Editing Palace of Versailles (section)

==History==
{{Main article|History of the Palace of Versailles}}

[[File:Versailles on the 1652 map of Paris by Gomboust - Gallica 2012.jpg|thumb|right|Versailles around 1652, engraving by {{ill|Jacques Gomboust|fr}}|alt=An engraving of Louis XIII's château as it appeared in 1652]]

In 1623,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=2}}{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=333}} [[Louis XIII]], [[king of France]], built a [[Pavillon de chasse|hunting lodge]] on a hill in a favourite hunting ground, {{convert|12|mi|order=flip}} west of [[Paris]],{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=1–2}} and {{convert|10|mi|order=flip}} from his primary residence, the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye]].{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=369}} The site, near a village named Versailles,{{efn|The name "Versailles", first used in 1038,{{sfn|City of Versailles: History}} from the Old French word ''versail'',{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=12}} comes from the Latin word ''vertere'';{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=1}} both mean "ploughed field".{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=12}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=1}}}} was a wooded wetland that Louis XIII's court scorned as being generally unworthy of a king;{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=15}} one of his courtiers, [[François de Bassompierre]], wrote that the lodge "would not inspire vanity in even the simplest gentleman".{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=333}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=53}} From 1631 to 1634, architect [[Philibert Le Roy]] replaced the lodge with a [[château]] for Louis XIII,{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=15–16}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=53}} who forbade his queen, [[Anne of Austria]], from staying there overnight,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=3}} even when an outbreak of [[smallpox]] at [[Saint-Germain-en-Laye]] in 1641 forced Louis XIII to relocate to Versailles with his three-year-old heir, the future [[Louis XIV]].{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}

When Louis XIII died in 1643, Anne became Louis XIV's [[regent]],{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=58}} and Louis XIII's château was abandoned for the next decade. She moved the court back to Paris,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=17}} where Anne and her [[Chief minister of France|chief minister]], [[Cardinal Mazarin]], continued Louis XIII's unpopular monetary practices. This led to [[the Fronde]], a series of revolts against royal authority from 1648 to 1653 that masked a struggle between Mazarin and the [[princes of the blood]], Louis XIV's extended family, for influence over him.{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=58, 60, 66}} In the aftermath of the Fronde, Louis XIV became determined to rule alone.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=26}}{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=66}} Following Mazarin's death in 1661,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=18}} Louis XIV reformed his government to exclude his mother and the princes of the blood,{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=66}} moved the court back to Saint-Germain-en-Laye,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=25}} and ordered the expansion of his father's château at Versailles into a palace.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=16}}{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=369–70}}

Louis XIV had hunted at Versailles in the 1650s,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=53}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}} but did not take any special interest in Versailles until 1661.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=4–5}} On 17 August 1661,{{sfn|Bonney|2007|p=223}} Louis XIV was a guest at a sumptuous festival hosted by [[Nicolas Fouquet]], the [[Superintendent of Finances]], at his palatial residence, the [[Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte]].{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=18}}{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=33}} Louis XIV was impressed by the château and its gardens,{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=33}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=19}} which were the work of [[Louis Le Vau]], the [[First Architect to the King|court architect]] since 1654, [[André Le Nôtre]], the royal gardener since 1657, and [[Charles Le Brun]],{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=53}} a painter in royal service since 1647.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Charles Le Brun}} Vaux-le-Vicomte's scale and opulence led him to imprison Fouquet that September, as he had also built an island fortress and a private army.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=33}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=18–19}} But Louis XIV was also inspired by Vaux-le-Vicomte,{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=41}} and he recruited its authors for his own projects.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=40}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=42}} Louis XIV replaced Fouquet with [[Jean-Baptiste Colbert]],{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=66}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=19}} a protégé of Mazarin and enemy of Fouquet,{{sfn|Bonney|2007|pp=208–10}} and charged him with managing the corps of artisans in royal employment.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=5}}{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=36}} Colbert acted as the intermediary between them and Louis XIV,{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=20}} who personally directed and inspected the planning and construction of Versailles.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=9}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=35}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=25}}

===Construction===
{{Multiple image
|image1=Chateau de Versailles 1668 Pierre Patel.jpg|caption1=Versailles in 1668, painted by [[Pierre Patel]]|alt1=A painting of the Palace and Versailles and its gardens as it appeared in 1668
|image2=Chateau de Versailles 1675FXD.jpg|caption2=Le Vau's garden façade around 1675|alt2=A painting of the garden façade built by Louis Le Vau from 1668 to 1670
}}

