The palace and its spacious gardens were commissioned by King Louis XIV and took almost 50 years to construct. At one time, almost 2200 men were employed on its construction. In 1682, Louis XIV transferred the court to Versailles, where all French monarchs lived until the revolution, and the town of Versailles became the unofficial capital city of the Kingdom of France. About 3000 people lived at Versailles, which must have been necessary as one of the many duties of the servants was to hold the king’s ermine robe! At the height of its power, Versailles was well known for its lavish entertainment and fabulous banquets. Versailles stopped being a royal residence in 1789 when a mob marched on the palace and forced the king and queen (Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette) to return to Paris. The events that followed next helped shape the history of Europe and became known as the French revolution. Versailles was prevented from being demolished by king Louis-Philippe, who donated his own money to turn it into a museum.
The whole palace is of course spectacular and lavishly appointed, but there are some highlights that should not be missed. The Hall of Mirrors, with its 17 great mirrors facing the windows, is probably the best known room in Versailles – this is where the treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, ending World War I. The clock room contains a famous astronomical clock, which took 20 years to construct and you can set your watch by as it supposedly is designed to keep time until the year 9999! Mozart played in this room for the royal family on several occasions, at the age of 7.
The other “must-see” sight in the palace itself is the collection of 6 bedroom suites known as the Grands Appartements. As you might expect, each one is magnificently decorated and each one is named after a painting on the ceilings. In one of the rooms, known as the Hercules Salon, you can see the largest and most ornate fireplace in the palace, which was carved from a single slab of marble. In the same room, the body of Louis XIV was put on display in 1715 after his death