The Pont Royal is a bridge crossing the river Seine in Paris . It is the third oldest bridge in Paris, after the Pont Neuf and the Pont Marie .
31-619: The Pont Royal links the Right Bank by the Pavillon de Flore with the Left Bank of Paris between rue du Bac and the rue de Beaune . The bridge is constructed with five elliptical arches en plein cintre . A hydrographic ladder, indicating floods' highest level in Paris, is visible on the last pier nearest each bank. In 1632, the entrepreneur Pierre Pidou directed the construction of
62-783: A French soldier who died for the Fatherland, 1914–1918"). In 1961, U.S. President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by President Charles de Gaulle . After the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy , Mrs. 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. The Arc de Triomphe
93-573: A flood in February 1684. Madame de Sévigné reported that this last incident caused the loss of eight of the bridge's arches. The bridge was finally reconstructed between 25 October 1685 and 13 June 1689, this time with stone , receiving complete financing from King Louis XIV . It was the king who gave it the name Pont Royal . Louvois , director of the Bâtiments du Roi , charged Jacques Gabriel , Jules Hardouin-Mansart and François Romain with
124-603: A last reconstruction in 1850. In 1939, it was classified as a monument historique . In 2005, the Pont Royal was illuminated by lights at night as one of the Paris Olympic Bid highlights. This article was mainly derived from the French Article of the same name. Rive Droite The Rive Droite ( French pronunciation: [la ʁiv dʁwat] ; Right Bank) is most commonly associated with
155-509: A monumental sculpture by Alexandre Falguière topped the arch. Titled Le triomphe de la Révolution ("The Triumph of the Revolution"), it depicted a chariot drawn by horses preparing "to crush Anarchy and Despotism". Inside the monument, a permanent exhibition, conceived by artist Maurice Benayoun and architect Christophe Girault, opened in February 2007. Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of
186-695: A wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect, Jean Chalgrin , died in 1811 and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot . During the Bourbon Restoration , construction was halted, and it would not be completed until the reign of Louis Philippe I , between 1833 and 1836, by the architects Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury . The final cost was reported at about 10,000,000 francs (equivalent to an estimated €65 million or $ 75 million in 2020). On 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena , Napoleon's remains passed under it on their way to
217-644: A wooden toll-bridge which would be called Pont Sainte-Anne (in deference to Anne of Austria ) or Pont Rouge (due to its color). It was designed to replace the Tuileries ferry upon which the rue du Bac ( bac meaning ferry in French) owes its name. The ferry had been offering crossings since 1550. Fragile, this bridge of fifteen arches would be repaired for the first time in 1649, completely redone two years later, burnt in 1654, flooded in 1656, completely rebuilt in 1660, propped up in 1673 and finally carried away by
248-629: Is accessible by the RER and Métro , with exit at the Charles de Gaulle–Étoile station. Because of heavy traffic on the roundabout of which the Arc is the centre, pedestrians use the two underpasses located at the Champs-Élysées and the Avenue de la Grande Armée . A lift will take visitors almost to the top – to the attic, where a small museum contains large models of the Arc and tells its story from
279-507: Is by Jean Chalgrin (1739–1811), in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe : Jean-Pierre Cortot ; François Rude ; Antoine Étex ; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire . The main sculptures are not integral friezes but are treated as independent trophies applied to
310-497: Is the world's tallest. The Arc de Triomphe is located on the right bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues . It was commissioned in 1806, after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years and, in 1810, when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his new bride, Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had
341-731: The Grande Arche is the third arch built on the same perspective. In 1995, the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria placed a bomb near the Arc de Triomphe which wounded 17 people as part of a campaign of bombings . On 12 July 1998, when France won the FIFA World Cup for the first time after defeating Brazil 3–0 at the Stade de France , images of the players including double goal scorer Zinedine Zidane and their names along with celebratory messages were projected onto
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#1732781073089372-552: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I . The central cohesive element of the Axe historique (historic axis, a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route running from the courtyard of the Louvre to the Grande Arche de la Défense), the Arc de Triomphe was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806; its iconographic programme pits heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail . It set
403-485: The Champs-Élysées and U.S. airplanes fly overhead on 29 August 1944. After the interment of the Unknown Soldier , however, all military parades (including the aforementioned post-1919) have avoided marching through the actual arch. The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism. Both Hitler in 1940 and Charles de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom. By
434-758: The Emperor's final resting place at Les Invalides . Before burial in the Panthéon , the body of Victor Hugo was displayed under the Arc on the night of 22 May 1885. 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 relief was immediately hidden by tarpaulins to conceal the accident and avoid any undesired ominous interpretations. On 7 August 1919 three weeks after
465-830: The French ) had cannons installed on the bridge in order to protect the Convention Nationale and the Committee of Public Safety , housed in the Tuileries Palace. During the First French Empire (1804-1814), Napoléon I renamed the bridge the Pont des Tuileries , a name that was kept until the Restoration in 1814 when Louis XVIII gave back to the bridge its royal name. The bridge underwent
