Versailles

outside the gates of Versailles

Bed of Mary Antoinette 

Ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors

King Louis XIV of France took the court and built up a new capital outside of Paris identified as Versailles. Versailles is not only famous for it’s building, but also for its symbol of absolute monarchy. I felt like I had just entered a city like Vatican when I stepped in the big golden gates of Versailles. It is unbelievable to me how much money was spent on the monarch and his court, especially when people of France were suffering at the time. It’s only logical that at the beginning of the French Revolution Versailles was invaded by the people as an act of rebellion. The palace is an obvious Baroque style with every single thing lined in gold. My favorite room in the palace was the bedroom of Mary Antoinette. Her problematic arranged marriage to King Louis XVI led to a relationship with a forbidden lover. Her bedroom had a small trap door for her to escape from. I found it very odd that her and the king had separate bedrooms that they slept in each night. That cannot be good for an already struggling marriage.  Another part of it that was my favorite was the famous Hall of Mirrors. It was as extravagant as I had imagined it to be.