Royal Palace of La Granja de San Ildefonso (farm) alongside the lodge and shrine. The site was purchased from the monks in 1719 by King Philip V, after his summer palace nearby at Valsaín burned to a shell. He was the first Spanish king from the French Bourbon dynasty. Beginning in 1721, Philip began building a new palace and gardens modeled on Versailles, built by his grandfather, Louis XIV of France. Like Versailles it embraced a "cour d'honneur" on the approaching side, and formal gardens, with a main axis centred on the palace, that were surrounded by woodland in which further hidden garden features were disposed. Like Versailles,
1978 Palace of Versailles bombing against the signing of the Breton Cultural Charter. The group were trying to 'punish' the French state for its annexation of the former-independent Brittany region. The FLB's activities were usually confined to Brittany itself. German tabloid "Die Welt" later said no reasonable French wants the state to grant independence to peripheral provinces, "nor Brittany, nor Alsace, nor Occitania." The Palace of Versailles became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. 1978 Palace of Versailles bombing The Palace of Versailles bombing took place around 2:30 am on Monday 26 June 1978 when terrorists belonging to the Breton Liberation Front (FLB) detonated