Porte du Peyrou

The Arc de Triomphe* or Porte du Peyrou is a triumphal arch in Montpellier, in southern France.

The arch was designed by the Languedoc architect Charles-Augustin Daliver, after the model of the Porte Saint-Denis in Paris. Its construction was completed in 1692. Its rusticated surface is crowned by a Doric entablature, suitable to a martial monument. Its later panels in bas-relief and inscriptions glorifying King Louis XIV of France were added in 1715.

These reliefs show four major events from the reign of Louis XIV, rendered as allegories:
* the capture of Namur during the War of the Grand Alliance, in which the figure representing the Dutch Republic kneels before Louis XIV
* Louis in the figure of Hercules being crowned by Victory
* the digging of the Canal du Midi that links the Bay of Biscay with the Mediterranean Sea
* the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes.

External links

* [http://www.ville-montpellier.fr/vmtv/fr/actualites/0301/pdf/mnv268p20.pdf Restoration of the arch] Fr icon