[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="515"]<img src="http://blog.wegowise.com/Portals/107469/images/versailles%20lawns%20wegowise.jpg" alt="" width="515" height="328" /> http://blog.wegowise.com/Portals/107469/images/versailles%20lawns%20wegowise.jpg<br />The Palace of Versailles[/caption]
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                Beginning in 1500 innovative things began to form in the world. The Scientific Revolution was taking off alongside the Protestant and Catholic Reformations. People were starting to think for themselves without the leadership of the church and state. In the mid-late 1600s the Enlightenment sprang up which offered new philosophical ideas about science, religion, and government. Regardless of these new trends though, in France King Louis the 14<sup>th</sup> took power and changed France to an Absolute Monarchy, meaning not even the church was above him. King Louis the 14<sup>th</sup> began the process which would ultimately lead to his citizens rising up and taking the government over. In 1788 the French government went bankrupt after aiding the United States in their revolution on top of all the construction on the palace, and in 1789 the French revolution began (Fiero).

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The Palace of Versailles truly is a magnificent piece of art. Located in Versailles, France, the palace and its gardens took up 37,000 acres of land (Link Paris). The initial building phase was constructed in 1624, and it was a hunting lodge for King Louis the 13<sup>th</sup>. But what was to come over the next 150 years was breathtaking. The Palace of Versailles went through about 5 architects and designers, and there were 3 main building phases. The Palace of Versailles should be preserved because it not only is a piece of art, but it is also an important historical site.

The palace while very astonishing, had some typical pieces. The palace was designed by using a popular art trend called Baroque, meaning very ornate and grand designs. Fiero says, “…in combination with a taste for spatial grandeur, dramatic contrast, and theatrical display, were the distinguishing features of the Classical Baroque Style (Fiero).”

What makes the Palace of Versailles so innovative is the scale of the design. The land area of the whole palace including the garden was half the size of Paris (Fiero). The palace itself was home to every member of the government; the courts and their families, the king and his whole family, servants and gardeners. There were apartments as part of the palace; there was also a theatre, zoo, mini palaces, a cathedral, and court houses. The garden itself was on 7 square miles of land (Fiero). This majestic site has had several attempts at recreation in other countries, but specifics I will mention later.

At the time it was built there were 2 very polar responses to the palace. On one side was a frustrated public. The citizens of France were very poor; they lived in one bedroom homes. Seeing the government in such an ornate palace wasn’t a very warm feeling. On the opposite end of the spectrum was the world response to the palace. Many other monarchies’ saw the palace as a symbol of power and wealth, the “French style” became something many countries idolized (Fiero). At the time, there were attempts to copy the palace in Kassel, Stockholm, Vienna, Hungary, Italy, and Spain (IVC).

Today, the Palace is considered art. Today people view France as snooty, fancy, and high class most likely originating from this building. The French government has since returned art work stolen during the French revolution and continues to preserve Versailles. The palace is now a museum/tourist attraction, and also a government building with government offices. According to the museum there, Versailles receives about 2,400,000 visitors a year, and 70% of that is foreigners (Guardiola). The palace has also been the location of a few key treaty signings in the Hall of Mirrors. In 1783, a treaty was signed ending the American Revolution; in 1871, a treaty was signed ending the Franco- Prussian War; and most famously the palace housed the controversial treaty ending World War 1 in 1919 (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia). Recently in the United States, a family in Florida attempted to build their own Palace of Versailles, but never finished it.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="482"]<img src="http://www.visitingdc.com/images/hall-of-mirrors-versailles.jpg" alt="" width="482" height="283" /> http://www.visitingdc.com/images/hall-of-mirrors-versailles.jpg<br />The Hall of Mirrors[/caption]

My personal reaction to the palace is as polar as the responses at the time. On one side it disgusts me because of the blatant disregard for the citizens, and really the country as a whole. The government form of Absolutism is just ridiculous, as shown by France, and goes against all the Enlightenment ideals of the time. On the other end though, I think the Palace is just magnificent. It is jaw dropping gorgeous, and has been the host to many historical events, both French and Worldly.

Like the Palace of Versailles, another big build was taking place in India called the Taj Mahal. The Taj Mahal was built as a tomb for Shah Jahan’s favorite wife, a “Monument for Love” (Tasker). There were several similarities between  the two builds. One being the builder. Louis the 14<sup>th</sup> and Shah Jahan both were extremely wealthy and loved luxury; also both rulers used the countries treasury to fund the two projects. The Taj Mahal was finished in 1648. It’s name is from two things, Mahal was her last name and Taj means crown in persain but to the muslims it was a conical hat so that’s why the main building is a dome. The jewels were put in to show nobility and prestige (Tasker). The building shows the wealth of the Mughuls, or as Tasker puts it, “…the splendor of the Mughal Empire… (Tasker).” This makes it like the Palace of Versailles also because the Palace symbolized French power and wealth.

There are a few significant things that future generations can take from the Palace of Versailles. They can take it as a lesson of not being selfish, because it will eventually bounce back on you. But they can also use it as a guide for 1600s-1700s art and architecture. The Baroque style that France perfecting, the fountains in the garden, the sculptures, the paintings, everything is one big culture lesson. Also, just thinking that in that palace wars were ended is a pretty cool thought. The Palace really should continue to be preserved as close to the 1700s model as possible because it is just so key to history and art.