The Palace of Versailles is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about 19 kilometers (12 mi) west of Paris, France.
Image: Versailles Chateau Jardins 02
Image: Chateau Versailles Galerie des Glaces
Versailles in 1668, painted by Pierre Patel
Le Vau's garden façade around 1675
Louis XIV, also known as Louis the Great or the Sun King, was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest of any sovereign. Although Louis XIV's France was emblematic of the Age of Absolutism in Europe, the King surrounded himself with a variety of significant political, military, and cultural figures, such as Bossuet, Colbert, Louvois, Le Brun, Le Nôtre, Lully, Mazarin, Molière, Racine, Turenne, Condé, and Vauban.
Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701
Louis XIV as a young child, unknown painter
Baptismal certificate, 1638
Louis XIV in 1643, just before becoming king, by Claude Deruet