Porte Saint-Martin

The Porte Saint-Martin is a Parisian monument located at the site of one of the gates of the now-destroyed fortifications of Paris. 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 Pierre Bullet (a student of François Blondel, architect of the nearby Porte Saint-Denis) at the order of Louis XIV in honor of his victories on the Rhine and in Franche-Comté. Built in 1674, it replaced a medieval gate in the city walls built by Charles V. It was restored in 1988.

Description

The Porte Saint-Martin is a heavily rusticated triumphal arch, 18 meters high, built in limestone and marble. Recesses are occupied by bas reliefs:

*North side left: "La Prise du Limbourg en 1675" "(The Capture of Limbourg)" by Pierre Legros I, 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 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, partly nude
*South side right: "La prise de Besançon" "(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 womean

Access

See also

* Porte Saint-Denis

External links

* [http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/O0012695.html Insecula - Porte Saint-Martin] fr