Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe at night
Alternative names	Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile
General information
Type	Triumphal Arch
Architectural style	Neoclassicism
Location	Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly Place de l'Étoile)
Construction started	15 August 1806[1]
Inaugurated	29 July 1836[2]
Height	50 m (164 ft)
Technical details
Other dimensions	Wide: 45 m (148 ft) Deep: 22 m (72 ft)
Design and construction
Architect	Jean Chalgrin, Louis-Étienne Héricart de Thury

The Arc de Triomphe from the Place Charles de Gaulle

The Arc de Triomphe is located on Paris's Axe historique, a large perspective that runs from the Louvre to the Arche de la Défense.

The Arc de Triomphe (Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.^[3] There is a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe (in English: "Triumphal Arch") honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

The Arc de Triomphe 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, to the Grande 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.

The monument stands 50 metres (164 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 was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982.^[4] 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.^[5][6][7]

History[link]

The Arc is located on the right bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years and, in 1810, when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811 and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. During the Bourbon Restoration, construction was halted and it would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, between 1833 and 1836, by the architects Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury. On 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena, Napoleon's remains passed under it on their way to the Emperor's final resting place at the Invalides.^[8] Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc during the night of 22 May 1885.

The sword carried by the Republic in the Marseillaise relief broke off on the day, it is said, that the Battle of Verdun began in 1916. The relief was immediately hidden by tarpaulins to conceal the accident and avoid any undesired ominous interpretations^{[citation needed]}. On 7 August 1919, Charles Godefroy successfully flew his biplane under the Arc.^[9] Jean Navarre was the pilot who was tasked to make the flight, but he died on 10 July 1919 when he crashed near Villacoublay while training for the flight.

Following its construction, the Arc de Triomphe became the rallying point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day Military Parade. Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944^[10] and 1945. A United States postage stamp of 1945 shows the Arc de Triomphe in the background as victorious American troops march down the Champs-Élysées and U.S. airplanes fly overhead on 29 August 1944. After the interment of the Unknown Soldier, however, all military parades (including the aforementioned post-1919) have avoided marching through the actual arch. The route taken is up to the arch and then around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism. Both Hitler in 1940 and de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom.

By the early 1960s, the monument had grown very blackened from coal soot and automobile exhaust, and during 1965–1966 it was cleaned through bleaching.

In the prolongation of the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a new arch, the Grande Arche de la Défense, was built in 1982, completing the line of monuments that forms Paris's Axe historique. After the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, the Grande Arche is the third arch built on the same perspective.

Arc de Triomphe through history

1840: Napoleon's ashes return to Paris   1871: von Moltke and von Bismarck with their troops after the siege of Paris   1919: Greek troops march during the World War I victory parade   1919: Charles Godefroy flies through the Arc de Triomphe   1940: German troops on parade after the surrender of Paris   1944: Free French forces on parade after the liberation of Paris   1985 Bastille Day Military Parade

The design[link]

Avenues radiate from the Arc de Triomphe in Place de l'Étoile.

The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin (1739–1811), in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture (see, for example, the triumphal Arch of Titus). Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire. The main sculptures are not integral friezes but are treated as independent trophies applied to the vast ashlar masonry masses, not unlike the gilt-bronze appliqués on Empire furniture. The four sculptural groups at the base of the Arc are The Triumph of 1810 (Cortot), Resistance and Peace (both by Antoine Étex) and the most renowned of them all, Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 commonly called La Marseillaise (François Rude). The face of the allegorical representation of France calling forth her people on this last was used as the belt buckle for the honorary rank of Marshal of France. Since the fall of Napoleon (1815), the sculpture representing Peace is interpreted as commemorating the Peace of 1815.

In the attic above the richly sculptured frieze of soldiers are 30 shields engraved with the names of major Revolutionary and Napoleonic military victories.^[11] The inside walls of the monument list the names of 660 people, among which are 558 French generals of the First French Empire;^[12] the names of those who died in battle are underlined. Also inscribed, on the shorter sides of the four supporting columns, are the names of the major victorious battles of the Napoleonic Wars. The battles that took place in the period between the departure of Napoleon from Elba to his final defeat at Waterloo are not included.

