The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, often simply called the Arc de Triomphe, is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France. It is located at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly known as the "Place de l’Étoile", named for the star-shaped configuration formed by the convergence of twelve radiating avenues. The monument is situated at the intersection of three arrondissements: the 16th, the 17th, and the 8th. Commissioned to honor those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the Arc bears the names of French victories and its generals engraved on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I, marked by an eternal flame commemorating unidentified fallen soldiers of the French Nation.
The central cohesive element of the Axe historique, the Arc de Triomphe was designed by Jean-François Chalgrin in 1806; its iconographic programme depicts heroically nude warriors and set the tone for public monuments with triumphant patriotic messages. Inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy, the Arc de Triomphe has an overall height of 49.54 m, width of 44.82 m and depth of 22.21 m, while its large vault is 29.19 m high and 14.62 m wide. The smaller transverse vaults are 18.68 m high and 8.44 m wide.
Paris’s Arc de Triomphe was the tallest triumphal arch until the completion of the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City, Mexico in 1938, which is 67 m high. The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, North Korea, completed in 1982, is modeled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at 60 m. The Grande Arche in La Défense near Paris, France is 110 m high, and, if considered to be a triumphal arch, is the world’s tallest.
Sources
- Wikipédia (fr) : Arc de triomphe de l’Étoile
- Wikipedia (en): Arc de Triomphe
- Wikidata: Q64436
- Official website
Text: introduction of the Wikipedia article Arc de Triomphe, under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence (authors: article history). Facts: Wikidata (CC0). Coordinates: Wikidata, map background © OpenStreetMap contributors.