Work at Versailles was at first concentrated on [[Gardens of Versailles|gardens]],{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=55–63}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=4}} and through the 1660s, Le Vau only added two detached service wings and a forecourt to the château.{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=334}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=54}} But in 1668–69,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}} as a response to the growth of the gardens,{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=62–63, 69}} and victory over Spain in the [[War of Devolution]],{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}} Louis XIV decided to turn Versailles into a full-scale royal residence.{{sfn|Ayers|2004|p=334}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=61}} He vacillated between replacing or incorporating his father's château, but settled on the latter by the end of the decade,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=61, 64}} and from 1668 to 1671,{{sfn|Ayers|2004|pp=334–35}} Louis XIII's château was encased on three sides in a feature dubbed the ''[[wikt:enveloppe#French|enveloppe]]''.{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=67}}{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=64}} This gave the château a new, [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] façade overlooking the gardens, but preserved the courtyard façade,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=7}} resulting in a mix of styles and materials that dismayed Louis XIV{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=7}} and that Colbert described as a "patchwork".{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=24}} Attempts to homogenize the two façades failed, and in 1670 Le Vau died,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=7–8}} leaving the post of First Architect to the King vacant for the next seven years.{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=22}}

Le Vau was succeeded at Versailles by his assistant, architect [[François d'Orbay]].{{sfn|Berger|1985|p=22}} Work at the palace during the 1670s focused on its interiors, as the palace was then nearing completion,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=91}} though d'Orbay expanded Le Vau's service wings and connected them to the château,{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}} and built a pair of pavilions for government employees in the forecourt.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=22}} In 1670, d'Orbay was tasked by Louis XIV with designing a city, also called [[Versailles, Yvelines|Versailles]],{{sfn|City of Versailles: History}} to house and service Louis XIV's growing government and court.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=38}} The granting of land to courtiers for the construction of [[Hôtel particulier|townhouses]] that resembled the palace began in 1671.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|pp=27–28}} The next year, the [[Franco-Dutch War]] began and funding for Versailles was cut until 1674,{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}} when Louis XIV had work begun on the {{ill|Ambassadors' Staircase|fr|Escalier des Ambassadeurs}}, a grand staircase for the reception of guests, and demolished the last of the village of Versailles.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=9, 11}}

[[File:General view of Versailles in circa 1682 by Adam Perelle.png|thumb|left|Versailles around 1682, engraving by [[Adam Perelle]]]]

Following the end of the Franco-Dutch War with French victory in 1678, Louis XIV appointed as First Architect [[Jules Hardouin-Mansart]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=25}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=93}} an experienced architect in Louis XIV's confidence,{{sfn|Berger|1994|pp=86–87, 113}} who would benefit from a restored budget and large workforce of former soldiers.{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=18}} Mansart began his tenure with the addition from 1678 to 1681 of the [[Hall of Mirrors]],{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=115}} a renovation of the courtyard façade of Louis XIII's château,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=35}} and the expansion of d'Orbay's pavilions to create the [[Ministers' Wings]] in 1678–79.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Capital}} Adjacent to the palace, Hardouin-Mansart built a pair of [[stables]] called the [[Grande Écurie|Grande]] and [[Petite Écurie|Petite Écuries]] from 1679 to 1682{{sfn|Berger|1994|p=114}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Stables}} and the {{ill|Grand Commun|fr}}, which housed the palace's servants and general kitchens, from 1682 to 1684.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Grand Commun}} Hardouin-Mansart also added two entirely new wings in Le Vau's Italianate style to house the court,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=10–11}} first at the south end of the palace from 1679 to 1681{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=43}} and then at its north end from 1685 to 1689.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}

War and the resulting diminished funding slowed construction at Versailles for the rest of the 17th century.{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}} The [[Nine Years' War]], which began in 1688, stopped work altogether until 1698.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=18}} Three years later, however, the even more expensive [[War of the Spanish Succession]] began and,{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=51}} combined with poor harvests in 1693–94 and 1709–10,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=52}}{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=190}} plunged France into crisis.{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=190}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=51–52}} Louis XIV thus slashed funding and cancelled some of the work Hardouin-Mansart had planned in the 1680s, such as the remodelling of the courtyard façade in the Italianate style. Louis XIV and Hardouin-Mansart focused on a permanent [[Chapels of Versailles|palace chapel]],{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=50–51}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=17–19}} the construction of which lasted from 1699 to 1710.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=53}}

