The Arc de Triomphe of Paris is one of the most famous and recognizable monuments in the capital of France, along with the Eiffel Tower or the Notre Dame Cathedral, so it is undoubtedly one of the must-sees for those who travel to this city.
Although this is not uncommon if we consider the historical significance of this iconic piece of architecture, something that makes it one of the most important in Paris and in all of France, as it is a monument built to pay tribute to the people who fought and died during the French and Napoleonic Revolutionary Wars.
However, the walls of the Arc de Triomphe preserve an intriguing history and interesting facts that many tourists do not know about. Next, we will take a look at the most interesting ones.
The Arc was commissioned by Napoleon
The construction of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was commissioned by Napoleon on August 15th, 1806, exactly after the famous Austerlitz victory, and its design is inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy.
His intention was to honor the great French army in some way; a force that, according to him, was invincible since he considered that they had conquered most of Europe. So it is not surprising that it has the names of all the victories and French generals engraved both inside and outside.
It is interesting to note that the day its commission was ordered was also Napoleon’s birthday. It is believed to be possibly as a secret gift to himself.
What is the full name of the Arc de Triomphe?
The full name of the Arc de Triomphe is “The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile”. This literally translates to the “Triumphal Arch of the Star”.
The reason for this is that it previously got its name from its location on the “Place de L’étoile”, which has been renamed “Place Charles de Gaulle” after the former president’s death in 1970.
How big is the Arc de Triomphe?
The Arc de Triomphe is a huge structure and was for a long time the largest triumphal arch in the world. Its measures are:
- Height of 50 meters (164 feet).
- Width of 45 meters (148 feet).
- Depth of 22 meters (72 feet)
- The great vault is 29.19 meters (95.8 feet) tall and 14.62 meters (48.0 feet) wide, while the little vault is 18.68 meters (61.3 feet) tall and 8.44 meters (27.7 feet) wide.
It is the second largest triumphal arch in the world.
Being 50 meters high by 45 meters wide, it is the second largest triumphal arch found today, and it was the largest until 1982, when North Korea unveiled its Arc de Triomphe. It is a structure that is based on the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and was deliberately built to be slightly larger than this. To be precise, we are talking about a height of 70 meters by 50 meters wide.
How much did its construction cost?
The Arc de Triomphe cost 9.3 million French francs, which was a huge amount of money at the time.
Three districts share their location
The Arc de Triomphe is located on the west side of the most famous avenue in Paris, the Champs Elysees, and right in the center of the «Place Charles de Gaulle». It is also located on the right bank of the Seine River.
But an interesting fact that goes unnoticed regarding its location is that it is actually located in 3 different neighborhoods of Paris. It shares a location with districts 8, 16 and 17. Likewise, 12 avenues converge where the Arc de Triomphe is located, which are named after the French military leaders.
Napoleon never saw the finished product.
The construction of the Arc de Triomphe began in 1806 and the monument was completed in 1836, being officially opened on July 29th of that year.
However, that was 15 years after Napoleon’s death, so he never got a chance to see the final product. When he married his second wife Marie Louise of Austria, he had a wooden replica of the arch made; this so that the two of them could go through it when they entered Paris as a married couple.
When Napoleon abdicated in 1814, the construction of the Arc de Triomphe stopped for a few years, being finally taken up again in 1826. Although he had already been dead for almost 20 years, Napoleon was finally able to pass through the completed Arch in 1840 , when his body was moved to its final resting place.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
Under the Arc de Triomphe, there is a tomb with the grave of an unknown soldier from the First World War, which represents and remembers all the unidentified people who lost their lives during the First and Second World War.
The unknown victims of the war are remembered in a ceremony once a year on November 11th, the exact day World War I finally ended.
Andre Maginot lit an eternal flame on November 11th, 1923 and it has never been extinguished, as a way to remember not just the people who lost their lives on that particular day, but every moment until eternity.
Each of the four pillars pay tribute to a different event in French history.
If you go and take a closer look at the Arc de Triomphe, you will notice that each of the four pillars exhibits different sculptural works.
The first is dedicated to Le Départ from 1792 and was designed by François Rude. This sculptor pays tribute to the First French Republic during the uprising that took place on August 10th.
The second is Le Triomphe from 1810 and was designed by Jean-Pierre Cortot. This commemorates the Treaty of Schönbrunn and features Napoleon crowned with victory.
The third pillar shows the Résistance of 1814 and was designed by Antoine Étex. It commemorates the French resistance during the War of the Sixth Coalition.
Finally, the fourth pillar represents the Paix from 1815, also designed by Antoine Étex. This is the commemoration of the Treaty of Paris.
There were two assassination attempts at the Arc de Triomphe.
One of them against Charles De Gaulle in 1962 and another against Jacques Chirac in 2002. Fortunately, both of them survived.
It also witnessed defeats
Although the Arc de Triomphe is meant to celebrate the victories of France, it has also seen a couple of horrible defeats, since the Germans marched under the arch in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War and also the Nazis did the same during the German occupation of Paris in World War II.