In spite of the many royal domains which he had at his disposal, it was
at Versailles, where, according to the word of Saint-Simon, there existed only
a "little house of cards" which Louis XIII had made there to no
longer sleep on the straw. In 1661 Louis XIV chose to build a castle worthy of
its prestige. Taking over the team that built Vaux-le-Vicomte, the ruler
launched the largest construction site of the century that will employ up to
36,000 workers. In 1682, the Sun King and the court officially settled in
Versailles. The castle was the home of the kings of France until the revolution
of 1789.