The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, vol. 06, No. 04, April 1900

The Brochure Series of Architectural Illustration, vol. 06, No. 04, April 1900 - The Petit Trianon: Versailles; English Carved Fireplaces

During the first years of his reign, Louis the XIV. of France resided, as his predecessors had, at St. Germain in summer; but for some reasonit is alleged that it was because the windows of the palace commanded a view of St. Denis, the royal mausoleumhe conceived a dislike to it, and resolved to build another summer palace for himself at some spot not far from Paris. Why he chose Versailles is incomprehensible. The cost of accomplishing this project was fearful, not in money alone (although this was more than one thousand million francs), but in human life. In 1681 twenty-two thousand soldiers and six thousand horses were employed on the work, and so unhealthy was the site that the workmen died by thousands. Writing in 1767, Madame de Svign says: "The King is in haste that Versailles should be finished; but it would seem that God is unwilling. It is almost impossible to continue the work owing to the fearful mortality among the workmen. The corpses are fetched away by cartfuls during the night,night being chosen that they who still live may not be terrified into revolt by the sight." But no difficulty, nor the pestilence, nor the ruin of the treasury was allowed to interfere with the King's pleasure. The palace rose; the stately gardens, peopled with statues, spread about it; and a royal city sprang up where before had been only a desolate forest; and, after 1682, Versailles became the permanent headquarters of the Court. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 47879
Author: Various
Release Date: Jan 5, 2015
Format: eBook
Language: English