Triumphal arch

About Arc de Triomphe

The construction of the 216-year-old monument started in 1806 when Napoleon I orders to build it to honor the victories of his huge army. The construction took about 30 years to finish (1836) when King Lodewijk Filips was sitting on the throne. All battles and generals from the Revolution and the First Empire are inscribed in this colossal monument. Now, we honor those who have fought and died for France. Later, under the Arc de Triomphe, lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, from the First World War. Its flame is lit every night to honor and respect those who have fallen during the First World War. During this war, Charles Godefroy flew his plane under the arch's primary vault.

Jean-François Chalgrin is the architect who designed the Arc de Triomphe, he used Lutetian Limestone to build the Arc de Triomphe. It is 50 meters (164ft) high, 45 meters (148ft) wide, and has a depth of 22 meters (72ft), which makes this monument quite big. The location of the monument is on the right bank of the Seine. The foundations alone took about 2 years to construct, while the entire monument took 30 years to finish. The arches are decorated with allegorical figures from Roman mythology, the ceiling of the arch is decorated with 21 sculpted roses, and there are more than 13,300 names of fallen soldiers engraved on the Arc de Triomphe. The monument also serves as a memorial to 70,000 soldiers who died in the First World War.

Enjoy the pictures!

Historical Sculptures

There are 6 sculpted reliefs on every side of the Arc de Triomphe, each of them telling and sharing important stories about the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era. Then there are four huge sculptures on each of the Arc's pillars. The most famous of them, The Departure of the Volunteers, also known as La Marseillaise (which I did not photograph this trip), was created by sculptor François Rude. The others were crafted by two other sculptors, Antoine Etex (which I both photographed down below) and Jean-Pierre Cortot.

                     **Crossing the Arcole bridge, November 15, 1796**

The capture of Alexandria, 3 July 1798

The Resistance of 1814

The Peace of 1815