The Unbelievable History of Versailles

Heading to Versailles and want to know your stuff before you go? We can appreciate that. Here is the comprehensive history of Versailles!

---

Pro Tip: The best way to see Versailles is with a licensed guide. A guide elevates your experience and makes it more memorable which is the reason we start our company! Check out our guided small group tour of Versailles that starts in Paris!

Overview of Versailles, France

Located only a short distance outside of Paris, the Château de Versailles housed the kings and queens of France until they were chased out in 1789 during the French Revolution. But luckily for us, the Palace of Versailles still stands in all its glory. However, because it’s so popular, make sure you’re prepared.

Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Palace of Versailles received 7,700,000 visitors in 2017. Behind the Louvre, it’s the second most visited monument in the Île-de-France region which can mean long lines. And while the Palace was stripped of all its furnishings after the French Revolution, many of the palace rooms have been restored to enjoy.

While everyone tends to talk about the palace itself, the Gardens of Versailles are equally as impressive. They took 40 years to complete and to maintain the intricate design, they need to be replanted approximately once every 100 years. Today, it still takes painstaking work to manage them. For example, after a major storm in 1999, over 50,000 trees had to be replanted.

Check Out Our Best Versailles & Paris Louvre Tours

Palace of Versailles History

Louis XIII

Reigns 1610 – 1643 | King of Navarre 1610 – 1620

1610 – 1623 | A Place to Hunt

Louis XIII had been hunting in Versailles as early as 1610 and for lack of better words, he liked it very much. As mentioned above, the area was inhabited mostly by farmers and the French Bourbon Kings had hunting and sport in their blood. Versailles is 19km (12.5 miles) from Paris which made it a great option for a country-side getaway. The large issue was there was not much for accommodation for sovereigns.

1624 – 1629 | The Small Lodge

Although construction started in 1623, Louis XIII’s small hunting lodge in Versailles was first used in 1624 and the place used to stink. Yes, quite literally had a terrible odor according to historians.

While it smells fine now, hygiene practices (or the lack thereof) in France during Louis XIII’s reign meant that the palace smelled like urine, fecal matter, and more. Some claim that a lack of toilets in the palace even led some visitors to relieve themselves behind curtains and pillars. Yikes!

In general, Louis XIII preferred Saint Germain as a residence which may or may not has been due to the odor in Versailles. The one thing that drew Louis the XIII and his successor Louis XIV to Versailles was the stags. Sprawforth goes on to detail that Louis XIV killed 1274 stag in 16 years which apparently upset the balance of nature in the area. Stocking the forests became in an industry of its own!

1630 – 1643 | From Lodge to Chateaux

At age 30, Louis XIII decided that Versailles needed a favorable remodel to transition from a lodge to the chateaux. To do this, he had to exile his mother who was “politically overbearing” according to Tony Sprawforth. In doing so, the King now possessed enough power to command wealth for some much-needed upgrades to Versailles.

While Louis XIII would never see the grandeur we see today, he definitely laid the foundation for his successor, Louis XIV.

Louis XIV

Reing 1645 – 1715 | Sun King | Basis of TV Show “Versailles”

1643 – 1661 | Abandonment by the Sun King

Louis XIV took the throne at age 4 which is a very suspect way to begin your reign. In history, child-kings often become tyrants due to the longevity of their authority. That said, Louis XIV was a beloved King known as the Sun King and made great sweeping changes to Paris and France. He was also a little bit bonker, but that is to be expected.

Versailles was mostly left untouched by the Sun King for the first 18 years of his reign. In 1661 Louis decided to allocate funds, according to Sprawforth, towards Versailles which was in need of decor upgrades. Why the sudden change of heart? The answer lies not in love, but below the belt!

1661 – 1678 | A Palace for Lovers & Garden Upgrades

The known world was quick to learn that Louis XIV did not take his marital vows seriously and Versailles became an often used refuge for his lovers. He wanted his escape to be a very romantic one so he began to quickly remodel and make both interior and exterior upgrades.