There was at the top of the Arc from 1882 to 1886, a monumental sculpture by Alexandre Falguière, "Le triomphe de la Révolution" (the Triumph of the Revolution), a chariot drawn by horses preparing "to crush Anarchy and Despotism", that remained only four years up there before falling in ruins.

Inside the monument, a new permanent exhibition conceived by the artist Maurice Benayoun and the architect Christophe Girault opened in February 2007.^[13] The steel and new media installation interrogates the symbolism of the national monument, questioning the balance of its symbolic message during the last two centuries, oscillating between war and peace.

The Unknown Soldier[link]

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier beneath the Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. Interred here on Armistice Day 1920,^[14] it has the first eternal flame lit in Western and Eastern Europe since the Vestal Virgins' fire was extinguished in the fourth century. It burns in memory of the dead who were never identified (now in both world wars). According to a 2008 television programme, presented by Griff Rhys Jones, “the flame has only been extinguished once, by a drunken Mexican football supporter on the night that France beat Brazil here in Paris,”^[15] most likely referring to the 1998 FIFA World Cup Final.

A ceremony is held Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every 11 November on the anniversary of the armistice signed between France and Germany in 1918. It was originally decided on 12 November 1919 to bury the unknown soldier's remains in the Panthéon, but a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc de Triomphe. The coffin was put in the chapel on the first floor of the Arc on 10 November 1920, and put in its final resting place on 28 January 1921. The slab on top carries the inscription ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918 ("Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914–1918").

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy of the United States paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by French President Charles de Gaulle. After the 1963 assassination of President Kennedy, Mrs Kennedy remembered the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe and requested that an eternal flame be placed next to her husband's grave at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. President Charles de Gaulle went to Washington to attend the state funeral, and witnessed Jacqueline Kennedy lighting the eternal flame that had been inspired by her visit to France.

Details[link]

• The four main sculptures of the monument are:

• Le Départ de 1792' (or La Marseillaise), by François Rude
• Le Triomphe de 1810, by Jean-Pierre Cortot
• La Résistance de 1814, by Antoine Étex
• La Paix de 1815, by Antoine Étex

Le Départ de 1792 (La Marseillaise)   Le Triomphe de 1810   La Résistance de 1814   La Paix de 1815

• Six reliefs sculpted on the façades of the Arch, representing important moments of the French Revolution and of the Napoleonic era include:

• Les funérailles du général Marceau (General Marceau's burial), by P. H. Lamaire (SOUTH façade, right),
• La bataille d'Aboukir (The Battle of Aboukir), by Bernard Seurre (SOUTH façade, left),
• La bataille de Jemappes (The Battle of Jemappes), by Carlo Marochetti (EAST façade),
• Le passage du pont d'Arcole (The Battle of Arcole), by J. J. Feuchère (NORTH façade, right),
• La prise d'Alexandrie, (The Fall of Alexandria), by J. E. Chaponnière (NORTH façade, left),
• La bataille d'Austerlitz (The Battle of Austerlitz), by J. F. T. Gechter (WEST façade),

Les funérailles du général Marceau, 20 September 1796   La bataille d'Aboukir, 25 July 1799   La bataille de Jemmappes, 6 November 1792   Le passage du pont d'Arcole, 15 November 1796   La prise d'Alexandrie, 3 July 1798   La bataille d'Austerlitz, 2 December 1805

• Some great battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars are engraved on the attic, including

• A list of French victories is engraved under the great arches on the inside façades of the monument.

• On the inner façades of the small arches are engraved the names of the military leaders of the French Revolution and Empire. The names of those who died on the battlefield are underlined.

NORTH pillar   SOUTH pillar   EAST pillar   WEST pillar

• The great arcades are decorated with allegorical figures representing characters in Roman mythology (by J. Pradier).

Access[link]

The Arc de Triomphe is accessible by the RER and Métro, with exit at the Charles de Gaulle—Étoile station.

Because of heavy traffic on the roundabout of which the Arc is the centre, it is recommended that pedestrians use one of two underpasses located at the Champs Élysées and the Avenue de la Grande Armée.

