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| 0368 Paris - Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (1) |
Posted on 24.10.2012, 01.10.2016
Located in Paris, in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile - designed by Marquis de Marigny at the intersection of twelve avenues), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch) is the linchpin of the Axe historique (Historic Axis), a sequence of monuments on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre, to the Grande Arche de la Défense. It was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982, having 50m in height, 45m wide and 22m deep.
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| 2788 Paris - Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (2) |
It was commissioned in 1806 (after the victory at Austerlitz) by Emperor Napoleon, but it was completed only during the reign of King Louis-Philippe, in 1836. The first architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811, and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot, then by Héricart de Thury. It 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 and 1945. Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WW.
It is a Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture, and 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. Four sculpted groups adorn its abutments, depicting The Entry of Napoleon, The Departure of the Volunteers (commonly called La Marseillaise), The Conquest of Alexandria and The Battle of Austerlitz. On the façades are six reliefs sculpted, representing important moments of the French Revolution and of the Napoleonic era. The great arcades are decorated with allegorical figures representing characters in Roman mythology.
About the stamps
On the postcard 0368
The stamp is the same blue Marianne et l'Europe issued on November 7, 2011.
On the postcard 2788
The stamp is part of the series Portraits - Aurtoportraits, about which I wrote here.
References
Arc de Triomphe - Wikipedia
Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile - Discover France
Arc de Triomphe, Paris - Arc de Triomphe official site
Sender 0368: Dragoş Cioroboiu
Sent from Paris (Île-de-France / France), on 12.04.2012
Sender 2788: Mihnea Răducu
Sent from Paris (Île-de-France / France), on 27.09.2016
Photo: Franck Godard
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