What does the Arc de triomphe represent?

Answer 1

It was build on order of Napoleon, it represented French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail, with triumphant nationalistic messages.
It was commissioned in 1806 to commemorate the victory of the Battle of Austerlitz when Napoleon defeated the Russo-Austrian army

Answer 2

Originally, it was a monument to the glory of the Grande Armée - Napoleon's army. The names of his victories are carved on the pillars and the undersides of the arches, as are those of his Generals. The names underlined are those of Generals who died in battle. The Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile (the big one, and presumably the one you mean) was, unlike the Arc de Tromphe du Carrousel at the other end of the avenue, not finished at Napoleon's fall, and was only completed under Louis-Philippe in time for the return of the Emperor's remains from St. Helena. After the First World War, the centre of the space under the arch was chosen as the resting place of the Unknown Soldier, in whose honour a littl ceremony of relighting the eternal flame takes place every day at 6pm.

Answer 3

In 1806 Napoleon asked the architect Chalgrin to construct a gigantic triumphal arch in honour of the French Army. The top of the Chaillot hill had to be levelled, and the foundations gave some difficulty, so that by the time the new Empress Marie-Louise arrived in 1810, the arch was only a few feet high. As the Emperor insisted that his bride must drive into Paris through this new gateway, Chalgrin had to get friends from the Theatres of Paris to construct a fake arch of wood and canvas for the occasion. When Napoleon was defeated and exiled in 1814, work stopped, not to be started again till Louis-Philippe ordered it in 1832. It was finished in 1836. In 1840 the body of Napoleon I was carried through in a procession and a snowstorm on its way to the Invalides. In 1854 the twelve avenues were completed by Baron Haussmann. In 1920 the Unknown Soldier was buried under the centre of the Arch. If your grandfather was killed in the First World War - like 1,500,000 other Frenchmen - lay your flowers here. He may be the Unknown Soldier. An everlasting flame on the tomb is rekindled by old soldiers daily.

Answer 4

The napoleonic victories 1800 to 1812