Versailles - Judicial Center , France

Situated around 10 miles from Paris, the prosperous town of Versailles is an important administrative and judicial center of France. Once the unofficial capital of the French kingdom, Versailles was first mentioned in a charter way back in 1038. The name Versailles is said to have its roots in the Latin word

versare that means “to keep turning over”. In medeival times, the word 'versare' was used to denote plowed land and indeed Versailles was a country village known for the agricultural activities.

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Being strategically located from Paris, Dreux and Normandy, Versailles was quiet prosperous and it was in the seventeenth century that it came into prominence when the French royal residence was shifted from Paris to Versailles. The Chteau de Versailles or the Palace of Versailles made the town world famous and today it attracts a billion tourist all through the year.

The French monarch Louis XIII was drawn to the wilderness and serenity of Versailles and even constructed a modest lodge to spent his leisure time. His son Louis XIV just fell in love with the beauty of Versailles and decided to be shift the royal residence from Paris to the town of Versailles. Louis XIV found the place ideal to establish absolute power of monarchy and keep an eye over his courtiers and advisors to forestall any rebellion of the nobles against him.

Though Paris was officially the capital of the kingdom of France, all the government affairs were conducted from Versailles as Louis XIV established government offices and houses for his courtiers and officers.

In1669, he appointed architect, Louis Le Vau, and the landscape architect, Andre Le Notre, to transform the already established small lodge into one of the largest and grandest palaces the world has ever seen. Chateau Neuf is

the name given to the new construction that envelopes the old lodge on the north, west and south. The northern part of the Chateau Neuf is known as Grand appartement du roi which was used as court room of Louis XIV. The southern part was called Grand appartement de la reine. The lavish decorations of every salon and chamber of the chateau were of exceptional splendor and stun the visitors who come to the palace.

There were laxity of rules so as to allure people to build castles and houses around the royal chateau. However, there were certain regulations that the owners had to keep in mind while making homes so as to achieve harmony in the design among all the buildings. There was a special condition that no house should be made in a a way which might obstruct the view from the castle.

The town flourished considerably during the reign of Louis XIV and later Louis XV. By 1789, Versailles had become one of the largest cities that show the world new architectural styles and design. It was the cradle of French Revolution and the Royal family was forced to return Paris in the end of 1789. After the revolution, Versailles lost its prominence as unofficial capital. In 1837, King Louisse- Phillipe transformed the chateau into National museum dedicated to "all the glories of France"

During Franco Prussian war, Versailles again became prominent and became an important political center of France. But when Paris finally became the capital of France, Versailles gradually prospered and gained reputation as an important town of France over the passage of time.