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1871 and 1919. Europe in the Hall of Mirrors
The proclamation of the German Empire and the signing of a peace treaty brought rival states back to a gallery built for a French king.
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1871. An empire proclaimed in France
During the Franco-Prussian War, German forces occupied Versailles. France had suffered military defeat, Napoleon III had been captured, and Paris was under siege. On 18 January 1871, German princes and military officers gathered in the Hall of Mirrors. King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed German Emperor. The ceremony marked the formation of a German empire under Prussian leadership. Holding it in a palace associated with the French monarchy gave the victory a particularly forceful setting.
1919. Signing the treaty
The fighting on the Western Front stopped with the armistice of 11 November 1918. A peace conference opened in Paris the following year. Allied leaders negotiated the settlement, while Germany was excluded from drafting the treaty and later presented with its terms. On 28 June 1919, representatives of Germany and the Allied and associated powers signed the Treaty of Versailles in this gallery. The choice of room recalled the German imperial proclamation almost half a century earlier. Negotiation had taken place largely in Paris. Versailles provided the setting for the signature.
What the agreement changed
The treaty imposed territorial losses, military restrictions and an obligation to pay reparations on Germany. It also contained the covenant establishing the League of Nations, an organisation intended to help states resolve disputes. Other defeated powers signed separate peace treaties. Many Germans regarded the settlement as imposed and unjust. French leaders sought security after invasion and destruction. The agreement left conflicts that political movements later exploited. The causes of the Second World War also involved subsequent political and economic developments. The room you walk through today still carries Louis XIV’s painted account of his reign overhead. The ceremonies of 1871 and 1919 reused that royal setting to announce a new political order.
Photo gallery 1
Image credits
- Azurfrog · Grand Trianon Salon des malachites.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- G.Garitan · Grand Cabinet madame victoire 1505549.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Pedemann · Grand Trianon Billard.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Jen Wen Luoh · Petit Trianon - Antichambre 01.jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia · Le grand escalier - Petit Trianon (24276910376).jpg · CC BY 2.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Photo: Myrabella / Wikimedia Commons · Cabinet dore Marie-Antoinette Versailles.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Hyperios · Bosquet du théâtre d eau Les Belles Danses.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Léa Le Floc'h · Chateau de Versailles et son reflet.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0 · WebP / AVIF
- Coyau / Wikimedia Commons · Hameau de la Reine, maison de la Reine depuis les Cascatelles 01.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0 · WebP / AVIF