The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. 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 Restoration, construction was halted and would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, in 1833¢‚¬€œ36 when the architects on site were Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Hƒ©ricart de Thury. Napoleon's body passed under it on 15 December 1840 on its way to its second and final resting place at Les Invalides.  From Wikipedia

3/26/09 

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