Triumphal arch

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A triumphal arch is a structure in the shape of a monumental archway, usually built to celebrate a victory in war. The arch is invariably a free-standing structure, quite separate from city gates or walls. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two pillars connected by an arch, crowned with a superstructure or attic on which a statue might be mounted or which bears commemorative inscriptions. More elaborate triumphal arches have more than one archway, typically three or five of varying sizes.

Contents 1 Roman triumphal arches 2 Post-Roman triumphal arches 3 List of triumphal arches 3.1 Algeria 3.2 Australia 3.3 Austria 3.4 Belgium 3.5 China 3.6 Croatia 3.7 Canada 3.8 England 3.9 France 3.10 Gambia 3.11 Germany 3.12 Greece 3.13 India 3.14 Iraq 3.15 Ireland 3.16 Italy 3.17 Korea 3.18 Laos 3.19 Libya 3.20 Romania 3.21 Russia 3.22 Spain 3.23 Syria 3.24 Turkey 3.25 Ukraine 3.26 United States 4 See also 5 External link

Roman triumphal arches

Image:Roman Arch of Trajan at Thamugadi (Timgad), Algeria 04966r.jpg The tradition dates back to Ancient Rome and is connected to the custom of the Roman triumphs granted by the Senate. Surprisingly little is known about how the Romans used triumphal arches; the only ancient author who discussed them was Pliny the Elder, writing in the 1st century AD. They are not mentioned at all by Vitruvius, the 1st century BC writer on Roman architecture. Pliny describes them as being honorary monuments of unusual importance, erected to commemorate triumphs. By the 2nd century arches were being erected to commemorate other events, such as the surviving triumphal arch at Ancona, erected by a grateful city to commemorate Trajan's improvements to the harbor.

It is unclear when the Romans first began erecting triumphal arches. They originated some time during the Roman Republican era, during which time three were erected in Rome, the earliest being one to Lucius Stertinius built in 196 BC. These appear to have been temporary structures and none now survive. Most triumphal arches were built during the Roman Empire. By the 4th century AD, 36 triumphal arches were recorded as existing in Rome. Only five now survive (see list below).

The arches of Rome became increasingly elaborate over the centuries. They were at first very simple symbolic temporary gateways to the city, being built of brick or stone with a semicircular arched heading and hung with trophies of captured arms. Later arches were built of high-quality marble with a large arch in the middle, and sometimes two smaller ones on each side, adorned with columns and bas-reliefs and crowned with statues, often a quadriga. The piers of the arch were often decorated with imitation pillars, usually of the Corinthian order.

Post-Roman triumphal arches

Triumphal arches in the Roman style were revived during the Renaissance, when there was a Europe-wide upwelling of interest in the art and architecture of ancient Rome. Between the 16th and 19th century, kings and emperors erected numerous triumphal arches in conscious imitation of the Roman tradition. One of the earliest was the temporary arch erected in Rome to celebrate the election in 1513 of Pope Leo X. The Emperor Maximilian I commissioned the artist Albrecht Dürer to design an elaborately decorated monumental arch for him, though it was never actually built. Louis XIV of France and Napoleon Bonaparte both erected arches to commemorate their military triumphs, most famously the Arc de Triomphe in Paris - still the world's largest. Arches were erected for similar purposes in England, the United States, Germany, Romania, Russia and Spain, amongst other countries.

Temporary triumphal arches are still constructed, intended to be used for a celebratory parade or ceremony and then be dismantled afterwards.

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List of triumphal arches

For Roman ones only, see List of ancient Roman triumphal arches

Permanent monumental triumphal arches include:

Algeria

• Timgad, Trajan's Arch, partially restored arch in a Roman colonial town

Australia

• Ballarat, Victoria, Victoria, Arch of Victory

Austria

• Heidentor, Roman-arch in Carnuntum
• Siegestor, Innsbruck
• Burgtor, Vienna

Belgium

• Arch of the Cinquantenaire, Brussels (erected 1880-1905)
• Menin Gate, Ypres

China

• Guangzhou

Croatia

• Arch of Sergius, Pula, Istria

Canada

• Prince's Gate, Toronto, Ontario

England

• Marble Arch, London
• Wellington Arch, Hyde Park Corner, London

France

• Carpentras
• Dijon: Porte Guillaume
• Marseille: Porte d'Aix (1825)
• Montpellier: Porte du Peyrou (1692)
• Nancy: on Place Stanislas
• Nevers: Porte de Paris
• Orange
• Paris:
  • Arc de Triomphe (1806-1836)
  • Arc du Carrousel (1806-1808)
  • Grande Arche, La Défense (1982-1989)
  • Porte Saint-Denis
  • Porte Saint-Martin
• Pontarlier
• Reims: Porte de Mars
• Saint Rémy de Provence: Roman site of Glanum
• Saintes: Arch of Germanicus

Gambia

• Arch 22, Banjul

Germany

• Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
• Siegestor, Munich (1843-1850)
• Triumphtor, Potsdam

Greece

• Arch of Galerius, Thessaloniki
• Hadrian's Arch, Athens

India

• India Gate, New Delhi
• Gateway of India, Mumbai

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Iraq

• Hands of Victory, Baghdad

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Ireland

• Fusileer's Arch, Dublin

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Italy

• Arch of Trajan, Ancona, erected 113
• Augustan Arch, Aosta
• Arch of Trajan, Beneventum, the Porta Aurea, erected 114
• Arco Campano, Capua
• Arch of Augustus, Fano
• Arch of the House of Lorraine, Florence, erected 1738 - 1759: the first freestanding permanent triumphal arch in Italy since Antiquity
• Arco della Pace, Milan, erected 1807 - 1838
• Arch of Augustus, Rimini, erected AD 27
• Arch of Constantine, Rome erected 312 - 315
• Arch of Drusus, Rome, erected to honor Nero Claudius Drusus
• Arch of Gallienus, Rome
• Arch of Septimius Severus, Rome, erected 203
• Arch of Titus, Rome (81)
• Susa, erected 7 BC
• Arco dei Gavi, Verona

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Korea

• Arch of Triumph, Pyongyang

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Laos

• Patuxay, Vientiane

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Libya

• Arch of Tiberius, Leptis Magna, erected 35 CE
• Arch of Septimius Severus, Leptis Magna

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Romania

• Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest

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Russia

• Red Gate, Moscow - demolished
• Triuphal arch on Poklonnaya Hill, Kutuzovskiy prospekt, Moscow
• Moscow Triumphal Gate, St Petersburg
• Narva Triumphal Gate, St Petersburg
• Triumphal Arch of the General Staff Building in Palace Square
• Cossack triumphal arches in Novocherkassk
• Orlov gates, Gatchina

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Spain

• Arc de Triomf, Barcelona
• Puerta de las Granadas, Granada
• Puerta de Alcalá, Plaza de la Independencia, Madrid
• Arco de la Victoria, Madrid

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Syria

• Arch of Septimus Severus, Latakia
• Palmyra

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Turkey

• Anazarbus

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Ukraine

• Arch of Catherine the Great, Novgorod-Seversky

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United States

• Monumental Arch, Galveston, Texas (1987-1990)
• Newport News Victory Arch, Newport News, Virginia
• Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York
• Tilton Memorial Arch, Tilton, New Hampshire
• Washington Square, New York, New York

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See also

• City gate
• Roman architecture
• List of ancient Roman triumphal arches

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External link

Template:Commons

• Lacus Curtius website: "Triumphal arch" from William Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, John Murray, London, 1875ca:Arc de triomf

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