous works of his father. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Royal Chapel
	La chapelle royale Built between 1689 and 1712, this is the last building erected prior to the King's death, and the only one where he permitted the roof to be higher than in his own apartments, only recognising one authority over his own - divine power. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Ministers' wings
	Les ailes des ministres The fours houses, originally built to lodge four illustrious families, were linked together by Hardouin-Mansart and became lodgings for the Kings'ministers. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The South wing
	L'aile du Midi Built between 1678 and 1682, it housed the princes of the blood, children born out of wedlock that had been legitamised and the major state dependents. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The King's Great apartments
	Le grand appartement du roi These are made up of 7 rooms, each dedicated to a planet in the solar system and decorated whith scenes from antiquity and mythology by Charles Le Brun, artist and architect to the King. The decor takes its inspiration from the Planets' Rooms in the Pitti Palace in Florence. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Queen's Great apartments
	Le Grand Appartement de la Reine The Queen's staircase evokes what used to be, on a greater scale, the ambassadors' staircase, no longer in existence today. It is decorated with polychromatic marble and loggias painted in the "trompe l'oeil" style, giving the impression of their are people observing the visitors. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Hall of Mirrors, or Great Hall
	La galerie des Glaces, ou Grande Galerie Flanked at either end by the War and Peace drawing rooms, this hall is 73 metres long with natural light from 17 bay windows opposite which are placed 17 arcades in which severed hundred mirrors, manufactured in France in the Venetian Fashion, using mercury, are installed in casing walls. Representing the glory of the King, the hall is decorated with 27 painting by Charles Le Brun celebrating the French victories during the War of Devolution (1667-1668) and the Dutch War(1672-1678). Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The quarters situated next to the Parade Ground (place d'Armes)
	Les quartiers des abords de la Place d Armes Whilst the King and the important Noblemen occupied the palace, the rest of the nobility were lodged in quarters next to the Parade Ground. the remainder of the population had to make do with the new quarters built further away. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Parade Ground (La Place d'Armes)
	La Place d'Armes In 1715, the Place d'Armes was still sometimes used as an open-air workshop to deposit the large pieces of stone carved by the stone masons. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
La Petite Écurie (The Small Stable)
	La Petite Écurie (The Small Stable) La Petite Écurie housed the draught horses, carriages and saddle horses that were ridden by courtieres. The king owned some 700 horses Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
La Grande Écurie (The Large Stable)
	La Grande Écurie (The Large Stable) The Large Stable was reserved for bridle horses, trained especially for hunting and which were for the sole use of the King and the Princes. Its frontage, as that of the Small Stable, is decorated with sculptures depicting war themes and equestrian games. More about the horses of Versailles Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The North Wing
	L'aile du Nord The Hercules drawing room, at the entrance to the North Wing, is in itself a catalogue of the different types of French marble. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Recollet Covent
	Le couvent des Recollets The Recollet was a French branch of the Franciscan Catholic order (/ latin: Ordo Fratrum Minorum /), first established in France around 1570. The Recollets order covered 11 provinces with 2534 cloisters, but was wiped out during the French Revolution. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Greater Outbuildings
	Le grand commun Built between 1682 et 1684. The Greater Outbuildings included 130 apartments for the King's officiers and also the housekeeping quarters. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Trianon, or marble Trianon
	Le Trianon, ou Trianon de marbre This was built on the foundations of ther former porcelain Trianon and was reserved for Mme de Montespan. This new building, covered with marble, which replaced the original porcelain facing, housed the apartments of Mme de Maintenon. During this period the openwork central porch was created, wrongly called peristylar. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The Menagerie
	La Ménagerie In 1663, work began on the building of the Menagerie, which was to house rare and exotic animals. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The `croisillon` of the Grand Canal.
	Le croisillon du grand canal Linked the Menagerie to the Trianon. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate
The ahahs
	Les ahahs Openings in a fencing wall. The "ahahs" enabled the eye to travel further and therefore the perspective was not broken. These openings, however, could not be used as passages as they were protected on the far side by a ditch called a "wolf's leap" *(saut de loup)*. Buildings The poster : panorama of the Versailles Royal Estate