496-475: The Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the arch's primary vault, with the event captured on newsreel. Jean Navarre was the pilot who was tasked to make the flight, but he died on 10 July 1919 when he crashed near Villacoublay while training for the flight Following its construction, the Arc de Triomphe became
527-563: The Rive Droite, at the Élysée Palace . Notable landmarks include the Louvre , Place de la République and Arc de Triomphe . Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile , often called simply the Arc de Triomphe , is one of the most famous monuments in Paris , France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle , formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the étoile or "star" of
558-532: The Unknown Soldier from World War I . Interred on Armistice Day 1920, an eternal flame burns in memory of the dead who were never identified (now in both world wars). A ceremony is held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every 11 November on the anniversary of the Armistice of 11 November 1918 signed by the Entente Powers and Germany in 1918. It was originally decided on 12 November 1919 to bury
589-481: The arch. In late 2018, the Arc de Triomphe suffered acts of vandalism as part of the Yellow vests protests . The vandals sprayed the monument with graffiti and ransacked its small museum. In September 2021, the arc was wrapped in a silvery blue fabric and red rope, as part of L'Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped , a posthumous project planned by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude since the early 1960s. The astylar design
620-564: The construction project. In the 18th century, the bridge was a popular meeting place for various festivities and celebrations. At the time of the French Revolution , in the period following the fall of the monarchy on 10 August 1792 and the beginning of the First French Empire in 1804 - the name of Pont Royal was changed to Pont National. During that period, General Napoléon Bonaparte (future Napoléon I, Emperor of
651-523: The early 1960s, the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot and automobile exhaust, and during 1965–1966 it was cleaned through bleaching . In the prolongation of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées , a new arch, the Grande Arche de la Défense, was built in 1982, completing the line of monuments that forms Paris's Axe historique . After the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile ,
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#1732781073089682-499: The juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues. The location of the arc and the plaza is shared between three arrondissements , 16th (south and west), 17th (north), and 8th (east). The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies
713-530: The names of 660 people , among which are 558 French generals of the First French Empire ; The names of those generals killed in battle are underlined. Also inscribed, on the shorter sides of the four supporting columns, are the names of the major French victories in the Napoleonic Wars. The battles that took place in the period between the departure of Napoleon from Elba to his final defeat at Waterloo are not included. For four years from 1882 to 1886,
744-538: The rallying point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day military parade . Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945. A United States postage stamp of 1945 shows the Arc de Triomphe in the background as victorious American troops march down
775-496: The river Seine in central Paris . Here, the river flows roughly westwards, cutting the city into two parts. When facing downstream, the northern bank is to the right, whereas the southern bank (or Rive Gauche ) is to the left. The Rive Droite's most famous street is the Champs-Élysées , with others of prominence being the Rue de la Paix , Rue de Rivoli , Avenue de l'Opéra and Avenue Montaigne . The President of France resides on
806-505: The time of its construction. Another 40 steps remain to climb to reach the top, the terrasse , from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Paris. The location of the arc, as well as the Place de l'Étoile, is shared between three arrondissements , 16th (south and west), 17th (north), and 8th (east). While many structures around the world resemble the Arc de Triomphe , some were actually inspired by it. Replicas that used its design as
837-581: 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 50 m (164 ft), width of 45 m (148 ft) and depth of 22 m (72 ft), while its large vault is 29.19 m (95.8 ft) high and 14.62 m (48.0 ft) wide. The smaller transverse vaults are 18.68 m (61.3 ft) high and 8.44 m (27.7 ft) wide. Paris's Arc de Triomphe
868-401: The unknown soldier's remains in the Panthéon , but a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc de Triomphe. 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. The slab on top bears the inscription: Ici repose un soldat français mort pour la Patrie, 1914–1918 ("Here rests
899-508: The vast ashlar masonry masses, not unlike the gilt-bronze appliqués on Empire furniture . The four sculptural groups at the base of the Arc are The Triumph of 1810 (Cortot), Resistance and Peace (both by Antoine Étex), and the most renowned of them all, Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 commonly called La Marseillaise ( François Rude ). The face of the allegorical representation of France calling forth her people on this last
930-632: Was the tallest triumphal arch until the completion of the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City in 1938, which is 67 m (220 ft) high. The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang , completed in 1982, is modeled on the Arc de Triomphe and is slightly taller at 60 m (197 ft). The Grande Arche in La Défense near Paris is 110 metres high, and, if considered to be a triumphal arch,
961-467: Was used as the belt buckle for the honorary rank of Marshal of France . Since the fall of Napoleon (1815), the sculpture representing Peace is interpreted as commemorating the Peace of 1815 . In the attic above the richly sculptured frieze of soldiers are 30 shields engraved with the names of major French victories in the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars . The inside walls of the monument list