Porte Saint-Denis description and photos - France: Paris (Topic)

Porte Saint-Denis description and photos - France: Paris. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Porte Saint-Denis.

Photo and description

The Gate of Saint-Denis is called an arch located at the intersection of Saint-Denis, Faubourg Saint-Denis, boulevard de Bon Nouvelle and boulevard Saint-Denis. In fact, it is a triumphal arch, erected in honor of military victories.

The gate was installed here to commemorate the victories of King Louis XIV in the Dutch War of 1672-1678. This war spread to all of Europe and at first was absolutely victorious for the king: in less than two months in Flanders and on the banks of the Rhine, he took more than four dozen Dutch fortresses. It was then that Louis ordered the erection of the gates of Saint-Denis.

The gates were built according to the project of the director of the Royal Academy of Architecture Francois Blondel, who took the triumphal Arch of Titus in Rome as a model. The place for the construction was chosen historical: under Charles V there was a gates-bastion in the medieval city wall.

The gates turned out to be majestic: height - 25 meters, total width - 24 meters, span width - 8 meters. Each of the facades is decorated with sculptures and reliefs depicting the victories of the Sun King. On the side facing east, you can see the symbols of victories on the Rhine, on the west - in Flanders. The north side captured the capture of Maastricht, the south - the crossing of the Rhine. There are special passages in the gate supports for commoners who could accompany the king's cortege.

The gate was built in 1672, when the end of the war was still far away. By 1678, when the Peace of Nimwegen was signed, the victorious France suffered such losses that the country's budgetary balance was disturbed, and popular unrest began. Nevertheless, the gate became an impressive monument to the country's military glory, one of the best examples of early French classicism.

There was another military page in the history of the gate. During the June Revolution of 1848, a bloody battle between the insurgent Parisian workers and the Republican Guards took place near them. The battle was fought with cannons and cavalry. Dozens of Parisians died.

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Topic: Porte Saint-Denis description and photos - France: Paris.