The arc from the street

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France that stands in the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile (Star Square). Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Place de l'Étoile is a large Road junction in Paris, France, the meeting point of twelve straight avenues (hence the name "Star Square" It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (ʃɑ̃zeliˈze) is the most prestigious avenue in Paris. The arch honors those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.

The Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe historique) — a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris. The Axe historique ("historical axis" is a line of monuments buildings and thoroughfares that extends from the centre of Paris, France, to the The Louvre Museum (Musée du Louvre located in Paris is the world's most visited art museum a historic monument and a national museum of France The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail and set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant nationalistic messages, until World War I. Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – January 21, 1811) was a French architect best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris Iconography is the branch of Art history which studies the identification description and the interpretation of the content of images Depictions of nudity refers to Nudity in all the artistic disciplines including Vernacular and historical depictions The Germanic peoples are a historical group of Indo-European -speaking peoples originating in Northern Europe and identified by their use of the Germanic Mail (also maille, often given as chain mail or chain maille) is a type of Armour or jewellery that consists of small metal rings linked World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

The monument stands 49. 5 metres (165 ft) in height, 45 metres (148 ft) wide and 22 meters (72 ft) deep. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence (replaced in 1984 by a Korean arc of triumphe). A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental Archway, in theory built to celebrate a victory in war actually used to celebrate a ruler ^[1] Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arch of Titus is a Pentelic marble Triumphal arch with a single arched opening located on the Via Sacra just to the south-east of the Forum The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured in a newsreel. Godefroy ( Gothofredus) a French noble family which numbered among its members several distinguished Jurists and Historians The family claimed Nieuport, later Nieuport-Delage, was a French aeroplane company famous for racers before World War I and fighter aircraft during World War I ^[2]

History

There was a pre-Napoleonic (1758) proposal by Charles Ribart for an elephant-shaped building on the location of the current arch. Charles-François Ribart was an 18th century French Architect.

The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by the Emperor Napoleon I at the peak of his fortunes. The Battle of Austerlitz (Bitva u Slavkova also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of Napoleon's greatest victories effectively destroying the Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Laying the foundations alone took two years, and in 1810 when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. Marie Louise of Austria (Maria Luisa von Österreich French: Marie Louise d'Autriche; Italian: Maria Luisa d'Austria; b The architect Jean Chalgrin died in 1811, and the work was taken over by Huyon. During the Restoration, construction was halted and would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, in 1833–36 when the architects on site were Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury. Following the ousting of Napoleon I of France in 1814 the Allies restored the Bourbon Dynasty to the French throne Louis Philippe ( 6 October 1773 &ndash 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848 in what was known as the Louis-Étienne François Héricart-Ferrand vicomte de Thury ( Paris 3 June 1776 — Rome 15 January 1854, was a French

The design

Cast of the head of a figure from François Rude's sculpture "La Marseillaise"

Since the fall of Napoleon (1815), the sculpture representing Peace is interpreted as commemorating the Peace of 1815.

The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin (1739–1811), in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture. Astylar (from Gr a-, privative and vrukos, a column is an Architectural term given to a class of design in which neither Columns nor Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin (1739 – January 21, 1811) was a French architect best known for his design for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris Neoclassicism (sometimes rendered as Neo-Classicism or Neo-classicism) is the name given to quite distinct movements in the decorative and The Architecture of Ancient Rome adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Cortot; Rude; Étex; Pradier and Lemaire. An academy ( Greek Ἀκαδημία is an institution of higher learning research or honorary membership Jean-Pierre Cortot (1787 – 1843 both Paris) was a French sculptor François Rude ( January 4, 1784 - November 3, 1855) was a French sculptor. Antoine Étex ( March 20, 1808 - July 14, 1888) French sculptor, painter and Architect, was James Pradier, also known as Jean-Jacques Pradier ( 1790 - June 4, 1852) was a Swiss -born French sculptor The main sculptures are not integral friezes but are treated as independent trophies applied to the vast ashlar masonry masses, not unlike the gilt-bronze appliqués on Empire furniture. In Architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an Entablature and may be plain or &ndash in the Ionic or Corinthian order &ndash Ashlar is dressed stone work of any type of stone Ashlar blocks are large rectangular blocks of Masonry sculpted to have square edges and even faces In its broadest sense an applique or appliqué is a smaller ornament or device applied to another surface The Empire Style, sometimes considered the second phase of Neoclassicism, is an early-19th-century Design movement in Architecture, Furniture The four sculptural groups at the base of the Arc are The Triumph of 1810 (Jean-Pierre Cortot), Resistance and Peace (both by Antoine Étex) and the most renowned of them all, Departure of the Volunteers of '92 commonly called La Marseillaise (François Rude). Jean-Pierre Cortot (1787 – 1843 both Paris) was a French sculptor Antoine Étex ( March 20, 1808 - July 14, 1888) French sculptor, painter and Architect, was " La Marseillaise " (la maʁsɛˡjɛz in English The Song of Marseille) is the National anthem of France. François Rude ( January 4, 1784 - November 3, 1855) was a French sculptor. The face of the allegorical representation of France calling forth her people on this last was used as the belt buckle for the seven-star rank of Marshal of France. The Marshal of France (Maréchal de France and pl Maréchaux de France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a Military rank.

