Palace-Town of Versailles

Timeline

1. 1661–1668Versailles (first phase of works) · Île-de-France regionIn 1661 Louis XIV appointed architect Louis Le Vau, painter Charles Le Brun, and garden designer André Le Nôtre to oversee the expansion. The first phase (1661–1668) extended three wings around the original hunting lodge, established the main axis layout, excavated canals, and planned radiating avenues, integrating the palace and town's basic layout into a single design.
2. 1671–1680Main body of the Palace of Versailles (second and third phases) · Île-de-France regionBetween 1671 and 1680, architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart took over to direct the third phase of expansion; the great south wing and north wing were successively begun, intended as residences for court nobles. In 1678 construction began on the Hall of Mirrors (Galerie des Glaces), planned with 578 mirrors facing the garden windows to symbolize the Sun King's glory. Meanwhile the town's infrastructure—roads, markets, churches, and noble residences—developed rapidly in anticipation of the court's move, forming a true court city.
3. 1682–1710Palace of Versailles and the town of Versailles · Île-de-France regionOn May 6, 1682, Louis XIV officially transferred the French court to Versailles, making the palace-town the absolute core of French politics, diplomacy, and culture. The Hall of Mirrors was completed in 1684, and the Grand Trianon was finished in 1688. Once the palace-town's layout was established, monarchs across Europe vied to imitate it: Austria's Schönbrunn and Prussia's Sanssouci both directly followed the Versailles model, establishing an architectural-political tradition of the court city as a symbol of sovereignty.