[[File:Nicolas Cochin Masked Ball 1745.jpg|thumb|A masked ball in the [[Hall of Mirrors]] (1745) by [[Charles-Nicolas Cochin]]]]

Louis XIV's successors, [[Louis XV]] and [[Louis XVI]], largely left Versailles as they inherited it and focused on the palace's interiors. Louis XV's modifications began in the 1730s, with the completion of the [[Salon d'Hercule]], a [[ballroom]] in the north wing, and the expansion of the [[Petit appartement du roi|king's private apartment]],{{Sfn|Jones|2018|p=59–60, 65}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=20–21}} which required the demolition of the Ambassadors' Staircase.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=9}} In 1748, Louis XV began construction of a palace theatre, the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]] at the northernmost end of the palace,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=21}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}} but completion was delayed until 1770;{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=61}} construction was interrupted in the 1740s by the [[War of the Austrian Succession]] and then again in 1756 with the start of the [[Seven Years' War]].{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=21}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=61}} These wars emptied the royal treasury<!--Spawforth p21--> and thereafter construction was mostly funded by [[Madame du Barry]], Louis XV's favourite mistress.<!--{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=21, 23}}--> In 1771, Louis XV had the northern Ministers' Wing rebuilt in Neoclassical style by [[Ange-Jacques Gabriel]], his court architect, as it was in the process of falling down. That work was also stopped by financial constraints,<!--{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=22–23}} and it was not completed until 1780.{{cn|date=September 2021}}--> and it remained incomplete when Louis XV died in 1774. In 1784, Louis XVI briefly moved the royal family to the [[Château de Saint-Cloud]] ahead of more renovations to the Palace of Versailles, but construction could not begin because of financial difficulty and [[Causes of the French Revolution|political crisis]].{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=21–24}} In 1789, the [[French Revolution]] swept the royal family and government out of Versailles forever.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|p=370}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=24}}

===Role in politics and culture===
[[File:Réception du Grand Condé à Versailles (Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1878).png|thumb|''[[Reception of the Grand Condé at Versailles]]'', painted by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]]]]

The Palace of Versailles was key to Louis XIV's politics, as an expression and concentration of [[French art]] and [[French culture|culture]], and for the centralization of royal power.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|pp=33–40}}{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=61–64}} Louis XIV first used Versailles to promote himself with a series of nighttime festivals in its gardens in 1664, 1668, and 1674,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|pp=4–5}} the events of which were disseminated throughout Europe by print and engravings.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=49}}{{sfn|Walton|1986|pp=57, 59}} As early as 1669,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=6}} but especially from 1678,{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=26}} Louis XIV sought to make Versailles his seat of government, and he expanded the palace so as to fit the court within it.{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|p=62}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=42}}{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=173}} The moving of the court to Versailles did not come until 1682,{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=173}} however, and not officially, as opinion on Versailles was mixed among the [[nobility of France]].{{sfn|Walton|1986|p=53}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=14}}

By 1687, however, it was evident to all that Versailles was the ''[[de facto]]'' capital of France,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Capital}}{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=15}} and Louis XIV succeeded in attracting the nobility to Versailles to pursue prestige and royal patronage within a strict court etiquette,{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=61–64}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=42}}{{sfn|Blanning|2002|pp=31–34, 40}}{{efn|At any given moment during Louis XIV's reign, about 5% of France's nobles were at court in Versailles. Bohanan places the exact number of persons normally present at Versailles as 5,000 nobles and an equal number of commoners,{{sfn|Bohanan|2001|pp=62, 64}} while Blanning gives 1,000 nobles and 4,000 servants.{{sfn|Blanning|2002|p=36}}}} thus eroding their traditional provincial power bases.{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=42}}{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=173}}{{sfn|Swann|2001|pp=143, 145}} It was at the Palace of Versailles that Louis XIV received the [[Doge of Genoa]], [[Francesco Maria Imperiale Lercari]] in 1685,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Doge of Genoa}} [[Siamese embassy to France (1686)|an embassy]] from the [[Ayutthaya Kingdom]] in 1686,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Ambassador of Siam}} and [[Persian embassy to Louis XIV|an embassy]] from [[Safavid Iran]] in 1715.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Reception of the Ambassadors of Persia}}

