Oct. 1, 2007 - Versailles, France.
Bon jour!
Well, I do believe that I am finally back with you for a while now. Today's topic is Versailles, France, but we will get to that in a few minutes!
First, I would like to thank Bluejane for awarding me with the "Blogging with a purpose award!" Thank you so much bluejane for all the nice things you said about me! you are truly a wonderful friend! I miss you!
Ok! now onto France!
Versailles, France (pronounced Ver-sI, with a long "I" sound at the end like the word "eye") is a very old and historic town about 12 miles outside Paris.
Some historical landmarks include the....
Palace of Versailles. Here is an article found on www.whatsonwhen.com about the palace followed by a picture of the magnificently large palace.
--The palace of Versailles became the official residence of the Court of France on 6 May, 1682 under the direction of King Louis XIV, the Sun King. His chief architects were Philibert Le Roy, Louis Le Vau and Hardouin-Mansart, whose work transformed the hunting lodge built by Louis XIII into a home fit for a king during a period of feverish building activity from 1661-1710.
Louis XIV fitted up his palatial quarters with gilded ceilings, decorated by the great painters of the day. He appointed Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) as Chief Painter to the King, who directed the team of artists who decorated Versailles. His Grand Apartment, Hercules Salon and famous Hall of Mirrors, where the First World War peace agreement was signed, are still open to the public today.
The Queen's Suite, which was lived in by Louis XIV's wife, Maria-Theresa, as well as Marie-Antoinette, is also on display. The nearby Queen's Bedchamber still has the sumptuous four-poster bed where the ill-fated queen was attacked during the initial phase of the French Revolution and to which she never returned after being taken into custody in 1789 (and then later executed) by the French Assembly.--
-- The Hall of Mirrors : Close-Up on a Masterpiece
The hall measures 73 metres long, 10.5 metres wide, and 12.3 metres high. At one end is the Salon of War, at the other is the Salon of Peace. Seventeen windows overlooking the garden are matched by seventeen arcaded mirrors along the wall. These exceptionally large mirrors were made in a Paris workshop founded by Colbert to compete with Venice's glass factories. The arches are set on marble pilasters whose gilded bronze capitals are decorated with the symbols of France_the fleur-de-lys and the Gallic cockerel_according to the new 'French order' of architecture invented by Le Brun. The finest ancient statues in Louis XIV's collection, as well as busts of Roman emperors, dot the walls. The solid silver tables, lamp holders, and orange-tree pots that originally adorned the gallery, however, were all unfortunately melted down by Louis XIV himself in order to finance his wars.
The Hall of Mirrors was not only the symbolic focus of the kingdom during the ancien régime, but also continued to play a key historical role after the Revolution. In 1919, the First World War officially ended when Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles in the Hall of Mirrors; Hungary signed the treaty the following year in the Grand Trianon--
Well, I think that this is all that I am going to cover in this entry. Maybe when I get back from Europe next summer, after visiting Versailles, I will have more to say about this beautiful city.
Au revoir,
Amanda
• Tell Me what you think!
Comments
Oct. 5, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Eyebright
Ooh! Ooh! I've been there! That was so awe inspiring. The luxury, and expense! It was awsome!
• Permanent Link
Oct. 27, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Bluejane
Wow that was a great post.
Bluejane
• Permanent Link
<- Last Page • Next Page ->
