The Château de Versailles, the grand palace of the kings of France, is in the process of being restored by the French Government to its former palatial glory. The project began in 2003 and is expected to take as long as 20 years to complete. As part of the restoration, the magnificent wrought-iron gates and railings have been replaced are now sparkling with shiny gold leaf.
327 years after the original gates were designed and put in place by Jules Hardouin-Mansart during the reign of Louis XIV, the new ones were put up this summer. They originally separated the Court of Honor from the Royal Court, the most important part of the palace or chateau.
The new gates and walls are one of the most important parts of the restoration project. The plan is to make the Château de Versailles look as it was when the Revolution brought down the monarchy and Ancien regime in 1789. Before work began, a study was made of all information on the gates, railings and walls. It is 80 meters long and needed some 100,000 sheets of gold leaf.
Additional work will include restoration of the façade onto the gardens, the pavement of the Royal Court and some of the roofs. Much of the gardens and trees were destroyed by a storm in 1999 and these are also being restored to their original glory. For visitors or residents of the Paris area, the new Versailles is already a great place to visit.
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