Read on to find out more about this national treasure.
1. The site of the Arc de Triomphe was almost home to an entirely different structure: a building in the shape of a giant elephant. The brainchild of 18th-century architect Charles Ribart, the planned building consisted of three levels, was equipped with air conditioning, and had a drainage system incorporated into the pachyderm’s trunk. Entry was to be via a spiral staircase in the underbelly, and the furniture folded into the walls.
Although the French government turned down Ribart’s proposal, Napoleon later planned to build a similar construction, known as the Elephant of the Bastille.
2. As for the Arc de Triomphe itself, Napoleon commissioned the monument in 1806 to honour the French army. Originally designed by architect Jean Chalgrin, it is the work of several architects and sculptors. As it was under construction, the emperor cleverly had a wooden replica built so that he and his second wife, Marie Louise of Austria, could pass underneath it when they entered Paris for the first time as a married couple in 1810.
3. The Arc was finally inaugurated on July 29, 1836, 30 years after it was first commissioned. In 1840, Napoleon passed under the arch himself – when his body was taken to its final resting place.
4. Why did it take so long? It is an intricately sculpted masterpiece – relief sculptures at the base of its four pillars depict four victories and several war scenes, and the top of the arch lists the names of successful battles which took place during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Less significant battles are inscribed on the inside walls, along with the names of 558 generals. Underlined names belong to those who died in battle.
5. It cost around 9.3 million francs to build, an important sum of money at the time.
6. Although it was built to commemorate victories won by the French army, it also witnessed two major defeats: in 1871 when the Germans marched under it during the Franco-Prussian war, and when the Nazis did the same during the German occupation of Paris in World War II. Rumour has it that on the first day of the Battle of Verdun on February 21, 1916, the sword carried by the winged woman who represents French combattants broke. The government’s reaction was to cover the damage up, so that citizens wouldn’t see it as a bad omen. This didn’t save them from the terrible aftermath of the battle, in which over a quarter of a million men died, and around half a million were wounded.
7. On November 10, 1920, an unknown soldier who died in the First World War was buried under the arch. An eternal flame was lit to honour those who died in this conflict. Since then, the flame is lit each evening to honour the fallen. This custom made a deep impression on Jackie Kennedy, who decided to light an eternal flame in memory of her husband when he was shot down in 1963.
8. The monument has also played host to momentous events, including two assassination attempts targeting the French presidents Charles de Gaulle, and Jacques Chirac. Luckily, both attempts were unsuccessful.
A few weeks after the end of World War II, aviator Charles Godefroy flew a Nieuport fighter plane through the arch to honour the airmen who lost their lives in the recent war.
9. Whilst it is by no means the only triumphal arch in the world, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris is the second largest in existence at 51 metres tall and 45 m wide. The largest is in Pyongyang, North Korea, and was built by the dictator Kim II Sung in 1982.
10. Finally, the sheer size of the structure makes cleaning it difficult. It was last cleaned thoroughly in 2011, for the first time in almost half a century.
The Arc de Triomphe is a visible reminder of achievement and conquest, victory and loss, with many secrets to share.
