The New International Encyclopædia/Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile

ARC DE TRIOMPHE DE L'ETOILE, ärk d𝑒 trē̇′ôNf′ d𝑒 lā̇′twäl′ (Fr., triumphal arch of the star). The largest triumphal arch in the world. It stands at the head of the Champs Elysées, Paris, and was begun by Napoleon in 1806, and completed by Louis Philippe in 1836. It was designed by Chalgrin, and is profusely ornamented with reliefs representing the Napoleonic victories, in commemoration of which it was erected. See Arch, Triumphal.