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Soldier Information History Visit The Unknown Soldier Information

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English

Honouring the fallen Glossary

Arc de Triomphe

crédits photos © P. Lemaître / Centre des monuments nationaux. illustration © Centre des monuments nationaux. réalisation graphique Marie-Hélène Forestier. traduction ADT International. Imprimé en France, 2018.
The idea of honouring one soldier to symbolise Appeal of 18 June 1940: appeal launched from London
all those who gave their lives for their country by General de Gaulle in 1940 during the German An important patriotic site
was first put forward in 1916 during the occupation, to unite the French people.
First World War. The day after the armistice of Attic: upper section at the top of a construction. It is
To the Glory of the Great Army
11 November 1918 that put an end to the conflict, placed above an entablature.
the National Assembly decided to inter the Baron Georges Haussmann (1809-1891): Prefect
After the Battle of Austerlitz*, Napoleon I proclaimed
body of an unidentified soldier in the Pantheon. of the Seine from 1853 to 1870, he was responsible
to his army: “Soldiers! I am pleased with you. […]
However, veterans’ associations criticised for major building projects that profoundly altered
I shall bring you back to France; there you will be
the choice of the Pantheon, and wanted a tomb the Paris townscape.
the object of my tenderest attentions […] and all
that would adequately recognise the sacrifice Battle of Austerlitz: 2 December 1805, victory for
you will have to say is I was at the Battle of Austerlitz*,
of the 1,500,000 French soldiers who lost Napoleon’s Great Army over the Austro-Russian troops.
for them to reply, There goes a brave man.”
their lives during the Great War. Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970): French Statesman.
On his return to Paris, he ordered the building of
Entablature: supports the upper part of the monument,
an Arch of Triumph to the glory of the Great Army.
The ceremony to mark the arrival and consists of the architrave, the frieze and the cornice.
The monument had to fit in with the improvement
of the Unknown Soldier François Rude (1784-1855): French sculptor and artist
works taking place in the capital at the same time
from the Romantic movement.
and flatter the Emperor’s taste for Roman antiquity.
On 11 November 1920, a ceremony was held Jamb: vertical side-post on which an arch or vault rests.
Napoleon wanted to build it on the site of the Bastille,
to mark the arrival of the Unknown Soldier at Legion of Honour: the highest French ceremonial
in the East of Paris, the side on which the armies
the Arc de Triomphe. He was interred under decoration, introduced by Napoleon I.
returned, but the Place de l’Étoile was eventually
the arch on 28 January 1921. He is decorated preferred.
with the Military Medal, the War Cross and Practical information
Its location was ideal: at the end of the Avenue des
the Legion of Honour*. Champs-Élysées, opposite
5 The eternal flame was lit on 11 November 1923 Average length of visit: 40 minutes
the Palais des Tuileries,
by André Maginot, Minister for War. It is rekindled the Emperor’s Paris residence.
Bookshop-gift shop
every day at 6.30pm at a ceremony organised The guide for this monument can be found in the Itinéraires collection Unhindered by any other building
by the “La flamme sous l’Arc de triomphe” in the bookshop-gift shop in six different languages and in the Regards…
projects, the square completed
collection in three languages.
association. the axis designed by Le Nôtre in
Centre des monuments nationaux
Arc de triomphe
the 17th century, extending the
27 rue Vernet central walkway of the Tuileries gardens as far as the
75008 Paris horizon.
tél. 01 55 37 73 77
Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin was the monument’s
www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr chief architect.
www.monuments-nationaux.fr

*Explanations overleaf. *Explanations overleaf.

History Visit The Unknown Soldier Information
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Scene of national events 3

While under construction from 1806 to 1836, 2

the Arc de Triomphe was subject to the whims
of political changes and the struggles for influence
by the architects succeeding each other at the head
of the project. 8
1
After coming to power following the July Revolution
in 1830, Louis-Philippe I, King of France, wanted
a reminder of his military career in the armies of
the Revolution and tried to manipulate the partisans
of the Empire. The monument’s dedication was 4
changed one last time, and the iconography was 7 6
designed to glorify the armies of the Revolution 5
and the Empire.
Inaugurated in 1836, the monument later bore
witness to major national events such as the return 3 The terrace the soldiers who died during the 1939-1945 war,
of Napoleon I’s ashes in 1840, the vigil for the funeral the Appeal of 18 June 1940* by General de Gaulle*,
of Victor Hugo in 1885 and the First World War From the terrace, the dominant situation of the the student demonstration on 11 November 1940
victory parade by the Allies on 14 July 1919. Arc in the centre of the Place de l’Étoile can be during the Occupation and those who died for France
appreciated. This square owes its name to the layout in the wars of Indochina, Algeria and Korea.
1 Mezzanine floor of the streets and the avenues that join them up.  he sculpted groups on the jambs* each
6-7 T
Although the initial 17th century plans had eight represent a year. François Rude* created the most
The mezzanine floor can be accessed from the streets, the final layout of the square commissioned famous of these, Le Départ des Volontaires (6) known
entablature* after climbing 202 steps. There are by Baron Haussmann* from the architect Jacques as La Marseillaise, facing the Champs-Élysées. It depicts
a further 82 steps to the top. Ignace Hittorff resulted in 12 avenues radiating the departure of 200,000 volunteers in 1792 to defend
out from the centre. The square was renamed the young Republic: a winged woman, the Genius of
2 The attic room* Place Charles de Gaulle* in 1970. Liberty, exhorts the people to fight. The other sculpted
groups can be read chronologically by moving round
Over the various building projects, the attic room* The platform the monument in a clockwise direction. They depict
was removed to simplify construction, then restored La gloire de Napoléon (1810) by Jean-Pierre Cortot (7),
to support the crowns of the monument, work on 4 The walls of the arches are engraved with the followed by La résistance (1814) and La paix (1815) by
which flourished after 1834. Four plaster crowns names of battles and Generals from wars fought by Antoine Etex on the Avenue de la Grande-Armée side.
were temporarily built in situ, but were never France during the Revolution and under the Empire. 8 Six high-relief sculptures above the jambs* depict
permanently constructed. The soldiers whose names are underlined died famous episodes from the Revolutionary and
On the walls, bronze wreaths represent tributes added on the battlefield. Napoleonic wars, in particular the Battle of
at the time of the interment of the Unknown Soldier 5 On the ground, the inscriptions commemorate Austerlitz*, on the Northern side.
under the monument’s arch. more recent events: the proclamation of the Republic
on 4 September 1870, the return of Alsace and
Lorraine to France in 1918, the memory of

*Explanations overleaf.