Salle du Jeu de Paume in Versailles, France
A few blocks from the lavish Palace of Versailles, hidden behind a small side street, you can find a commemoration of one of the most pivotal events in French history. Built so that the cream of the French nobility could have a place to play Jeu de Paume, a precursor to modern tennis, this large wooden room played a very minor role in the life of the nearby palace until the fateful year of 1789.…
In a quiet side street near the opulent Palace of Versailles, there lies a modest commemoration dedicated to a significant event in French history. This wooden room, originally built to host a precursor to modern tennis, known as Jeu de Paume, has played a minor role in the Palace's history until 1789.
That year, King Louis XVI convened delegates from various parts of France to discuss the kingdom's financial woes. The tensions between the king and representatives of the Third Estate, who comprised everyone outside the nobility and clergy, escalated on June 20. When these delegates were barred from their regular meeting hall and feared a royal intervention, they found an alternative venue - the royal tennis court, conveniently located nearby.
Under the leadership of Jean Sylvain Bailly, a principled polymath, the Third Estate delegates declared the formation of the National Assembly of France. They took an oath not to disband until France secured a constitution. This act marked the beginning of the French Revolution, as it was the first significant assertion of power by the Third Estate independent of the king.
The Tennis Court Oath continues to exist in some form or another since June 30, 1789. Today, the room serves as a small museum showcasing the Revolution. It houses a statue of Bailly, busts of other oath-takers, an original Jeu de Paume racket, architectural models of the tennis court and the Bastille prison, and a massive recreation of Jacques Louis David's unfinished painting of the Tennis Court Oath.
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