In the attic above the richly sculptured frieze of soldiers are 30 shields engraved with the names of major Revolutionary and Napoleonic military victories. The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts from 1792 until 1802 fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815 involved Napoleon's French Empire and a shifting set of European allies and opposing coalitions (The Battle of Fuentes de Onoro is described as a French victory, instead of the defeat actually suffered). In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro ( May 3 - 5, 1811) the Anglo-Portuguese army under Viscount Wellington checked an attempt by the French The inside walls of the monument list the names of 558 French generals; the names of those who died in battle are underlined. Also inscribed, on the shorter sides of the four supporting columns, are the names of the major battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The battles which took place in the period between the departure of Napoleon from Elba and his final defeat at Waterloo are not included. Elba (Ilva is an island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino. Waterloo (watəʀˈloː is a Walloon Municipality located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium.

Les "Grandes Guerres" and the Unknown Soldier

The sword carried by the Republic in the Marseillaise relief broke off, on the day, it is said, that the Battle of Verdun began in 1916. The Battle of Verdun was one of the most critical battles in World War I on the Western Front, fought between the German and French The relief was immediately hidden by. . . tarpaulins to conceal the accident and avoid any undesired ominous interpretations. Famous victory marches past the Arc included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1918, the Germans in 1940 [1], and the French and Allies in 1944 [2] and 1945. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The German occupation of France in World War II occurred during the period between May 1940 to December 1944 The Liberation of Paris' (also known as Battle for Paris) took place during World War II from 19 August 1944 until the surrender of Charles de Gaulle survived an attack upon him at the Arc during a parade. Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle ( ( 22 November 1890 – 9 November 1970) was a French General and statesman who led the Free French

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the First World War. Throughout history many Soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified Throughout history many Soldiers have died in wars without their remains being identified World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Interred here on Armistice Day 1920, it has the first eternal flame lit in Western and Eastern Europe since the Vestal Virgins' fire was extinguished in the year 391. Armistice Day is the anniversary of the symbolic end of World War I on 11 November, 1918. An eternal flame is a flame or torch that burns constantly The flame that burned constantly at Delphi, was an archaic feature "alien to the ordinary Greek temple" In Ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins ( sacerdos Vestalis) were the virgin Holy female Priests of Vesta, the Goddess of the It burns in memory of the dead who were never identified (now in both World Wars). France took the example of the United Kingdom's tomb of The Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The British tomb of The Unknown Warrior holds an unidentified British soldier killed on a European battlefield during World War I. The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, which is almost always referred to by its original name of Westminster Abbey, is a large mainly Gothic church A ceremony is held there every 11 November on the anniversary of the armistice signed between France and Germany in 1918. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare The armistice treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed in a railway carriage in Compiègne Forest on November 11, 1918 It was originally decided in 12 November 1919 to bury the unknown soldier's remains in the Panthéon, but a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc. Events 764 - Tibetan troops occupy Chang'an, the capital of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, for fifteen days Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common The Panthéon ( Latin Pantheon, from Greek Pantheon meaning "All the gods" is a building in the Latin Quarter The coffin was put in the chapel on the first floor of the Arc on 10 November 1920, and put in its final resting place on 28 January 1921. Events 1444 - Battle of Varna: The crusading forces of King Vladislaus III of Varna (aka Ulaszlo I of Hungary and Wladyslaw Year 1920 ( MCMXX) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display 1920 of the Gregorian calendar Events 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The Excommunication of Henry IV Holy Roman Emperor is lifted Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar The slab on top carries the inscription ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918 ("Here lies a French soldier who died for his fatherland 1914–1918").

Arc de Triomphe at night

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy of the United States paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by French President de Gaulle. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy (May 29 1917&ndashNovember 22 1963 often referred to by his initials JFK, was the thirty-fifth President of After the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs. The assassination of John F Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday November 22 1963 in Dallas Texas Kennedy remembered the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe and requested that an eternal flame be placed next to her husband's grave at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States, established during the American Civil War President de Gaulle went to Washington to attend the state funeral, and he was able to witness Jacqueline Kennedy lighting the eternal flame that was inspired by her visit to France.

Maintenance

By the early 1960s the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot, and during 1965–1966 the Arc de Triomphe was thoroughly cleaned through sandblasting. Sandblasting or Bead blasting is a generic term for the process of smoothing shaping and cleaning a hard surface by forcing solid particles across that surface at high speeds By 2007 some darkening was again apparent. The arc will soon be sandblasted again, around 2011.

Access

Pedestrian access to the Arc de Triomphe is via an underpass. Dodging the Paris traffic on the roundabout that surrounds the arc is dangerous and is not recommended. The Arc has one lift, to the level underneath the exterior observation level. Visitors can either climb 284 steps to reach the top of the Arc or take the lift and walk up 46 steps. From the top there is a panoramic view of Paris, of twelve major avenues leading to the Étoile and of the exceptionally busy roundabout in which the Arc stands. The Arc de Triomphe is accessible by the RER and Métro at the Charles de Gaulle—Etoile stop. The RER ( R éseau E xpress R égional, ɛʀøɛʀ "Regional Express Network" is a Rapid transit system in France serving Charles de Gaulle — Étoile is a station of the Paris Métro and of the RER urban rail network

Notes

External links

• Inscriptions on the Arc de Triomphe
• The Names of 660 persons inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe
• Photos of the Arc de Triomphe