Triumphal Arch, in full Triumphal Arch of the Star, massive triumphal arch in Paris, France, one of the world’s best-known commemorative monuments. It stands at the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, the western terminus of the Avenue des Champs-Elysees; just over 1.2 miles away, at the eastern terminus, is the Place de la Concorde. Napoleon I commissioned the triumphal arch in 1806-after his great victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) -to celebrate the military achievements of the French armies. The arch, designed by Jean-François-Thérèse Chalgrin, is 164 feet high and 148 feet wide. It sits in a circular plaza from which 12 large radiate avenues, forming a star