A lift will take visitors almost to the top – to the attic, where there is a small museum which contains large models of the Arc and tells its story from the time of its construction. 46 steps remain to climb in order to reach the top, the terrasse, from where one can enjoy a panoramic view of Paris.

Panorama of Paris from the top of the Arc de Triomphe

See also[link]

Paris portal

• Names inscribed under the Arc de Triomphe
• Bastille Day Military Parade
• Galerie des Batailles

References[link]

External links[link]

• Media related to Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to Arc of Triumph by Decade at Wikimedia Commons
• Inscriptions on the Arc de Triomphe
• The names of 660 persons inscribed on the Arc de Triomphe
• Clarification of history of Arc de Triomphe
• The permanent exhibition inside the Arc de Triomphe
• View from the Arc de Triomphe
• Arc de Triomphe at Find a Grave

Coordinates: 48°52′26″N 2°17′42″E / 48.8738°N 2.2950°E / 48.8738; 2.2950

v t e Popular visitor attractions in Paris Arc de Triomphe Catacombs of Paris Cathedral of Notre Dame Centre Georges Pompidou Champs-Élysées Château de Vincennes Conciergerie Eiffel Tower Grand Palais Jardin du Luxembourg Les Invalides Louvre Musée d'Orsay Panthéon Opéra Garnier Père Lachaise Cemetery Sacré-Cœur Sainte-Chapelle

Andrasch Starke
Occupation	Jockey
Born	4 January 1974 Germany
Career wins	ongoing
Major racing wins, honours and awards
Major racing wins
Premio Federico Tesio (1995) Preis der Diana (1996, 1998, 1999, 2003, 2008) Bayerisches Zuchtrennen (1997, 2006, 2007) Gran Premio del Jockey Club (1997, 2007) Premio Vittorio di Capua (1997, 1998) Rheinland-Pokal (1997, 1999, 2008) Deutsches Derby (1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008) Deutschland-Preis (1999, 2007) Premio Roma (1999, 2000) Grosser Preis von Baden (2000, 2007) Mehl-Mülhens-Rennen (2001) Singapore Airlines International Cup (2004) Prix Corrida (2005) Preis von Europa (2007) Gran Premio di Milano (2008, 2009) Oaks d'Italia (2008) Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (2011)
Racing awards
German Champion jockey by wins (5 times)
Significant horses
Ungaro, Elle Danzig, Samum, Caitano Schiaparelli, Quijano Danedream

Andrasch Starke (born 4 January 1974 in Germany) is a jockey in international Thoroughbred horse racing.

Starke began racing at age fifteen as an amateur and since turning professional has won the German riding championship five times. He has competed in Canada and the United States and has won races in Dubai, France, Italy, and Singapore. In recent years Starke has also raced seasonally in Hong Kong where on two occasions he won the Cathay Pacific International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley Racecourse. On 2 October 2011 Starke rode German filly Danedream to victory in the 90th Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp.

References[link]

• Andrasch Starke at JockeysRoom.com
• Andrasch Starke at the NTRA

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Robert William Maddison
Robbie Maddison at the 2008 Australian Grand Prix Celebrity Challenge
Born	(1981-07-14) 14 July 1981 (age 30)
Nationality	Australian
Other names	Robbie Maddison, Maddo
Occupation	Motorbike rider
Known for	World record length motorcycle jump
Website
http://www.robbiemaddison.com

Robert William Maddison, commonly known as Robbie Maddison and "Maddo" (born 14 July 1981) in Caringbah, Australia is an Australian motorbike stunt rider from the town of Kiama, New South Wales.

Growing up in Kiama Downs he developed his passion for riding by competing in national motocross events.

He finished school at Kiama High and took up an electrician apprenticeship, after getting viral meningitis and viral encephalitis, which left him paralyzed and blind in one eye. After recovering for numerous years with this virus he returned to the bike riding to further follow his passion.

In May 2005, the Crusty Demons gave Robbie the opportunity to break two world records on his motorbike. 125cc distance Guinness world record- 221feet 250cc distance world record with a trick- 246 feet (75 m) superman seat grab.

After this he went on to win numerous international FMX events around the world and get recognized as one of the best FMX riders in the world.

