Tour Manager Notes: Santiago & Burgos

Key Dates

1638 — Louis XIV born
1661 — Fouquet’s party; Louis’ personal rule begins; Versailles started
1682 — Court moves to Versailles
1715 — Louis XIV dies

Overview

Louis XIV, builder of the palace of Versailles, was born in 1638, the son of Louis XIII and Anne of Austria. After the death of his father made him king at five years old, the Frondes (noble uprisings in Paris) left Louis with a permanent dislike for the capital and a strong distrust of powerful courtiers. At age 23 he began ruling as an absolute monarch, adopting the sun—around which everything revolves—as his emblem. Versailles became the physical expression of his glory and authority.

Fouquet’s infamous 1661 fête at Vaux-le-Vicomte inspired Louis to engage its artistic triumvirate—architect Le Vau, decorator Le Brun, and garden designer Le Nôtre—to create his own monumental project at Versailles.

By 1682 the court—20,000 people—moved permanently to Versailles. Built in the latest French classical style and designed to evoke the grandeur of ancient Rome, the palace projected Louis’ vision of France as a magnificent imperial power. Etiquette, ritual, and spectacle defined daily life. While nobles were kept nearby and occupied with ceremonies, Louis spent vast amounts of time and money on military campaigns abroad.

Louis died in 1715. Versailles remained the royal residence until 1789, when the Parisian mob seized Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. No monarch would ever live at Versailles again.

History

Louis XIV

The future Sun King was born in 1638 to Louis XIII and Anne of Austria after 23 years of marriage. When his father died in 1642, Louis became king at age five. During the regency governed by Anne and Cardinal Mazarin, aristocratic uprisings (the Frondes) threatened the stability of the crown. Louis never forgot this period and regarded Paris and powerful nobles with lasting suspicion.

In 1660 he married Maria-Theresa of Spain as part of a political peace settlement. Although they lived together, Louis had many mistresses and acknowledged illegitimate children. His only legitimate son to survive infancy was the Grand Dauphin.

1661 was decisive: Mazarin died, and instead of appointing another chief minister, Louis took full control of governing France. “L’État, c’est moi” expressed his philosophy. He established a personal monarchy supported by capable ministers like Colbert, but with all final decisions in his own hands.

The Palace of Versailles

Louis sought a new residence far from the cramped and politically dangerous Louvre in Paris. He chose to expand his father’s hunting lodge at Versailles, 20 km southwest of the capital. Fouquet’s Vaux-le-Vicomte provided the model and the personnel: Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Nôtre.

The scale of construction was extraordinary. Marshes were drained, hills were reshaped, and tens of thousands of trees imported. At its peak, 36,000 workers and 6,000 horses laboured on a complex of 10,000 rooms. When Louis moved the court there in 1682, 20,000 people relocated, including royals, nobles, servants and soldiers.

Versailles served as both residence and symbol: its classical order, rigid geometry and sun imagery proclaimed Louis’ power. His presence appeared everywhere—carved military trophies, images of Louis as Apollo or Hercules, and his sun emblem repeated throughout.

The Trianons and Le Hameau

The Grand Trianon, built in pink marble, served as Louis XIV’s elegant retreat and later hosted Napoleon and foreign dignitaries. The Petit Trianon, built for Madame de Pompadour under Louis XV, reflected her influence on French taste. The rustic Hameau, created for Marie-Antoinette, embodied her desire for escape from court formality.

Louis XIV at Home and Abroad

At Versailles Louis kept the nobility occupied with elaborate ritual and entertainment. He spent 35 years at war, funded by heavy taxes. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 led to persecution of Protestants and damaged France’s international standing.

France fought two major wars against England under William of Orange, suffering heavy defeats—most famously at Blenheim (1704). The Peace of Utrecht (1713) acknowledged France’s limitations after decades of conflict.

Versailles after Louis XIV

Louis XIV died in 1715. His great-grandson inherited the throne at age five. Versailles remained the royal residence until the French Revolution in 1789, when Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were forcibly taken to Paris. The palace was looted and many contents sold. In 1837, Louis-Philippe converted Versailles into a museum of French history. Philanthropic support after WWI helped restore the palace.

Arts

Architecture

Versailles embodied the height of French classical Baroque—a disciplined, symmetrical and rational style distinct from the exuberance of Italian Baroque. Architects such as Le Vau and Hardouin-Mansart created harmoniously proportioned buildings meant to glorify Louis and project stability, order and authority.

