The Arch of Triumph

THE ARCH OF TRIUMPH

It is situated at the second circus of the Kiseleff boulevard, at its intersection with Marshal Prezan and Marshal Averescu Boulevards, near one of the south entries of the Herastrau Park.

The first monument, a wooden one, was erected on the same spot in 1922. The actual arch was built in 1935 in Deva granite, by Architect Petre Antonescu, who is also the father of the Bucharest City Hall. It is conceived in classical style, following the model of the great Arch of Triumph in Paris.

Its shape is that of a parallelipiped, with a 25 x 11.5 m basis and a height of 27 m. Its span is 11 m high and 9.5 m wide and has an arch of a circle at its upper part. The two feet of the monument have interior staircases which lead to the terrace of the monument.

Its façades are decorated with stone carvings -bas-reliefs, medallions, royal crowns and the effigies of Queen Mary and King Ferdinand, who had an important contribution to the 1918 union of all Romanian speaking provinces. Famous sculptors like Ion Jalea, Cornel Medrea, Mac Constantinescu, Frederick Storck, Dimitrie Paciurea or Constantin Baraschi contributed to the decoration of the monument.