History :
The beginning of the Louis XIV reign
The new King will confide to the artists, architects and gardeners who created the Vaux-Le-Vicomte castle, the realization of a more magnificent castle to Versailles. An important terracing works will be achieved and drainage and catchments of water works will be undertaken in the whole region. The project will be carried out by stages. Two symmetrical Apartments will be created on the first floor for the King and the Queen, bound by a central living room. Two common buildings, intended to shelter the kitchens and the stables, also built, will be delimited by a closed court of a grid and preceded by a place.
The King authorised three unforgettable feasts which will be the occasion to present the works of the biggest era artists. The first feast, titled The Pleasures of the Delighted Isle, takes place in the month of May 1664. The second feast, which will permit to make know the name of Versailles, will take place July 18, 1668. Known under the term of the Versailles Big Royal Entertainment, a third feast will take place in July 1674.
The first statuaries are installed in the garden in 1665. The Thétys underground cave is constructed. Charles le Brun surrounds itself with painters, sculptors, carvers, decorators, army, from 1661 to 1683. The Nôtre takes in charge the gardens and the outside amenities. He collaborates with the Francine, son of Italian engineers, for the construction of the hydraulic equipment.