The Arc de Triomphe in Paris. It is one of the most spectacular monumental works in Paris , due in part to its special location in Place de l’Etoile (today Place Charles de Gaulle ), from which 12 avenues start radially, one of them the famous Avenue des Champs Elysees . Each of its four pillars has a sculpture, each having a meaning: Le Triomphe (The Triumph), La Résistance (The Resistance), La Paix (La Paz) and La Marseillaise (La Marseillaise).
Summary
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- 1 Story
- 2 Characteristics
- 3 Photo gallery
- 4 Sources
History
Night Triumph Hoop
In the mid- eighteenth century , a time of great urban development in the city such as the opening of the great avenues, the place where the arch is currently located was a large empty square. The ideas to occupy this space were numerous and some crazy, such as building a giant elephant with a theater and a dance hall.
It was Napoleon who, having returned triumphant from the Battle of Austerlitz, decided to build a great arch, in the style of the Roman triumphal arches, in commemoration of the glory of his army and battles.
Thus, in 1806 , he entrusted the project to the architect Jean-François Chalgrin , who was succeeded by Goust and Huyot, and the work was completed under the reign of Luis Felipe in 1836 , without Napoleon being able to see it completed. When his ashes reached France on December 15 , 1840 , the procession passed under the Arc de Triomphe. Also as a tribute, the body of Víctor Hugo was veiled all night there, on May 22 , 1885 , before being buried in the Pantheon.
The dimensions of the arch are harmonic, with a height of 50 meters by 45 wide. Its 4 pillars were decorated with allegorical high reliefs, works by Cortot, Etex and Rude: El Triunfo, La Paz, la Resistencia and the most famous of them, “Le depart de volontaires de 1792 ” (the departure of volunteers), better known as La Marseillaise, the work of Rude. In it Liberty, represented by a winged woman, encourages the French to fight for their freedom.
The internal faces have inscribed the names of the battles and 660 names of generals, marshals and officers who fought for France; those that are underlined correspond to those killed in combat. The urbanization works in the Place de l’Etoile concluded in 1854 and a few years later another 7 avenues were opened, as part of the projects of Baron Haussmann, completing the 12 that we see today.
By paying a ticket you enter the interior of the arch, where there is a museum that explains the construction process and the history of the famous arch and then you can go up to the roof, from where the panoramic views of the city and the other monuments are spectacular, especially on clear and sunny days.
Characteristics
The Arc de Triomphe is colossal in dimensions, 51 meters high and 45 wide, and proof of this is that in 1919 , three weeks after the military parade commemorating the French victory in World War I , pilot Charles Godefroy passed by under the arch with his biplane.
The names of revolutionaries of the time are engraved on the outer walls of the Arc de Triomphe, as well as the vestments of Napoleon I , while the names of the 558 Generals of the French Empire are inscribed on the inner walls . Inside the Arch there is a museum dedicated to the history and construction of this monument and on its roof you can enjoy fabulous views.
At the foot of the arch is, since 1921 , the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the First World War , where the eternal flame burns that is maintained daily by associations of ex-combatants and their descendants and where it reads: “Ici rest a soldat français mort pour la Patrie 1914 – 1918 “(here lies a French soldier who died for the Fatherland). Every November 11 , the date of the signing of the armistice between France and Germany in 1918 , an act is held commemorating those anonymous heroes.
