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Origin and history

The Grand Commun, also called "Grand Quarré des Offices Communes du Roy, de la Reyne, de Monseigneur et de Madame la Dauphine", was built between 1682 and 1684 by Jules Hardouin-Mansart on the site of the church of Saint-Julien. This building, organized around an inner courtyard, housed the kitchens and tables of the officers serving the courtyard of Versailles, as well as rooms for courtiers. It symbolized the complex logistics organization necessary for the daily operation of the castle.

Archaeological excavations carried out between 2006 and 2007 by INRAP revealed, under the courtyard of the Grand Commun, the remains of the palm game of Louis XIII (1630), an enclosure of his former castle, and a cemetery of the Upper Middle Ages probably linked to the church of Saint-Julien. The playroom, built by Philibert Le Roy, was 33 metres by 14, with thick walls and interior galleries, typical of the games "inside". These discoveries illustrate the superimposition of eras on this historic site.

In 1832 the Grand Commun became a military hospital, later renamed the Dominique-Larrey Hospital as a tribute to the surgeon of the Great Army. Ranked a historic monument in 1929, it was restored in 1996 to the administration of the Palace of Versailles. After a major restoration completed in 2011, it has been hosting since 2016 the administrative services and the Castle Research Centre, linked by an underground gallery.

The building, closed to the public, retains remarkable architecture, with restored French frames and ceilings, as well as 320 replaced windows. Its history reflects the changes in Versailles, moving from a royal place of service to a contemporary administrative and scientific site.

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