Porte Saint-Martin

Porte Saint-Martin
Porte Saint-Martin (2014).
Location within Paris
General information
Type	Triumphal arch
Location	10th arrondissement,Paris, France
Coordinates	48°52′08.90″N2°21′20.25″E
Completed	1674
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Pierre Bullet

ThePorte Saint-Martin(English:St. Martin Gate) is aParisianmonument located at the site of one of the gates of the now-destroyedfortifications of Paris.It is located at the crossing of Rue Saint-Martin, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin and thegrands boulevardsBoulevard Saint-Martin and Boulevard Saint-Denis.

History

The Porte Saint-Martin was designed byarchitectPierre Bullet(a student ofFrançois Blondel,architect of the nearbyPorte Saint-Denis) at the order ofLouis XIVin honor of his victories on theRhineand inFranche-Comté.Built in 1674, it replaced a medieval gate in the city walls built byCharles V.It was restored in 1988.

Description

The Porte Saint-Martin is a heavilyrusticatedtriumphal arch,18 meters high, built inlimestoneandmarble.Recesses are occupied bybas-reliefs:

• North side left:La Prise du Limbourg en 1675(The Capture ofLimbourg)byPierre Le Gros the Elder,a sitting woman next to a lion
• North side right:La Défaite des Allemands(The Defeat of the Germans)byGaspard Marsy,Louis XIV asMarscarrying the shield of France and pushing back a German eagle to protect a woman and an old man
• South side left:La Rupture de la Triple Alliance(The Breaking of theTriple Alliance)by Étienne le Hongre, Louis XIV asHercules,partly nude
• South side right:La prise deBesançon(The Capture of Besançon)by Martin van den Bogaert, Louis XIV dressed as Fame, standing in front of an olive tree and receiving keys from a woman

Access

___	Located near theMétro stations:Strasbourg - Saint-DenisandRépublique.

See also

• Porte Saint-Denis
• List of post-Roman triumphal arches

External links

• Insecula - Porte Saint-Martin(in French)