Palaces
Build a large palace: a block, a U with a court of honour or a closed court. Choose the style of a country, the number of bays and storeys, projecting pavilions with a pediment, pilasters, rustication, a balustrade or mansard roof and a dome. More than forty examples help you start, from the Winter Palace to Versailles. At the bottom you can read how everything is calculated.
Point at a block for the explanation. Click a block to mark it as placed. In the side view you see the section at the chosen column, in Layer the chosen layer from above.
Build plan
Per layer
| Layer | Parts | Blocks |
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A number is the count of blocks of that part in that layer, in the colour of the part. Click a layer to see it from above.
Build tips
- A palace is mostly symmetry. Build the middle part first and work outwards, left and right at the same time.
- A palace a hundred blocks wide is a lot of work. Build one wing completely first, and copy it with WorldEdit.
3D and layer-by-layer build plan
To Minecraft
Download the palace as a schematic file and paste it with WorldEdit, or build it after a hologram in Litematica. The doors, the water of the fountain and the iron railings come with it.
How it is calculated
History and fun facts
From fortress to palace
A castle was built to defend. A palace is built to impress. When the cannon made high walls useless in the 15th and 16th centuries, rulers preferred to build their homes as palaces, with large windows, a court and a wide staircase.
A palace housed more than the ruler. It was also the centre of government, the stage of court life and a proof of power. The longer the front, the greater the king.
What is in a palace?
The hall and the gallery mattered most. In the great hall the ruler received envoys and gave feasts. Around the middle lay the state rooms, behind them the private rooms, and in the wings the servants, the kitchens and the stables.
A palace almost always has a symmetrical front with a central part, often projecting and with a pediment. A court of honour between two wings made visitors cross an impressive space first before they came in.
France: Versailles and the Louvre
The Louvre was first a medieval fortress and became a palace step by step. Versailles was a small hunting lodge that Louis XIV had enlarged into the largest palace of Europe. According to UNESCO it was the main residence of the French kings from Louis XIV to Louis XVI and a model for palaces all over Europe.
The Hall of Mirrors was built in 1678 by Hardouin-Mansart. Charles Le Brun painted the ceiling from 1681 to 1684. The 357 mirrors showed that France could make mirrors itself, so it no longer depended on Venice.
Russia: St Petersburg
In 1754 Empress Elizabeth approved Rastrelli's design for a new winter palace. The building took about eight years, with more than 4,000 workers. Each front got its own rhythm. After a fire in 1837 the interiors were rebuilt by Stasov.
At Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo the tsars built summer palaces in pastel colours, with white columns and golden domes. The Winter Palace is now the largest part of the Hermitage.
Germany and Austria
After Versailles, German princes built their own palaces. Potsdam-Sanssouci is called the Prussian Versailles: about 150 buildings, built between 1730 and 1916. In Vienna, Schönbrunn was the residence of the Habsburg emperors from the 18th century to 1918. The zoo there, from 1752, is the oldest in the world.
Italy and Spain
The Royal Palace of Caserta was designed by Vanvitelli for Charles of Bourbon, who wanted to rival Versailles and Madrid. It has four courts.
In Madrid the old Alcázar burned down on Christmas Eve 1734. In 1738 the first stone of the new Palacio Real was laid, and around 1751 it was finished. Charles III moved in in 1764.
England and Sweden
Buckingham Palace was first Buckingham House, which George III bought in 1761. From 1825 John Nash turned it into a palace, and since 1837 it has been the London residence of the sovereign. Blenheim Palace was built between 1705 and 1722 as a gift for the Duke of Marlborough, after his victory in 1704.
In Sweden, Drottningholm is the finest example of a north European royal residence modelled on Versailles. The palace theatre of 1766 still has its original stage machinery.
Building palaces in Minecraft
A palace is mostly symmetry and repetition. Start in the middle, with the projecting pavilion and the pediment, and then work outwards. Build one wing completely and copy it with WorldEdit if you want two.
Choose the colours of the country: pastels for Russia, cream and grey lead for France, yellow for Vienna and Stockholm, white for Greece and Turkey, red brick for the Netherlands and the Tudors.
Did you know?
- The Hall of Mirrors at Versailles has 357 mirrors.
- The Winter Palace in St Petersburg is now the main building of the Hermitage.
- The Palacio Real in Madrid was built after a fire on Christmas Eve 1734.
- Buckingham Palace has been the London residence of the sovereign since 1837.
- The zoo of Schönbrunn from 1752 is the oldest in the world.
- Blenheim Palace was a gift from the English nation to the Duke of Marlborough.
Sources and further reading
Read more about the history here. The links go to museums, archives and heritage organisations outside this site.
- Palace and Park of Versailles (opens in a new tab) UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The palace and gardens of Versailles. - The Hall of Mirrors (opens in a new tab) Château de Versailles
The Hall of Mirrors, the building and the mirrors, told by the palace itself. - Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments (opens in a new tab) UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The Winter Palace and the other monuments of St Petersburg. - The Construction of the Winter Palace (opens in a new tab) The State Hermitage Museum
The building of the Winter Palace according to the museum itself. - Palaces and Parks of Potsdam and Berlin (opens in a new tab) UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Sanssouci and the New Palace. - Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn (opens in a new tab) UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The Habsburg summer palace in Vienna. - El Palacio Real de Madrid (opens in a new tab) Patrimonio Nacional
The history of the Palacio Real, by its owner itself (Spanish-language page). - Who built Buckingham Palace? (opens in a new tab) Royal Collection Trust
From Buckingham House to palace. - Blenheim Palace (opens in a new tab) UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The Baroque palace of the Duke of Marlborough. - Royal Domain of Drottningholm (opens in a new tab) UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The Swedish Versailles.
About this tool
With this tool you build a large palace in Minecraft. You choose a style from a country, for example Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Greece, Turkey, England or Sweden, and a plan: a block, a U with a court of honour or a closed court around a courtyard.
You set the number of bays, the storeys and the depth yourself. On top of that you choose projecting pavilions with a pediment, pilasters over several storeys, rustication, a string course, a balcony above the entrance and a balustrade, battlements or a mansard roof with dormers. A dome in the middle or small domes on the corners finish it.
More than forty examples help you start, such as the Winter Palace, Versailles, the Louvre, Het Loo, Schönbrunn, Sanssouci, Caserta, the Palacio Real, Dolmabahçe, Buckingham Palace, Blenheim and Drottningholm.
The tool works everything out. You see the layer-by-layer plan, the 3D view, the number of blocks in stacks and shulker boxes, and you can download the design as a schematic for WorldEdit or Litematica.
Frequently asked questions
How do I build a palace in Minecraft?
Choose an example or a style and adjust the sizes. First mark out the plan and the corners and count out the bays. Then build the middle pavilion, then the wings, and the roof and dome last.
How many blocks do I need for a palace?
That depends on the size. The counter shows the building blocks, the trim and the roofs separately, and with 'Add to my list' you see everything in stacks and shulker boxes. A large palace soon costs tens of thousands of blocks.
Why are the examples smaller than in real life?
A real palace is often 200 to 400 metres wide. That is far too much work in Minecraft. So the examples are made to stay recognisable at about half or a quarter of the real size. You can make everything larger yourself.
What is a court of honour?
A court of honour, in French cour d'honneur, is an open courtyard between two wings in front of the main building. A visitor first walked past the wings before reaching the entrance. Versailles and Blenheim have one.
Can I build this palace in Bedrock?
The layer-by-layer plan works in every version, including Bedrock. The schematic file is for Minecraft Java, with WorldEdit or Litematica.