The Arc de Triomphe

In 1806, Napoleon I decreed that an arch be built on the Place de l'Etoile to the glory of the Grande Armée. This project was entrusted to Jean-Arnaud Raymond and Jean-François Chalgrin.

Plans were hastily drawn up and the first stone was laid on 15 August 1806, the day of the Emperor's birthday. Chalgrin subsequently devised a new project on his own, and his successors followed his architectural plans. When Chalgrin died in 1811, the monument only stood at 5.40 metres above ground level. With the return of the Bourbons in 1814, work on the project stopped, before starting again during the reign of Louis XVIII and was finally completed in 1836, under Louis-Philippe. The Arc de Triomphe stands as a symbol of national unity and the glory of the French armies, and is ornamented with four groups of sculpted figures by Rude, Cortot and Etex. The frieze running around the entablature is a vast bas-relief recounting the departure and return of the French armies. The architect, Chalgrin, had not made any plans for the ornamentation of the inside of the monument. It was in 1835 that the idea emerged to inscribe on the underside of the vault decorated with Roman-style panels the names of the 128 battles of the Republic and the Empire, together with the names of the Generals who had taken part in them.

Ever since construction was completed, the Arc de Triomphe has been at the centre of major events, such as the return of Napoleon's ashes on 15 December 1840, the Festival of Fraternity in February 1848, and Prince Napoleon Bonaparte's passing through the arch on 2 December 1852. At the State funeral of Victor Hugo in 1885, his catafalque was placed beneath the arch before his body was taken to the Panthéon. For the Victory celebrations on 14 July 1919, French and Allied troops paraded beneath the arch. On 11 November 1920, a solemn cortège transported the body of the Unknown Soldier to the Arc de Triomphe. It was buried beneath the vault to honour the 1,500,000 soldiers who died in battle during the Great War.

On 11 November 1923, the Flame of Remembrance was lit on the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, consecrating the patriotic and symbolic nature of the Arc de Triomphe. On 25 August 1944, Paris was liberated after four years of occupation, and the following day General de Gaulle descended the Champs-Élysées from the Arc de Triomphe. At 6.30pm every day since 1923, veterans and soldiers have rekindled the Flame.

The Arc de Triomphe is opened to the public by Centre des monuments nationaux.

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