The Porte Saint-Martin ( en, St. Martin Gate) is a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

ian monument located at the site of one of the gates of the now-destroyed

fortifications of Paris A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

. It is located at the crossing of Rue Saint-Martin, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin and the '' grands boulevards'' Boulevard Saint-Martin and Boulevard Saint-Denis.

History

The Porte Saint-Martin was designed by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Pierre Bullet (a student of

François Blondel François Blondel ( June 1618 – 21 January 1686) was a soldier, engineer of fortifications, mathematician, diplomat, military and civil engineer and architect, called "the Great Blondel", to distinguish him in a dynasty of French architects. H ...

, architect of the nearby

Porte Saint-Denis The Porte Saint-Denis ( en, St. Denis Gate) is a Parisian monument located in the 10th arrondissement, at the site of one of the gates of the Wall of Charles V, one of Paris' former city walls. It is located at the crossing of the Rue Saint-De ...

) at the order of

Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

in honor of his victories on the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

and in

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...

. Built in 1674, it replaced a medieval gate in the city walls built by

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

. It was restored in 1988.

Description

The Porte Saint-Martin is a heavily rusticated

triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, cr ...

, 18 meters high, built in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

. Recesses are occupied by

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s: *North side left: ''La Prise du Limbourg en 1675'' ''(The Capture of

Limbourg Limbourg (; German and Dutch: ''Limburg''; wa, Limbôr) or Limbourg-sur-Vesdre is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. On 1 January 2008, Limbourg had a total population of 5,680. The total area is 2 ...

)'' by

Pierre Le Gros the Elder Pierre Le Gros the Elder (baptised 27 May 1629 Chartres – died 11 May 1714 Paris)Gerhard Bissell, ''Le Gros, Pierre (1629)'', in: Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, vol. 83, de Gruyter, Berlin 2014, . was a French sculptor in the service of King ...

, a sitting woman next to a lion *North side right: ''La Défaite des Allemands'' ''(The Defeat of the Germans)'' by Gaspard Marsy, Louis XIV as

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

carrying 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 the Triple Alliance)'' by Étienne le Hongre, Louis XIV as

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the ...

, partly nude *South side right: ''La prise de

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

'' ''(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

External links

Insecula - Porte Saint-Martin
Terminating vistas in Paris Triumphal arches in France Monuments and memorials in Paris Buildings and structures completed in 1674 Saint-Martin Buildings and structures in the 10th arrondissement of Paris {{France-struct-stub

History

Description

Access

See also

External links