Architecture

Friday, 2 January 2026
29 facts about Palace of Versailles
29 facts about Palace of Versailles
Former residence of the kings of France
The Palace of Versailles is one of the largest palace complexes in Europe. It is part of the historical and cultural heritage of France, as a symbol o ...

Did you know?

Mont Saint-Michel
Since 1523, the abbot of the sanctuary was appointed directly by the King of France.
Often it was a layman who benefited from the income of the monastery. The monastery depopulated, als ...
White house
Among the oldest trees on the grounds surrounding the White House are magnolias (Magnolia grandiflora) planted by Andrew Jackson.
Among them is a Jackson magnolia, reportedly grown from a shoot taken from a favorite tree of Jackso ...
Tower Bridge
The bridge used to be lifted by a steam engine weighing 2,000 tons.
Nowadays, the bridge is lifted by electric devices.
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
The outer shell of the building is made of thirty-three thousand titanium plates.
These pates are arranged in a scalloped pattern on a galvanized steel structure. The museum’s titanium shell weighs just 60 tons-titanium weighs half as much as steel.
Empire State Building
The building uses more than 40 million kilowatt-hours of electricity each year.
Tower's peak electricity use tops out at about 9.5 megawatts.
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia combines the features of a basilica - an elongated building founded on a rectangular or Latin cross plan - and a central building - based on a circular plan.
The basilica type is characteristic for the Christian architecture of the Latin circle and the centr ...
Windsor Castle
In 1992, there was a great fire at Windsor Castle.
It lasted 15 hours and caused extensive damage. The fire spread quickly and destroyed nine main stat ...
Tower of London
The Tower of London is the oldest preserved palace and defense building in London, built in 1078 for William the Conqueror.
William the Conqueror also known as William the Bastard was King of England and Duke of Normandy. He ...
Windsor Castle
During the reign of George V, the dynastic name of the German Royal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha also changed.
King George decided to take the name from the castle and the royal family became the House of Windsor in 1917. This change was dictated by anti-German sentiments during World War I.
Notre-Dame
Most coronations of French kings were held in Reims. Only two - Henry VI and Napoleon Bonaparte - were crowned at Notre-Dame de Paris.
The coronation of English King Henry VI Lancaster as King of France at Notre Dame de Paris took place on December 16, 1431. Napoleon's coronation as Emperor of France took place on December 2, 1804.