Louis XIV died at Versailles on 1 September 1715 and was succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson, [[Louis XV]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=52}}{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Death of Louis XIV}} then the [[duke of Anjou]],{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=57}} who was moved to the [[Château de Vincennes]] and then to Paris by Louis XV's regent, [[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans]].{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Death of Louis XIV}} Versailles was neglected until 1722,{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}} when Philippe II removed the court to Versailles to escape the unpopularity of his regency,{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=20}}{{sfn|Jones|2018|p=58}} and when Louis XV began his majority.{{sfn|Swann|2001|p=201}} The 1715 move, however, broke the cultural power of Versailles,{{sfn|Doyle|2001|p=91}} and during the reign of [[Louis XVI]], courtiers spent their leisure in Paris, not Versailles.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: History}}

[[File:The story of the greatest nations, from the dawn of history to the twentieth century - a comprehensive history, founded upon the leading authorities, including a complete chronology of the world, and (14586749738).jpg|thumb|The 7-year-old [[Mozart]] during his stay at the palace]]

During Christmas 1763, [[Mozart family grand tour|Mozart and his family visited]] Versailles and dined with the King. The 7-year-old [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart]] played several works during his stay and later dedicated his first two harpsichord sonatas, published in 1764 in Paris, to [[Victoire of France (1733–1799)|Madame Victoria]], daughter of Louis XV.<ref>{{cite web |title=Visit from the child Mozart (1763-1764) |url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/visit-child-mozart-1763-1764 |website=The Palace of Versailles |date=23 August 2018 |access-date=10 July 2023}}</ref>

In 1783, the palace was the site of the signing of the last two of the three treaties of the [[Peace of Paris (1783)]], which ended the [[American Revolutionary War]]. On 3 September, British and American delegates, led by [[Benjamin Franklin]], signed the [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|Treaty of Paris]] at the Hôtel d'York (now 56 Rue Jacob) in Paris, granting the United States independence. On 4 September, Spain and France signed separate treaties with Britain at the Palace of Versailles, formally ending the war.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.constitutionfacts.com/us-declaration-of-independence/treaty-of-paris/|title=The Treaty of Paris|website=www.constitutionfacts.com}}</ref>

The King and Queen learned of the [[Storming of the Bastille]] in Paris on 14 July 1789, while they were at the palace, and remained isolated there as the [[French Revolution|Revolution]] in Paris spread. The growing anger in Paris led to the [[Women's March on Versailles]] on 5 October 1789. A crowd of several thousand men and women, protesting the high price and scarcity of bread, marched from the markets of Paris to Versailles. They took weapons from the city armoury, besieged the palace, and compelled the King and royal family and the members of the [[National Constituent Assembly (France)|National Constituent Assembly]] to return with them to Paris the following day.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|pp=16–17}}

As soon as the royal family departed, the palace was closed. In 1792, the [[National Convention]], the new revolutionary government, ordered the transfer of all the paintings and sculptures from the palace to the [[Louvre]]. In 1793, the Convention declared the abolition of the monarchy and ordered all of the royal property in the palace to be sold at auction.  The auction took place between 25 August 1793 and 11 August 1794. The furnishings and art of the palace, including the furniture, mirrors, baths, and kitchen equipment, were sold in seventeen thousand lots. All fleurs-de-lys and royal emblems on the buildings were chambered or chiselled off. The empty buildings were turned into a storehouse for furnishings, art and libraries confiscated from the nobility. The empty grand apartments were opened for tours beginning in 1793, and a small museum of French paintings and art school was opened in some of the empty rooms.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|p=18}}

By virtue of an order issued by the Versailles district directorate in August 1794, the [[The Royal Gate of the Palace of Versailles|Royal Gate]] was destroyed, the Cour Royale was cleared and the Cour de Marbre lost its precious floor.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Heitzmann |first1=Annick |last2=Didier |first2=Frédéric |title=La Grille et la Cour royales |journal=Versalia. Revue de la Société des Amis de Versailles |date=2007 |volume=10 |pages=26–43 |doi=10.3406/versa.2007.871 |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/versa_1285-8412_2007_num_10_1_871 |access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Maral |first1=Alexandre |title=Octobre 1789: Versailles déserté |date=24 October 2018 |url=http://www.lescarnetsdeversailles.fr/2018/10/octobre-1789-versailles-deserte/ |access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref>

