Palace of Versailles campaigns, expenses for Versailles became more of a matter for public record, especially after Jean-Baptiste Colbert assumed the post of finance minister. Expenditures on Versailles have been recorded in the compendium known as the "Comptes des bâtiments du roi sous le règne de Louis XIV" and which were edited and published in five volumes by Jules Guiffrey in the 19th century. These volumes provide valuable archival material pursuant to the financial expenditure on all aspects of Versailles such as the payments disbursed for many trades as varied as artists and mole catchers. To counter the costs of Versailles during the
Palace of Versailles Queen Victoria in the Royal Opera of Versailles on August 25, 1855. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, the Palace was occupied by the general staff of the victorious German Army. Parts of the chateau, including the Gallery of Mirrors, were turned into a military hospital. The creation of the German Empire, combining Prussia and the surrounding German states under William I, was formally proclaimed in the Hall of Mirrors on January 18, 1871. The Germans remained in the Palace until the signing of the armistice in March 1871. In that month, the government of the new Third French Republic,