Launch of the Palace of Versailles Expansion

Timeline

1. 1661–1662Palace of Versailles · VersaillesAfter Fouquet's arrest in 1661, Louis XIV decided not to expand Fontainebleau or the Louvre but to expand Versailles as a symbol of his personal power. The king appointed Louis Le Vau as principal architect to convert the small hunting lodge of the 1630s into stone construction, adding two wings and terraces; work began in full around 1662.
2. 1663–1668Palace of Versailles · VersaillesBetween 1663 and 1668, Le Vau completed the stone facade, the terrace hall that preceded the Hall of Mirrors, and an initial garden layout. The 1664 'Pleasure Island' festivities and the 1668 diplomatic banquet were both held at the expanding Versailles, and court activities grew increasingly frequent. Though Paris had not yet been fully replaced as the permanent seat of government, Versailles had clearly become the stage on which Louis XIV displayed absolute royal power.