The Triumphal Arch in Moscow is dedicated to the victory of the Russian army in the Patriotic War of 1812. It was erected in 1966 in the middle of Kutuzov Avenue, on the old Smolensk Road. Nearby is the top of Poklonnaya Hill, where Napoleon was waiting for the keys to Moscow, and now Victory Park, dedicated to the events of WWII, is located here.
The first Triumphal Arch in Moscow was built in 1814 for the ceremonial reception of Russian troops returning from a foreign campaign. This triumphal arch was built of wood on Tverskaya Zastava Square, where the city authorities usually met the emperor. Count Rostopchin was rebuilding Moscow after a fire at that time, so the construction of the stone arch in such a short time was impossible.
The tradition of erecting Triumphal arches came from ancient Rome. These arches were built for the ceremony of the triumph of emperors returning from successful military campaigns. To this day, the Arch of Titus (the oldest), the Arch of Septimius Severus and the Arch of Constantine (the largest) have been preserved in Rome.
Napoleon decided to revive the tradition of building triumphal arches in France. After the victories in 1806-1808, he built the Arc de Triomphe on Carrusel Square. In 1806, he also laid the huge Arc de Triomphe of Paris, dedicated to all the victories of the Grand Army.
In Russia, after the victory over Napoleon in the War of 1812 and after the capture of Paris by Russian troops in 1813, the authorities also decided to build Triumphal Arches. One of them was erected in Moscow. In St. Petersburg, the Narva Triumphal Arch was built later.
In 1826, at the initiative of Emperor Nicholas I, the wooden triumphal arch was replaced by a monumental stone arch. The development of the project of the Triumphal Arch in Moscow was entrusted to the architect Osip Bove. However, its arch, like the arches in Paris, is a copy of ancient Roman monuments.
The stone Triumphal Arch in Moscow was located on Tverskaya Zastava Square until 1936, but due to the need to expand the carriageway of one of the main city streets, it was decided to dismantle it in order to erect arch elsewhere. These plans were prevented by the WWII.
The city authorities returned to the idea of recreating the Triumphal Arch in Moscow only in 1966. Using materials from the first arch was already impossible, but the new arch was built as an exact copy of the old one. It was erected on Kutuzov Avenue next to the Kutuzov Hut in Fili and the Borodino Panorama. Thus, a memorial complex dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 was formed on Poklonnaya Hill.
