What was the structure of the Palace of Versailles?
It was made of stone. The most common stone used was Parisian limestone (calcaire lutécien). The hardest layers of rock were used for the foundations. “Saint Leu stone is also helly stone, it is soft when extracted but hardens on drying and is very hard-wearing. It must, however, be worked in summer as it is apt to freeze and crack at very low temperatures. It is Saint Leu stone that give Versailles its characteristical pale honey colour. All exterior paving are in Ile-de-France sansdtone, as are the Encaladous basin, the ballroom grobes and the three fountains, on which the natural accretions of sandstone called “kidneys” confer a baroque style decoration.” I believe the floors were also made of stone, although some may have been in marble. The gardens include about 1,400 fountains. It is about 551218 square feet but heavy iron was used as reinforcement and to avoid erosion.
