Triumphal Arch of Moscow

For a triumphal gate in St. Petersburg, seeMoscow Triumphal Gate.

The Triumphal Gate on Victory Square, 2017

The original Triumphal Gate on Tverskaya Zastava Square, 1848, byFélix Benoist

The third and the oldest survivingtriumphal archinMoscowwas built in 1829–34 onTverskaya Zastava SquaretoJoseph Bové's designs in order to commemorateRussia'svictory over Napoleonduring theFrench invasion of Russiain 1812. It replaced an earlier wooden structure built by the veterans of theNapoleonic Warsin 1814.

The arch was built in brick and lined withashlar.The columns and statues were ofcast iron.Aseiuga(six-horse chariot) was designed byGiovanni Vitali.The bilingual inscription in Russian and Latin ran as follows:

To the blessed memory ofAlexander Iwho raised from ashes and adorned with many memorials of paternal care this former capital that had beencommitted to the mercy of fireduring the invasion of theGaulsand twelve other nations.

The arch was dismantled in 1936 as part ofJoseph Stalin's reconstruction of downtown Moscow. Vitali's sculptures were then put on exhibit at an architectural museum on the grounds of the formerDonskoy Monastery.After theSecond World War,there were plans to rebuild the structure in front of theBelorussky railway station.

The current arch was built to Bove's original designs in 1966–68 in the middle ofKutuzovsky Avenue(the prospekt was named after MarshallMikhail Kutuzovwho led Russia to victory over Napoleon in 1952), close to theVictory Park.An open space surrounding the arch is known as theVictory Square.

See also

• List of post-Roman triumphal arches

External links

• Media related toTriumphal Arch of Moscowat Wikimedia Commons