Versailles of Louis XIV
In 1661, Louis commissioned the architect le Vau to redesign the palace built by his father Louis XIII It was not until 1668 that the project to add new buildings to the old palace really took shape to create the Palais de Versailles of Louis XIV. On the death of le Vau, in 1670, François d'Orbay was entrusted with the task of finishing the project. Between 1678 and 1684, Jules Hardouin Mansard built the Hall of Mirrors (Grande Galerie) which opens onto the gardens and so completed the transformation of the old palace into the spectacular palace of Louis XIV. Designed as a symbol of absolute monarchical rule, the Palace of Versailles became the official residence of Louis XIV and his court in 1682 and remained as the seat of power of the kings of France until 1789.
