The Arc Héré or Porte Héré is a

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, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

located in the city of

Nancy, France Nancy is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the northeastern Departments of France, French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It was the capital of the Duchy of Lorraine, which was Lorraine and Barrois, annexed by France under King Louis X ...

, on the north side of the

Place Stanislas The Place Stanislas is a large Pedestrian zone, pedestrianised Town Square, square in the France, French city of Nancy, France, Nancy, in the Lorraine historic region. Built between 1752 and 1756 on the orders of Stanislaus I, former King of Polan ...

. It was designed by Emmanuel Héré de Corny to honor the

French king France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

and was built between 1752 and 1755. Its architecture is inspired by the

Arch of Septimius Severus The Arch of Septimius Severus () at the northwestern end of the Roman Forum is a white marble triumphal arch dedicated in 203 AD to commemorate the Roman–Parthian Wars, Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The Arc replaced an older royal gate constructed under the rule of

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

; three

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

s from the old gate are featured on the Arc. The Arc displays motifs of war and peace, with one side featuring arrowheads and armor and the other featuring wheat ears and cornucopias. The top of the Arc bears an inscription reading: "HOSTIUM TERROR / FOEDERUM CULTOR / GENTISQUE DECUS ET AMOR" ("terror of the enemies, maker of treaties, and the glory and love of his people"), referring to Louis XV. To the sides of the inscription are statues of the deities Ceres,

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

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 Gr ...

, and

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

. Above the inscription is an

acroterion An acroterion, acroterium, (pl. akroteria) is an architectural ornament placed on a flat pedestal called the ''acroter'' or plinth, and mounted at the apex or corner of the pediment of a building in the classical style. An acroterion placed ...

comprising

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

statues of

, Pax (the Roman goddess personifying peace), and Fama (the Roman goddess personifying glory), all surrounding a medallion of Louis XV. Below the inscription are three marble bas reliefs taken from the old royal gateway that stood here before the construction of the Arc; they were retained for their depictions of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, to whom Louis XV was often compared in imagery and art.

History

The original white marble medallion of Louis XV on top of the Arc was destroyed during the French Revolution. It was quickly replaced with a gilded lead medallion, which was taken down for preservation in 1830 during the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

. It was eventually replaced on the Arc in 1852. The Arc was designated a ''

monument historique () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

'' in 1923. It forms part of the architectural ensemble comprising the Place Stanislas, the Place de la Carrière, and the Place d'Alliance, which in 1983 was designated as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Gallery

File:Arc Here (3).jpg, View of the Rue Héré leading up to the Arc Héré from the

. File:Arc Here (2).jpg, View of the Arc Héré from the Place de la Carrière. File:Arc Here (5).jpg, View of the Arc Héré at night from the

. File:Nancy Arc Louis XV.JPG, Inscription and acroterion of the Arc Héré.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arc Here Buildings and structures in Nancy, France Here, Arc Monuments historiques of Meurthe-et-Moselle