17th18th Century France The Absolute Monarchy Reigns

1
VERSAILLES
Enormity half-mile long 1,852 individual
apartments 1,252 fireplaces 2,143
windows stables for over 2,000 royal horses
19, 262 acres of hunting grounds gardens (30
sq. miles) (entire estate larger than the
island of Manhattan, NY) 235 acres of FORMAL
gardens 15 small parks covering 4,200
acres 14, 827 acre hunting park
2
VERSAILLES
Enormity 5,000 French nobles REQUIRED to live
there 7,000 servants 4,000 foot soldiers as
guards 4,000 guards on horseback During
construction 36,000 workers 6,000
horses Indoor orangerie 510 x 69, held 2000
orange trees in winter Grand Canal 4,937 long
x 204 wide (east-west) 3,291 long x 204 wide
(north-south) Over 1,400 fountains and pools
3
VERSAILLES

• Hall of Mirrors
• 35 long x 246 long x 40 tall
• Solid silver tables and planters under each
  window
• Curtains contained 130 pounds of gold thread
• 17 large silver chandeliers and 26 small ones
  holding 1000 candles lit the room
• Cost
• In 1999 dollars approx. 2 Billion
• Human lives hundreds died of
• illness
• buried alive in mud slides
• trampled by the thousands of horses used

4
VERSAILLES
5
VERSAILLES
6
VERSAILLES
7
VERSAILLES
8
VERSAILLES