Without simply repeating the lecture notes explain why Versailles Palace and Gardens were built, and the role they played during the rule of King Louis XIV?

Background

Originally intended as a hunting lodge for King Louis XIII, Versailles was transformed during the rein of Louis XIV, the Sun King, into one of the grandest examples of a royal palace and gardens. From a young age, Louis XIV had a wariness of rebellion, as there had been many instances of such leading up to his official reign as king. Because of this wariness, Louis XIV had a distrust of Paris, and preferred to spend his time elsewhere, prompting his interest in Versailles as a new central location for his rule.

A young Louis XIV
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_XIV_of_France

Politics

The relative remoteness of Versailles also offered the added benefit of forcing nobles to stay at the palace when visiting the King of business, rendering them dependent on him, and preventing them from building up regional alliances while visiting. Versailles was also viewed as an elaborate “cage” where nobles were, out of necessity, forced to live, allowing the king to keep them close and prevent any ascendancy in rank that may have threatened him.

Hall of Mirrors, Versailles
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hall_of_Mirrors

Power

The elaborate design of the palace and surrounding gardens was used as a means for displaying the king’s achievements and power, from the overall grandeur to particular features such as the famed Hall of Mirrors, depicting a narrative of the king’s aspirations of power. The mere fact that per Louis XIV’s insistence Versailles was built on a marshland is a display of his power in overcoming nature. Furthermore, the creation of the gardens of Versailles, commissioned to Andrè le Nôtre, including steps such as the uprooting and addition of fully-grown trees from other areas in France, a feat of its own that demonstrated Louis XIV’s overarching influence and wealth. Elaborate and highly innovative water features, as well as continuing allusions to the god Apollo further cemented the gardens’ intended use as a depiction of immense power.

Gardens at Versailles
http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Europe/France/North/Ile-de-France/Versailles/photo753814.htm

For more information on the history of Versailles and Louis XIV:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/louis_xiv.shtml

http://www.livescience.com/38903-palace-of-versailles-facts-history.html

http://en.chateauversailles.fr/gardens-and-park-of-the-chateau-