=== 19th century – history museum and government venue ===
[[File:Antechamber of the Emperor at Grand Trianon 001.jpg|thumb|The Lords' Antechamber at [[Grand Trianon]]]]
[[File:L'Opéra-visite de la reine Victoria 1855.jpg|thumb|right|Banquet for Queen Victoria hosted by [[Napoleon III]] in the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]], August 1855 by [[Eugene Lami]]]] 
[[File:A v Werner - Kaiserproklamation am 18 Januar 1871 (3. Fassung 1885).jpg|thumb|right|''Proclamation of the [[German Empire]], 18 January 1871'', 1877 by [[Anton von Werner]]]]

When [[Napoleon]] became Emperor of the French in 1804, he considered making Versailles his residence but abandoned the idea because of the cost of the renovation. Prior to his marriage with [[Marie-Louise of Austria|Marie-Louise]] in 1810, he had the [[Grand Trianon]] restored and refurnished as a springtime residence for himself and his family, in the style of furnishing that it is seen today.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=19}}

In 1815, with the final downfall of Napoleon, [[Louis XVIII]], the younger brother of Louis XVI, became king, and considered returning the royal residence to Versailles, where he had been born. He ordered the restoration of the royal apartments, but the task and cost was too great. Louis XVIII had the far end of the south wing of the ''Cour Royale'' demolished and rebuilt (1814–1824) to match the Gabriel wing of 1780 opposite, which gave greater uniformity of appearance to the front entrance.{{sfn|Spawforth|2008|p=244}} Neither he nor his successor [[Charles X of France|Charles X]] lived at Versailles.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=19}}

The [[French Revolution of 1830]] brought a new monarch, [[Louis Philippe I|Louis-Philippe]] to power, and a new ambition for Versailles. He did not reside at Versailles but began the creation of the [[Musée de l'Histoire de France (Versailles)|Museum of the History of France]], dedicated to "all the glories of France", which had been used to house some members of the royal family. The museum was begun in 1833 and inaugurated on 30 June 1837. Its most famous room is the [[Galerie des Batailles]] (Hall of Battles), which lies on most of the length of the second floor of the south wing.{{sfn|Hoog|1996|pp=369–374}} The museum project largely came to a halt when Louis Philippe was overthrown in 1848, though the paintings of French heroes and great battles still remain in the south wing.

Emperor [[Napoleon III]] used the palace on occasion as a stage for grand ceremonies. One of the most lavish was the banquet that he hosted for [[Queen Victoria]] in the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]] on 25 August 1855.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover/history/key-dates/visit-queen-victoria-1855|title=Visit of Queen Victoria, 1855|date=22 November 2016|website=Palace of Versailles}}</ref>

During the [[Franco-Prussian War]] of 1870–1871, the palace was occupied by the [[German General Staff|general staff]] of the victorious German Army. Parts of the château, including the Hall of Mirrors, were turned into a military hospital. The creation of the [[German Empire]], combining [[Prussia]] and the surrounding German states under [[William I, German Emperor|William I]], was formally [[Proclamation of the German Empire|proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors]] on 18 January 1871. The Germans remained in the palace until the signing of the armistice in March 1871. In that month, the government of the new [[Third French Republic]], which had departed Paris during the war for [[Tours]] and then [[Bordeaux]], moved into the palace. The [[National Assembly (France)|National Assembly]] held its meetings in the Opera House.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=12}}

The uprising of the [[Paris Commune]] in March 1871, prevented the French government, under [[Adolphe Thiers]], from returning immediately to Paris. The military operation which suppressed the Commune at the end of May was directed from Versailles, and the prisoners of the Commune were marched there and put on trial in military courts. In 1875 a second parliamentary body, the [[French Senate]], was created and held its meetings for the election of a President of the Republic in a new hall created in 1876 in the south wing of the palace. The French Senate and National Assembly continue to meet in the palace in [[Congress of the French Parliament|joint session]] on special occasions, such as the amendment of the [[Constitution of France]].{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=20}}

