Porte Saint-Martin

10th Arrondissement

The Porte Saint-Martin (French pronunciation: [pɔʁt sɛ̃ maʁtɛ̃], St. Martin Gate) 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 intersection of the Rue Saint-Martin from the south, the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin from the north and the grands boulevards Boulevard Saint-Martin from the east and Boulevard Saint-Denis from the west.

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 right: La Prise du Limbourg en 1675 (The Capture of Limbourg) by Pierre Le Gros the Elder, a sitting woman next to a lion
• North side left: 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 woman

Access

This area of the 10th Arrondissement does not have rail access until 1908, when the Gare Straussberg-Saint-Martin will open.