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Why The Palace and Park of Versailles should be kept a World Heritage Site Part of the Garden INTRODUCTION. The spectacular Palace of Versailles is in Versailles, France. It has been a World Heritage Site since 1979. Versailles Palace was home to many members of French royalty, including Louis XIV, Louis the XV, Louis XVI and his wife Marie Antoinette. It took 30 years and 30,000 workers to build the 2,000 room palace and 1,900 acres of gardens under the rule of King Louis XIV in the 17th century. The Palace of Versailles should remain on the UNESCO World Heritage Sites list for cultural, architectural, historical and aesthetic reasons. WHERE IS IT? Versailles palace is located at 55-71 Avenue de Paris, 78000 Versailles. It is located 20 kilometres south west of Paris. It's coordinates are 48.804404°N 2.123162°E. Versailles is also the name of the town within which the Palace is located. Map of Versailles Palace Map of Versailles location WHAT CRITERIA DID YOUR SITE MEET? Versailles Palace and Gardens is an absolute masterpiece. It meets three of the ten criteria required of a site to be on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Firstly, it clearly represents amazing creative genius generated by humans, involving 30,000 workers in its construction and 6,000 daily staff. Versailles Palace and extensive formal, landscaped gardens are opulent and impressive. They have been copied on a smaller scale by Monarchs and prominent people over the centuries including Kind William 1st at Hampton Court Palace in the UK. Versailles Palace also illustrates an important switch of human values over a distinct period of time. The site was built for and enjoyed by the French royalty of the past, at the financial expense and suffering of the French people. Wealth and image were more highly valued by royalty, rather than providing the ordinary people with a good standard of living. Finally, the site is directly associated with events of brilliant worldwide significance. After more than 200 years of suffering under monarchs, the reign of Kings and Queens ended with the French Revolution of 1789. The extravagance of Versailles was no longer to be enjoyed by royalty. WHY IS YOUR SITE MORE AT RISK THAN OTHER WORLD HERITAGE SITES Versailles Palace receives about 5.4 million visitors a year which makes it a great way for France to make money from tourism. However, with so many people traipsing through, there is also wear and tear of the Palace and Gardens, along with risks of damage and theft to the 7,000 paintings, 2,900 sculptures and 2,500 art objects. The site should be treated like a priceless painting, where the number of people allowed in each year is controlled, along with how close they can come to the precious objects. Weather is and always will be a threat to the gardens and external structure of the Palace. These will only be maintained as long as the French Government continues to allocate money towards the ongoing restoration and maintenance of the site. WHY IS YOUR SITE SO IMPORTANT FOR ITS COUNTRY? Versailles Palace is extremely important to its country. It reminds the French of their past monarchy and the royals' opulence that was only made possible through the suffering of the people. It is a type of rule unpopular with the current generation. It is a profitable tourist attraction all year round and there is also a sense of pride that the structural and landscape architecture has been admired and copied in other countries. CONCLUSION. Versailles Palace is an impressively beautiful site that houses thousands of cultural items available for viewing by people from all over the world who visit. It is directly linked to a major historical event that changed the future rule and standard of living in France. It is valued by the French government who allocates significant funds to its upkeep. It is for these reasons that Versailles Palace should stay permanently on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Famous Hall of Mirrors inside Versailles Palace BIBLIOGRAPHY. WEBSITES: • Dyer, K. 2012, Versailles, http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Western_Europe/France/france6.htm, 27-08-2012. • Lemoine, P. 1991, History of Versailles, http://www.blakeneymanor.com/versailles.html, 27-08-2012. • Wikipedia. 2012, Palace of Versailles – Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Versailles, 27-08-2012. • Pegard, C. 2012, Homepage- the Palace of Versailles, http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage, 28-08-2012. • UNESCO World Heritage. 2012, Palace and Park of Versailles, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/83/, 27-08-2012. • B, David. 2012, Avenue De Paris, Versailles Latitude and Longitude, http://www.findlatitudeandlongitude.com/?loc=Avenue+de+Paris%2C+78000+Versailles%2C+France&id=105295,28-08-2012. • Architecture, World. 2012, World Architecture Images Versailles Palace, http://www.paris-architecture.info/PA-043.htm, 28-08-2012. • Guides, Worlds. 2012, Versailles Travel Guide and Tourist Information, http://www.versailles.world-guides.com/, 28-08-2012. BOOKS: • Ehrlich, E. (2012). France 2012, New Jersey, Wiley Publishing Inc. • Roberts, C. (2011). Not For Parents PARIS EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW, 1st edition. Australia, Weldon Owen PTY LTD and Lonely Planet. • Smart, B. and Srivastava, B. (2012). Family Guide Paris, UK, Dorling Kindersley Publishing.