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The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, (also known as the Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. Officially, it is the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, as the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel exists nearby. The triumphal arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.
The Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (Axe historique) -- a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace, to the Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages, until World War I.
The monument stands 50 m (160 ft) in height, 45 m (148 ft) wide and 22 m (72 ft) deep. The large vault is -29.19 m (-95.8 ft) high and 14.62 m (48.0 ft) wide. The small vault is 18.68 m (61.3 ft) high and 8.44 m (27.7 ft) wide. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence.[2] Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.
![The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, (also known as the Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. Officially, it is the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, as the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel exists nearby. The triumphal arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars. On the inside and the top of the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.<br />
The Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (Axe historique) -- a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace, to the Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments, with triumphant patriotic messages, until World War I.<br />
The monument stands 50 m (160 ft) in height, 45 m (148 ft) wide and 22 m (72 ft) deep. The large vault is -29.19 m (-95.8 ft) high and 14.62 m (48.0 ft) wide. The small vault is 18.68 m (61.3 ft) high and 8.44 m (27.7 ft) wide. It is the second largest triumphal arch in existence.[2] Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is so colossal that three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919, marking the end of hostilities in World War I, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.](https://photography.la76.com/img-get2/I00006YlwPdz_kks/fit=1000x750/g=G0000IJK4UAelsnQ/Arc-de-Triomphe-The-Arch-of-Triumph.jpg)
