The Palace of Versailles or Château de Versailles is a royal chateau in Versailles, France. The hunting chateau that Louis XIII built at the village of Versailles in 1624 became the base on which the Palace of Versailles was constructed.

The hunting chateau, designed by Philibert Le Roy, was constructed of stone and red brick with a slate roof. After Louis XIII obtained the lordship of Versailles from the Gondi family in 1632, he began to make enlargements to the chateau. Years after the death of Louis XIII, his son, Louis XIV, settled on the royal hunting lodge and expanded it into one of the largest palaces in the world.

Led by architect Louis Le Vau, landscape architect Andre Le Notre and decorator Charles Le Brun, a detailed renovation of the chateau began in 1669. Another architect, Jules Hardouin-Mansart, was put in charge of redesigning and enlarging the structure in 1676. Hardouin-Mansart added a second story and built the Hall of Mirrors and the north and south wings. Following the Treaty of 1678, Louis XIV gradually began to move the royal court and the government to Versailles. The court was officially established there on May 6, 1682.

The Palace of Versailles has been the scene of many historic events including, Britain’s recognition of the independence of the American colonies in 1783; the capitulation of Paris in 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War; the proclamation of Wilhelm I of Prussia as emperor of a united Germany in 1871; and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. Today, the Palace of Versailles is one of France’s national monuments.