On 31 December 2007, (on the 40th anniversary of Evel Knievel jumping the fountains at Caesars Palace), Live on ESPN, Maddison broke the world motorcycle jumping record,^[1] traveling 98.34m on a motorbike. He repeated the event immediately afterward, successfully landing the jump, as his fiancee Amy looked on. His second attempt, however, did not go as far as the first jump; he was not injured in either jump.

On 29 March 2008, he broke his own world record twice during the Crusty Demons Night Of World Records show in Melbourne, Australia. During his first jump he traveled 316 feet (96.32 m) and landed on the safety zone nearly hitting the front of the landing ramp. On his second attempt he broke the world record by traveling 342 feet 7 inches (104.42 m) this time he landed hard on his back tire and was not satisfied by the jump, so he decided to jump once more. On his third jump he again broke the world record, this time with 106.98m (350.98 feet) into a perfect landing.

On 1 January 2009, Live on ESPN in front of the world, Maddison successfully jumped 96 feet (29 m) up onto a replica of the Arc de Triomphe in front of Paris Las Vegas and then descended a 80-foot (24 m) drop off the monument to return safely to ground level. Robbie said after the jump that he may have broken his hand and had a gash to the bone in the webbing of his left hand.

On 30 May 2009, Maddison proved himself more than just a stuntman by defeating some of the world's best freestyle riders at the Calgary, AB Canada stop of the Red Bull X-Fighters competition. His victory in the Head-to-Head competition meant he had to progress through three rounds, defeating multiple X Games medallist Nate Adams (USA) in the first, defending series champion Mat Rebeaud (SUI) in the semi-final round and then 30 year old series veteran Eigo Sato (JPN) in the final.

On 13 July 2009, Maddison jumped Tower Bridge with a backflip, whilst the drawbridge was open by 25 feet.^[2]

The following weekend Maddison went onto the Red Bull xfighters championship in Madrid, winning the best trick contest with a brand new trick. Under flip one hander to side saddle lander.

In March 2010, Robbie Maddison become the first person to jump the start gantry at the Formula One in melbourne, Australia.

On 7 April 2010, the daredevil performed an amazing moto-x jump over the Corinth Canal in Greece.^[3] That made him the first fmx rider who accomplished to cross over the canal on his motorbike. He took off with a speed of 120 km/h and jumped over more than 80m. About the heroic deed Maddison said: "Jumping across the Corinth Canal became a challenge I just could not resist. This Jump involved the highest consequences I have faced so far. I believe that sometimes you have to take risks in life to become wiser and facing a challenge like this will help get me ready for the next aim I will face in the future. I am thrilled about managing to pull it off, as you know there is only one opportunity to get it right!"

On 31 December 2011 Maddison attempted to jump 400 feet across San Diego Bay as part of Red Bull New Year No Limits, in a tandem jump with American snowmobile racer Levi LaVallee. Maddison landed shy of the 400 feet goal, landing 378 ft, 9 inches.

Sponsors[link]

Swatch, Dragon Alliance, Dunlop Sport, Red Bull, DC Shoe Company Thor, KMC, Yamaha, Parts Unlimited, Crusty.com, Stomp grip, Cernics, FMF Racing, VP racing fuels, Amerigas, Acerbis, Works Connection, Hammerhead, Pro Taper,

References[link]

External links[link]

• Robbie Maddison's Official Site

Olivier Peslier (born: January 12, 1973 in Château-Gontier, Mayenne département, France) is a thoroughbred horse racing jockey.^[1]

Peslier competes in flat racing mainly in France but travels often around the world for the big international races.

Career wins in France[link]

* = Champion Jockey^[1]

Major wins[link]

