The Palace and Park of Versailles started as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII, but was greatly expanded by King Louis XIV over 100 years into a vast palace and grounds. It was designed by many famous architects and landscapers and became the center of the French royal court by 1682. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Palace and Park of Versailles provides insight into French history and the lives of French nobility in the 17th-18th centuries through its architecture, gardens, and association with the French Revolution.

1. The Palace and Parks of Versailles
By: ShinYoung Kim 7BK
Location
The Palace and Park of Versailles is a château, located in Versailles, France, and covers
721,182 ft2.
. Louis XIV chose this remote area as it was where his father’s hunting lodge was. He
decided to build more to the small château.
Development
It originally started as Louis XIII's hunting lodge, but developed by Louis XIV, and Louis XV
over the course of 100 years. Minor developments have been made after the Revolution, however,
they do not affect the big picture. King Louis XIII started to develop his father’s hunting lodge as
he wanted to establish a new center for the royal court. He fulfilled his desire, as the royal court
officially moved to the Versailles in May 6th 1682.
Criteria and Importance
The Palace and Park of Versailles is a cultural site, and was inscripted on the UNESCO
World Heritage Sites List in 1979. The Palace and Park of Versailles was inscripted as it “represents
a masterpiece of human creative genius”, “exhibits an important interchange of human values,

2. over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or
technology, monumental arts, town­planning or landscape design”, and is “directly or tangibly
associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary
works of outstanding universal significance”. The Palace and Park of Versailles is universally
significant as it can provide us with information about the lives of the French nobles during
1600­1700. The architecture of the palace and garden is the work of many famous architects and
landscape designers in Europe. This is why it deserves to be on “The World’s Most Fascinating
Places”.
Threats and Management
The Versailles is managed by the French government and other organizations. There are
no major threats to the Versailles as the French government is continuously succeeding to protect
the site. The Palace and Park of Versailles are extremely important to protect as it is one of the
masterpieces of France. Many great architects, and landscape artists have worked on the single
palace, and made it one of the most beautiful man­made structures in history.
History
As much as it’s beautiful, it can teach us about the history of France. When Louis XVI
claimed the throne, he tried to clear the mess that Louis XIV and Louis XV had made. The citizens
of France were outraged that their kings had spent money on building a palace while the people in
Paris were starving. When the French Revolution broke out it 1789, Louis XVI and his mistress
Marie Antoinette lost their lives (or heads) on the guillotine.

3.
The Gardens
The Gardens of Versailles is a garden of 800 hectares. André Le Nôtre, a French landscape
architect made the design and construction of the garden. The garden contains 200,000 trees,
210,000 annually planted flowers, 50 fountains, 620 water jets, and a 5.57 km Grand Canal. The
gardens are also a very popular tourist attraction, as it shows off it’s classic French Garden style or
jardin à la française which is a type of garden based on symmetry.

4. Bibliography: MLA Works Cited Format
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"The Rise and Fall of Versailles (Part 1 of 3)." YouTube. YouTube, 12 July 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"The Rise and Fall of Versailles (Part 2 of 3)." YouTube. YouTube, 14 July 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"The Rise and Fall of Versailles (Part 3 of 3)." YouTube. YouTube, 14 July 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
Versailles, Palace of: location. Map/Still. Britannica Online for Kids. Web. 2 Dec. 2014.
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