Arcul de Triumf (the Arch of Triumph), the monument on Șoseaua Kiseleff

Where it is

The Arch of Triumph is in Piața Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest, on Șoseaua Kiseleff, according to Wikipedia and Le Petit Journal.

A monument in three versions

The English Wikipedia describes a first wooden arch, hastily erected after the independence of 1878. On the same site came an arch with a concrete frame, built in 1922 to plans by the architect Petre Antonescu. The Le Petit Journal article of September 25, 2024 says that the local administration decided to build a permanent monument in 1922, after the earlier arches had been temporary, and that the base and frame were made of reinforced concrete. That article does not mention the wooden arch of 1878.

The stone arch of 1936

The exterior of the 1922 arch deteriorated. After Mihai Mora’s 1932 article, a public subscription was opened, and Petre Antonescu rebuilt the arch in Deva granite, with marble bas-reliefs, according to Le Petit Journal. Today’s version was inaugurated on December 1, 1936, both sources say. Antonescu drew inspiration from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Wikipedia gives the monument a height of 27 meters, a figure from a single source.

Restoration

The English Wikipedia notes that the monument was renovated in 1935–1936 and again starting in 2014. The same page uses the word “replaced” for the 1935 works and elsewhere “renovated”, so we do not go into detail.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Arch of Triumph inaugurated?

On December 1, 1936, according to the English Wikipedia and Le Petit Journal.

Who designed it?

The architect Petre Antonescu.

Can you go up inside the Arch of Triumph?

Le Petit Journal writes that a museum with four permanent exhibitions operates in the legs of the arch. Whether and how the interior can be visited, the sources do not say; check the website of the Bucharest City Hall or of the monument’s administrator.