France

• Critérium de Saint-Cloud – (1) – Sagacity (2000)
• Grand Prix de Paris – (2) – Peintre Celebre (1997), Limpid (1998)
• Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud – (3) – Helissio (1996), Fragrant Mix (1998), Plumania (2010)
• Poule d'Essai des Poulains – (1) – Falco (2008)
• Poule d'Essai des Pouliches – (2) – Torrestrella (2004), Golden Lilac (2011)
• Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe – (3) – Helissio (1996), Peintre Celebre (1997), Sagamix (1998)^[1]
• Prix du Cadran – (2) – Molesnes (1994), Westerner (2004)
• Prix de la Forêt – (4) – Bigstone (1994), Poplar Bluff (1995), Etoile Montante (2003), Goldikova (2010)
• Prix Ganay – (4) – Helissio (1997), Indian Danehill (2000), Fair Mix (2003), Cirrus des Aigles (2012)
• Prix d'Ispahan – (5) – Bigstone (1994), Loup Sauvage (1998), Sageburg (2008), Goldikova (2010, 2011)
• Prix Jacques Le Marois – (3) – Vahorimix (2001), Banks Hill (2002), Goldikova (2009)
• Prix Jean-Luc Lagardère – (2) – Lost World (1993), Loup Solitaire (1995)
• Prix Jean Prat – (3) – Le Balafre (1993), Turtle Bowl (2005), Lawman (2007)
• Prix du Jockey Club – (1) – Peintre Celebre (1997)
• Prix Lupin – (2) – Cloudings (1997), Gracioso (1999)
• Prix Marcel Boussac – (2) – Miss Tahiti (1995), Lady of Chad (1999)
• Prix du Moulin de Longchamp – (2) – Desert Prince (1998), Goldikova (2008)
• Prix de l'Opéra – (1) – Verveine (1993)
• Prix Rothschild – (5) – Shaanxi (1996), Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
• Prix Royal-Oak – (3) – Amilynx (1999, 2000), Montare (2006)
• Prix Saint-Alary – (3) – Muncie (1995), Brilliance (1997), Fidelite (2003)
• Prix de la Salamandre – (1) – Xaar (1997)
• Prix Vermeille – (2) – Queen Maud (1997), Galikova (2011)

Germany

• Deutsches Derby – (2) – Borgia (1997), Dai Jin (2003)
• Rheinland-Pokal – (1) – Dai Jin (2003)

Canada

• E.P. Taylor Stakes – (1) – Kool Kat Katie (1997)

Great Britain

• 2,000 Guineas – (1) – Cockney Rebel (2007)^[2]
• Ascot Gold Cup – (1) – Westerner (2005)^[3]
• Coronation Stakes – (2) – Shake the Yoke (1996), Banks Hill (2001)
• Derby – (1) – High-Rise (1998)^[1]
• Dewhurst Stakes – (1) – Xaar (1997)
• Falmouth Stakes – (1) – Goldikova (2009)
• King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes – (1) – Harbinger (2010)
• King's Stand Stakes – (2) – Don't Worry Me (1997), Equiano (2008)
• Lockinge Stakes – (1) – Keltos (2002)
• Prince of Wales's Stakes – (2) – Ouija Board (2006), Vision d'Etat (2009)
• Queen Anne Stakes – (1) – Goldikova (2010)
• Queen Elizabeth II Stakes – (2) – Air Express (1997), Desert Prince (1998)

Hong Kong

• Hong Kong Mile – (2) – Docksider (1999), Hat Trick (2005)
• Hong Kong Vase – (4) – Partipral (1995), Borgia (1999), Doctor Dino (2007, 2008)
• Hong Kong Cup – (1) – Vision d'Etat (2009)

Ireland

• Irish 2,000 Guineas – (3) – Desert Prince (1998), Saffron Walden (1999), Cockney Rebel (2007)
• Irish Derby – (1) – Winged Love (1995)^[1]
• Irish St Leger – (1) – Sans Frontières (2010)

Italy

• Gran Criterium – (2) – Glory of Dancer (1995), Hearts of Fire (2009)

Japan

• Arima Kinen – (3) – Symboli Kris S (2002, 2003), Zenno Rob Roy (2004)
• Japan Cup – (2) – Jungle Pocket (2001), Zenno Rob Roy (2004)^[1]
• Mile Championship – (2) – Zenno El Cid (2001), Hat Trick (2005)
• Tenno Sho (Autumn) – (2) – Symboli Kris S (2003), Zenno Rob Roy (2004)

United States

• Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf – (1) – Banks Hill (2001)
• Breeders' Cup Mile – (3) – Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010)
• Man o' War Stakes – (1) – Doctor Dino (2007)

References[link]

Year-end charts[link]