The Story of Latona

The Latona Fountain illustrates a myth central to Louis XIV’s chosen identity. After villagers refused water to the pregnant goddess Latona, Zeus punished them by turning them into frogs and turtles. Latona’s children—Apollo and Diana—linked the king to the sun god Apollo.

Painting, Decorative Arts and Colbert

Colbert focused the arts into state-controlled academies, using them to glorify the monarchy and elevate French craftsmanship. The Gobelins factory produced the luxury furnishings of Versailles and became a major economic engine. Le Brun oversaw the arts and created the palace’s decorative programme.

Literature

Playwrights such as Molière, Corneille and Racine flourished under royal patronage. Writers like Mme. de Sévigné and the Duc de St-Simon recorded invaluable commentary on life at court. Perrault revived classic tales, and La Fontaine composed fables that remain widely read.

The King’s Mistresses

Louis’ acknowledged mistresses played major roles in court life and politics. Louise de La Vallière, Athenais de Montespan (associated with scandals involving sorceresses), and Madame de Maintenon—who eventually married the king—were among the most influential.

Lifestyle

The Sun King’s Daily Routine

Louis XIV’s carefully choreographed daily routine reinforced his authority. The Lever du Roi, the morning dressing ceremony, allowed petitions and reinforced hierarchy. He attended Mass, visited his mistress, dined ceremoniously, hunted, walked in the gardens and ended the day with concerts, operas, balls or gambling—before the ritual Coucher.

The elaborate etiquette and constant need to attend the king kept nobles dependent and occupied. Versailles’ enormous corridors often required sedan chairs for transport.

Soundbites

Fontenelle on Descartes: “Sometimes one man gives the tone to a whole century.”

Huygens on 17th-century method: “Causes for which one can comprehend all that there is in nature.”

Voltaire on 18th-century scientific progress: “Curious times and…astonishing contrasts: reason on the one hand, the most absurd fanaticism on the other.”

Science

The transition from Renaissance to Enlightenment brought new scientific thinking that challenged traditional religious and political structures. The acceptance of Copernican astronomy destabilised long-held views. Mathematics—per Descartes—was viewed as the universal tool for understanding nature.

In France, pioneers established rational and empirical inquiry that paved the way for the Enlightenment. The geometrical order of Versailles’ gardens reflects this intellectual climate.

Colbert founded scientific institutions such as the Académie des Sciences (1666) and the Observatoire de Paris (1671) to support research. International collaboration brought leading thinkers including Huygens, Leibniz, Romer and Cassini. These academies also advanced engineering, navigation, cartography and industrial processes.

The Marly Machine: Key Facts

14 gigantic waterwheels, each 36 feet in diameter
221 pumps operating in successive stages
Raised water 500 feet to Versailles
Up to 5,000 m³ of water delivered per day

The machine, designed by Rennequin Sualem and sponsored by Baron de Ville, was one of the marvels of 17th-century engineering. Built between 1681 and 1688, it became as celebrated as the Eiffel Tower would be centuries later.

Christian Huygens

A central figure in 17th-century science, Huygens contributed major advances in astronomy, physics and horology. His wave theory of light, work on centrifugal force, and design of the balance-spring watch transformed scientific understanding.

The Encyclopédie

Diderot’s Encyclopédie (1751–1765), published in 17 volumes, became one of the Enlightenment’s defining achievements—organising human knowledge and challenging traditional authority.

Establishment of the Metric System

Early proposals for a universal decimal measurement system date to 1670. In 1791 Louis XVI authorised a project to determine the metre based on the Paris meridian. After his arrest and during political turmoil, the metre was finally established in 1799 as a standard “for all people, for all time.”

The Visit

Avoid long stops by the equestrian statue of Louis XIV due to congestion.
Use the garden front for explanations of palace construction, garden design and the Treaties of Versailles.
At the Latona Fountain, tell the myth and its significance.
At the Apollo Fountain, explain Louis’ solar symbolism.
At the Grand Canal, discuss water fêtes, gondolas and entertainment.
The Grand Trianon is ideal for commentary on royal mistresses.
The Hamlet provides a calm place to discuss Marie-Antoinette and pre-Revolutionary tensions.