Hall of Mirrors

This article should be merged with  Palace of Versailles

The Hall of Mirrors (French: Galerie des Glaces) is a large room in the Palace of Versailles, in Versailles, France. It is generally considered as one of the major attractions of the Palace.

History

The galerie was started in 1678, at the time the Palace began to be the official residence of Louis XIV. It was completed in 1684. Many references of it are in Marie Antoinette's diary.

After the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678), at the high point of his reign, Louis XIV ordered Le Brun to paint the benefits of his governement on the ceiling. The painter conceived 30 scenes, framed with stucco: the king appears as a Roman Emperor, as great administrator of his kingdom, and as victorious over foreign powers.

It was in this hall that the German Empire was proclaimed on January 18, 1871, following the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War. It was also here that Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles (1919) stating that Germany was responsible for World War One.

Features

The galerie is located on the first floor of the building. It contains 578 mirrors. It is 73 m long, 10,50 m broad, and 12.30 m high. It is located between the salon de la Guerre (Hall of War) at its northern end, and by the salon de la Paix (Hall of Peace) at its soutern end.

Seventeen windows, opening on the gardens, face seventeen arcades filled with mirrors. These mirrors, of an exceptional size for the time, were produced by a Parisian manufacture created by Colbert to compete with the products of Venice.