Hall Of Mirrors Facts For Kids: Here's All You Need To Know

The Hall of Mirrors is located in the city of Versailles in France.

The hall is a part of the Palace of Versailles. The Palace is situated between the apartments of the King and the Queen.

The hall was designed by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart and decorated by the artist Charles Le Brun. There are 17 arches and a total of 357 mirrors in the hall. There are also beautiful crystal and gold statues lined up on the sides of the hall and a total of 43 chandeliers.

Read on to discover more about the Hall of Mirrors.

The History Of The Hall Of Mirrors

The history of the Hall of Mirrors is not long. It was not initially a part of the Palace of Versailles. It was added later on, and from then on, it became a place of political importance and, later, of great cultural importance.

King Louis XIV decided to create a large room by combining a few rooms from the Palace's front, the Queen's apartments, and the King's apartments during 1678. Architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart presented the King with a design for the hall, and after he accepted, the hall was ready within the next six years.

The King demanded that every material that would be used to make the Hall of Mirrors should be exclusively from France.

However, this became a problem because back then, the monopoly of mirrors was held by Venice. Hence, as a solution, a few Venetian artisans were brought to build the Hall of Mirrors.

It is rumored that in return, the poor artisans were assassinated by the Venetian government to keep the art of making mirrors a secret. The Hall of Mirrors gets its name from its 357 mirrors.

During the 17th century, King Louis XIV, along with some other members of the royal family, passed through the hall to reach the chapel, and many courtiers gathered to watch the event. In 1745, 'The Yew Tree Ball' was held in this hall where Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour met.

On July 19, 1870, France declared war against Prussia, but by September 2, the French forces of Sedan had surrendered, and Prussia then invaded France. Thus, the Germans got revenge for Napoleon I and Louis XIV.

On October 5, Chancellor Bismarck and Wilhelm I entered Versailles and proclaimed the German Empire in this hall. On January 18, 1871, William I, the Prussian King, was then declared as the German emperor by Bismarck in this hall.

On June 28, 1919, the Hall of Mirrors was chosen by the French Prime Minister Clemenceau to sign the 'Treaty Of Versailles'. This treaty ultimately ended World War I.

The Location Of The Hall Of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors is a part of the Palace of Versailles, which is also called the Versailles Palace or Château de Versailles. The Royal Palace is located in the city of Versailles in France.

The Versailles Hall of Mirrors is located between the Queen and the King's Apartments, where a large terrace was located. This terrace overlooked the beautiful garden of the Versailles Palace.

However, this terrace became a problem whenever bad weather struck around. That's why the Hall of Mirrors was built in the place of the terrace. It only takes an hour or so from Paris to reach the Versailles Palace.

There are also other rooms in the Versailles Palace, like the War Room, which is located in the Palace, and the Peace room is another room that is symmetrical to the War Room. Both rooms were decorated by the artist, Charles Le Brun.

These rooms hold beautiful artworks that depict Louis XIV's reign, his military victories, marble panels that are decorated with six weapons and trophies in gilded bronze, two sculptures of Pheme, and more.

Characteristics Of The Hall Of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors was created to show the power and height of politics by King Louis XIV. The 357 mirrors of the hall, 43 chandeliers that could hold 1,000 candles, 17 arches, and more make the hall so beautiful that the hall was once called the Grande Galerie.

The most important part of the hall are the 17 arches that each hold 21 mirrors, which equates to a total of 357 mirrors. These marble pilasters didn't only demonstrate the artistic prowess of France, but was also able to project the French monarchy's power when it was created.

Upon the request of the French statesman, Jean-Baptiste Colbert ordered the French artist Charles Le Brun to include a new design on the Rouge de Rance pilasters which were called 'the French style'. The design includes fleur-de-lis, the national emblems topped by two Gallic roosters, and a royal sun in between.

There are also many beautiful paintings on the ceiling of the hall.

These ceiling paintings include a painting of 'The War With Holland' or the Franco-Dutch war (1672-1678). The trompe l'œil paintings and the medallions include a 'War Of Devolution' (1667-1668) painting.

The busts and vases in the hall were from the Royal collections, while two out of four alabaster tables were from the Duc d'Antin collections. There are also 26 small chandeliers and 17 large chandeliers.

These are all made of silver and can hold 1,000 candles. These chandeliers even inspired Empress Maria Theresa of Austria to have her own version of these chandeliers with more intricate tiers of drops and beads, mainly on gold or silver-tinted structure.

There have been quite a few books named 'Hall Of Mirrors', and one of them even revolves around the time of King Louis XIV, the sun king, and the duchess Elisabeth Charlotte d'Orleans. The story doesn't revolve around the sun king, but the duchess and her discoveries amidst political issues surrounding her.

Architecture And Purpose Of The Hall Of Mirrors

The Hall of Mirrors was built by the architect Jules Hardouin-Mansart and designed by the painter Charles Le Brun with beautiful paintings. At first, the hall was used as a passageway and then as a place for political, diplomatic receptions, weddings, games, balls, and more.

The Hall of Mirrors is actually the most famous room of the Palace of Versailles. It replaced the large terrace that opened into the Palace's garden.

The terrace was located between the King and Queen's Apartments and was open to all sorts of bad weather. The work on the hall replacing the terrace began in 1678 and ended in 1684.

King Louis XIV was the embodiment of France back then, and he meant for his Palace, the Palace of Versailles, to reflect the power and wealth of France. He wanted to strengthen the position and status of the nation in Europe in terms of wealth, power, military feats, and arts.

Back then, Venice had a monopoly on making mirrors, and they were imported solely from Italy, which cost a lot.

Hence, the King wanted to build the hall as a way to show that France was able to produce just as much and of good quality as any other nation. Thus, everything in the hall was exclusively made in France.

The hall has a length of 240 ft (73 m), a width of 35 ft (10.6 m), and a height of 40 ft (12.2 m). The mirrors on the arch reflect the beautiful garden of the Palace.

There are 30 compositions of paintings on the vaulted ceiling. These paintings depict the history and glory of France and Louis XIV. There are also rows of large crystal and gold statues that stand lined up on two sides of the room.

The hall was used for political, diplomatic receptions, royal weddings, balls, games, and more. Under the policies of the French Court, who used to be seated on two sides of the room, the Ottoman Empire (1742), the ambassadors of Persia (1715), the Doge of Genoa, and the ambassadors of Siam (1686) crossed the gallery's full length.