The most notable and visible upgrades were to the gardens which were rivaled by none. André Le Nôtre, the gardener, was depicted in the show Versailles but rather inaccurately. He would have been much more “stately” than his low-level representation. He was very likely the greatest landscape architect ever lived.

Through acquisitions, grounds transformations, and brute force he transformed the Garden of Versailles into something far superior to we even see today. According to Sprawforth, the grounds of Versailles were the most spoken-about grounds in all of France.

1678 – 1715 | The Versailles We Know

In 1678 Louis XIV now had his chauffeurs filled by a successful war against the Dutch and was ready to turn Versailles from chateaux into a palace and royal residence. The construction would be vast and last the entirety of his life, never to end.

The structure would include two massively long wings, outbuildings, courtyards, and even a stately residence for the horses and hounds. The goal is opulence which was achieved.

To fully understand how large the grounds are you would need to visit in person, in which case we recommend looking at guided tours of Versailles, but the estate is rivaled by few.

In 1710 the Palace was proclaimed “finished” with Louis XIV now over 70 years old spending much of his life fighting wars and building Versailles. In 1715 Louis XIV would contract gangrene and die leaving his crown to Louis XV. He handed over the crown to his now 5 year old grandson.

Louis XV

Reign 1715 – 1774 | Louis the Beloved

1715 – 1774 | Modest Upgrades

The court abandoned Versailles for Vincennes for a period of at least seven years and the grounds were not kept up with. You wouldn’t know today as the grounds are immaculate. Louis XV would not return to Versailles until his 12th birthday.

Although they would never rival what Louis XIV contributed, Louis XV made considerable upgrades to Versailles including building a first-floor salon, a theatre, and renovations of the northern wing which was deteriorating quickly.

Sprawforth puts out an interesting detail in his biography of the palace. He mentions how Louis XV and later XVI were tied to Versailles and its upkeep due to how Louis XIV propagated its opulence. Versailles’ condition became a reflection of the condition of the French monarchy.

In 1774 Louis XV died and would pass his throne onto the most infamous King in French history; Louis XVI.

Louis XVI

Reign 1774 – 1792 | Married to Marie Antoinette

1774 – 1784 | Grounds Improvements

Louis XVI started off his monarchy at age 19 which you would think gave him an advantage over his predecessors. Little did he know that his head and body would part ways from one another before 40!

Loius XVI had a lot of respect for Louis XIV’s visions, especially in the gardens of Versailles. He did significant works on the grounds in his first decade in power.

The famous Marie-Antoinette appreciated everything Versailles had to offer.  She even resided in a borgo that resembled a little town – in her mind only – known as the Petit Trianon.

1784 – 1789 | Feed Them Cake?

Louis XVI & company purchased a chateau in Saint-Cloud in 1784, which was closer to Paris, and moved there. At this point, Louis XVI had plans to renovate Saint-Cloud along with another Palace in Paris. His ambitions were not in line with reality which was that the people of Paris were starving.

France was in a mega-crisis which the King and his wife mostly ignored. They were forced to pay more attention in 1789 when Versailles was sacked by a mob of starving Parisians. The King and Marie Antoinette were moved to Tuilleries Palace and not by their own decision.

While Louis XVI was undoubtedly not the greatest ruler and may have gotten away with much of what he was doing in another time period, Marie Antoinette was definitely hated by the people. Louis XVI’s love and devotion to her was much of the reason for their fall.

Famously Marie Antoinette remarked about starving Parisians, “Feed them Cake?” This likely never happened but is a befitting example of her ignorance towards her people.

1789 – 1792 | Off With Their Heads!

This has little to do with Versailles, but Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette would have anything but a swift execution. They resided semi-peacefully in Tuileries Palace until June of 1791.

It wasn’t until 1792 that the couple would face their doom after fleeing to Austria. Both died of the guillotine, Louis XVI in January and Marie Antoinette in October of 1792.

Versailles Hours

Check Out Our Best Versailles & Paris Louvre Tours