Which king originally built Versailles outside Paris?

• A. Louis XIV
• B. Louis XV
• C. Louis XVI
• D. Henry IV

Answer: (A)

The important idea is that Versailles became a symbol of royal power through a deliberate buildup by Louis XIV. The site outside Paris began as a hunting lodge established in the early 1600s by Louis XIII, but the grand transformation into the palace we associate with Versailles was driven and completed under Louis XIV. He expanded the palace, built the wings and the gardens, and moved the royal court there, using Versailles to display absolute authority and to centralize government away from Paris. Because of this monumental rebuilding and its role as the center of the French state during his reign, Versailles is most closely linked to Louis XIV. While later kings used and added to Versailles, it was Louis XIV who created the grand Versailles that defined the era.