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Saturday 10 December 2016

Palace

A palace is a grand and imposing building that is the official residence of a king or queen, a head of state such as a president, or a high-ranking aristocrat or church dignitary. The word is derived from the proper name of one of the seven hills of Rome, the Palatine Hill. Tradition has it, Romulus traced the first furrow, and around it he built the first wall. When the city spread, the Palatine Hill became the most fashionable district.

When the Roman Empire was established, Augustus, its first ruler, having been born on the Palatine Hill, chose it as the place for his official home. His descendants, especially Nero, enlarged the house and grounds over and over until it took up the hill top. The edifice, the sole residence on Palatine Hill, soon was identified with that name and became known as the Palātium or palace.

Part of the Imperial Palace complex on the Palatine Hill By User:Laurel Lodged - 

The Palace of Westminster was built by King William II between 1097 and 1099; it was the largest hall in England at the time.

The Palace of Versailles was built by Louis XIII of France in 1623 as a hunting lodge and was enlarged into a royal palace by Louis XIV in the 1660s and 1670s.. Over 30,000 laborers and 6000 horses were employed at during the conversion of Versailles into a royal palace.

In 1725, construction of Peterhof, a palace near St Petersburg, was completed. Peterhof (Dutch for "Peter's Court") was a grand residence, becoming known as the "Russian Versailles" (after the great French Palace of Versailles).

Grand Peterhof Palace and the Grand Cascade.By Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov, 

The largest residential palace in the world was built in 1984 for the Sultan of Brunei at Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. The Istana Nurul Iman palace contains 1,788 rooms, with 257 bathrooms, and a banquet hall that can accommodate up to 5,000 guests.

Iolani Palace in Honolulu, Hawaii is the only American palace to have housed real royalty.

Source Europress Family Encyclopedia 1999.

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