WEBVTT - How Did the Arc de Triomphe Become a Parisian Icon?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio, Hey brain Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>Laurena vogebam here. As far as iconic Paris landmarks go,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a toss up between the Eiffel Tower and the

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<v Speaker 1>Octa trionf If the Eiffel Tower boasts more t shirts

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<v Speaker 1>and wal art bearing its image, the octatrionph has given

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<v Speaker 1>us some great film scenes with cars circling and circling it.

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<v Speaker 1>That's because it's located within a plaza where twelve avenues,

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<v Speaker 1>including La chance Luzi meet. It actually isn't the first

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<v Speaker 1>monument that was proposed for the spot. Some years before

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<v Speaker 1>the French Revolution, an architects submitted a proposal to build

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<v Speaker 1>a monument to Louis the fifteenth in the same place.

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<v Speaker 1>His concept was a three story elephant with rooms inside

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<v Speaker 1>and a trunk that would water surrounding gardens, but it

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<v Speaker 1>was not meant to be, and the arch was commissioned

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<v Speaker 1>by Napoleon Bonaparte to commemorate his Grand Army's I am

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<v Speaker 1>at the Battle of Austerlitz, which cinched his victory in

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<v Speaker 1>the first of the Napoleonic Wars in December of eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>oh five and is still considered one of the most

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<v Speaker 1>brilliant shows of tactics in history. Construction on the arch

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<v Speaker 1>started in eighteen oh six, with the first stone laid

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<v Speaker 1>on August fifteenth. Napoleon planned to ride through it at

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<v Speaker 1>the head of his victorious army. It was inspired by

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<v Speaker 1>the Arch of Titus in Rome, a monument built in

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<v Speaker 1>the first century CE to be fifty feet tall and

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<v Speaker 1>forty five feet wide that's fifteen five thirteen meters with

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<v Speaker 1>intricate stone carving all around. It's gone on to inspire

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<v Speaker 1>many similar monuments, but this French version would be much grander,

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<v Speaker 1>at one hundred and sixty five feet high one hundred

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<v Speaker 1>and forty five feet wide that's fifty by forty five meters.

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<v Speaker 1>Before the article of z epsids based on Hastuffworks, spoke

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<v Speaker 1>with W. Jude LeBlanc, an associate professor at the School

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<v Speaker 1>of Architecture at Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He

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<v Speaker 1>said Napoleon was known for never doing things on the

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<v Speaker 1>cheap and thinking big. The emperor called on architect Jean

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<v Speaker 1>francoisterre Chel Grand, who had spent some years in Rome

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<v Speaker 1>and had previously worked on projects for Versailles and prominent churches.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps Napoleon and shell Gran were too ambitious in their proportions,

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<v Speaker 1>because this neoclassical arch took thirty years of albeit non

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<v Speaker 1>continuous work to complete. It took more than two years

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<v Speaker 1>just to lay the foundation. It wasn't finished when Napoleon

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<v Speaker 1>married his second wife in eighteen ten, so he had

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<v Speaker 1>a full size replica crafted from wood so that he

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<v Speaker 1>and his bride could pass under it. Neither Napoleon nor

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<v Speaker 1>Shelgrand saw the structure reach completion. Chelgrand died in eighteen

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<v Speaker 1>eleven and his former people Louis Robert Ghost took over

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<v Speaker 1>the project, but in eighteen fourteen Napoleon abdicated and work

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<v Speaker 1>on the structure slowed to a crawl, if not a standstill,

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<v Speaker 1>until his death in eighteen twenty one in exile on

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<v Speaker 1>the island of Saint Helena. In the meanwhile, the monarchy

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<v Speaker 1>was reinstated and King Louis the eighteenth resumed work on

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<v Speaker 1>the Arctetrionph in eighteen twenty three, with the project finally

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<v Speaker 1>being inaugurated in eighteen thirty six by King Louis Philippe.

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<v Speaker 1>Although Napoleon didn't get to see his completed Triumphal arc.

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<v Speaker 1>He did pass through it when his body was returned

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<v Speaker 1>to France in eighteen forty. It was passed under the

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<v Speaker 1>Octetrionph on the way to his final resting place under

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<v Speaker 1>the Hotel des Invellida. Pardon my literal French. By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>I never studied the language, and I'm trying. The Arc

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<v Speaker 1>de trientf sits along the historical axis of Paris, which

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<v Speaker 1>extends from the Louver Museum to the business district of

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<v Speaker 1>La de France, and it's not the only arch along

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<v Speaker 1>the axis. At one end, the arctatrionf du Carousela, which

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<v Speaker 1>was modeled on the Roman arches of Septimus and Constantine,

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<v Speaker 1>sits between the Louver and the tou Luris Garden. That

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<v Speaker 1>one is about a third of the size and was

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<v Speaker 1>also commissioned by Napoleon. At the far end of the axis,

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<v Speaker 1>La Grande Arche was built for the bisentennial of the

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<v Speaker 1>French Revolution in nineteen eighty nine. It stands as a

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<v Speaker 1>modernist monument to the hope of peace rather than the

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<v Speaker 1>triumph of war, and is more than double the size

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<v Speaker 1>of the Arctatrion. The Octatrioph itself includes many notable sculptures

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<v Speaker 1>with work by many prominent artists on the pillars. Other

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<v Speaker 1>surfaces bear additional reliefs in the names of generals and

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<v Speaker 1>battles a bedeth, the ark Are, the Tomb of the

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<v Speaker 1>Unknown Soldier, added in nineteen twenty one, and the Eternal Flame,

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<v Speaker 1>which is rekindled each evening, and due to its scale,

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<v Speaker 1>the Archtetrioph is known for offering one of the best

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<v Speaker 1>views of the city from the observation deck at the top,

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<v Speaker 1>reached by a spiral staircase. Today's episode is based on

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<v Speaker 1>the article how Napoleon's arquetrianph became a symbol of parrots

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<v Speaker 1>on how Stuffworks dot Com, written by Kerry Whitney Brings Stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>This production of by Heart Radio in partnership with hostuffworks

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<v Speaker 1>dot Com and is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more

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<v Speaker 1>podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

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