===20th century===
[[File:William Orpen - The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors.jpg|thumb|''[[The Signing of Peace in the Hall of Mirrors, Versailles, 28 June 1919]]'' by [[William Orpen]]]]

The end of the 19th and the early 20th century saw the beginning of restoration efforts at the palace, first led by [[Pierre de Nolhac]], poet and scholar and the first conservator, who began his work in 1892. The conservation and restoration were interrupted by two world wars but have continued until the present day.{{Sfn|Lacaille|2012|page=13}}

The palace returned to the world stage in June 1919, when, after six months of negotiations, the [[Treaty of Versailles]], formally ending the First World War, was signed in the [[Hall of Mirrors]]. Between 1925 and 1928, the American philanthropist and multi-millionaire [[John D. Rockefeller, Jr.]] gave $2,166,000, the equivalent of about 38 million dollars in 2024, to restore and refurbish the palace.<ref>Iverson, Jeffrey, ''France Today'', 19 July 2014</ref>

More work took place after World War II, with the restoration of the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]]. The theatre was reopened in 1957, in the presence of Queen [[Elizabeth II]] of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.versailles3d.com/en/over-the-centuries/xxe/1957.html|title=1957 – XXth century – Over the centuries – Versailles 3d|website=www.versailles3d.com}}</ref>

In 1978, parts of the palace were heavily damaged in a [[1978 Palace of Versailles bombing|bombing committed by Breton terrorists]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/06/26/archives/versailles-palace-is-damaged-by-bomb-heavy-explosion-wrecks-three.html |title=Versailles Palace Is Damaged By Bomb |work=The New York Times |date=26 June 1978 |access-date=10 April 2020}}</ref>

Starting in the 1950s, when the museum of Versailles was under the directorship of Gérald van der Kemp, the objective was to restore the palace to its state&nbsp;– or as close to it as possible&nbsp;– in 1789 when the royal family left the palace. Among the early projects was the repair of the roof over the Hall of Mirrors; the publicity campaign brought international attention to the plight of post-war Versailles and garnered much foreign money including a grant from the [[Rockefeller Foundation]].

One of the more costly endeavours for the museum and the [[French Fifth Republic]] has been to repurchase as much of the original furnishings as possible. Consequently, because furniture with a royal provenance&nbsp;– and especially furniture that was made for Versailles&nbsp;– is a highly sought-after commodity on the international market, the museum has spent considerable funds on retrieving much of the palace's original furnishings.<ref>{{harvnb|Kemp|1976|page=135–137}}</ref>

===21st century===
[[File:Paris 2024 Men's Modern Pentathlon Park Of The Chateau Of Versailles.jpg|thumb|Modern Pentathlon Park for the 2024 Summer Olympics.]]
In 2003, a new restoration initiative&nbsp;– the "Grand Versailles" project&nbsp;– was started, which began with the replanting of the gardens, which had lost over 10,000 trees during [[Cyclone Lothar]] on 26 December 1999. One part of the initiative, the restoration of the [[Hall of Mirrors]], was completed in 2006.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lexpress.fr/mag/arts/dossier/patrimoine/dossier.asp?ida=451314 |last=Leloup |first=Michèle |date=7 September 2006 |title=Versailles en grande toilette |language=fr |work=[[L'Express]] |access-date=4 January 2021 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080215140113/http://www.lexpress.fr/mag/arts/dossier/patrimoine/dossier.asp?ida=451314 |archive-date=15 February 2008}}</ref> Another major project was the further restoration of the backstage areas of the [[Royal Opera of Versailles]] in 2007 to 2009.{{sfn|Palace of Versailles: Royal Opera}}

The Palace of Versailles is currently owned by the French state. Its formal title is the [[Public Establishment of the Palace, Museum and National Estate of Versailles]]. Since 1995, it has been run as a Public Establishment, with an independent administration and management supervised by the [[French Ministry of Culture]].<ref>Site of the Public Establishment of the Chateau of Versailles (en.chateauversailles.fr)</ref>

The grounds of the palace hosted the equestrian competition during the [[2024 Summer Olympics]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Château de Versailles |url=https://www.paris2024.org/en/venue/chateau-de-versailles/ |access-date=29 July 2022 |website=Paris 2024 |language=en}}</ref>