🏛️ Lieu
Patrimoine & Culture
Arc gallo-romain
📍 Langres, Haute-Marne
· 52200 Langres
À propos
Built some 30 years after Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul, this monumental arch marked the main entrance to Andematunnum - ancient Langres - from the west. Oriented so that the road from Reims entered the city directly, it is the oldest surviving building in Langres. Unsuitable for effective defense, this arch was incorporated into the first fortifications at the end of the 3rd century; its double access was probably condemned at the same time, in favor of the Porte de l'Hôtel de Ville. Because of its protruding angle on the enclosure, it was transformed into a covered tower, equipped with a guardhouse and firing embrasures cut into the frieze.
Until the mid-19th century, a building stood against the arch. As with other parts of the enclosure, these houses were definitively expropriated by the Military Engineers during restoration work, which resulted in the restoration of the cornice crowning the building.
For the record:
In 1845, due to the work carried out by the Génie, a project to relocate this arch was studied by the town and approved by the Prefecture. Following the intervention of the Société Historique et Archéologique de Langres, this prospect was ruled out; the Prefect even proposed reopening the arches "if possible". The cornice was restored in 1854 by Eugène Millet, a pupil of Labrouste and Viollet le Duc. Much to the dismay of the members of the Société Historique et Archéologique de Langres, who had encouraged its classification (1846) and identical maintenance, "a heavy cornice, of a dazzling white, without sculpture, crushes and degrades forever the Arc de Triomphe de Langres".
An oblique mark cutting through the two left-hand pilasters attests to the presence of a house whose roof rested on the gate. Until the middle of the 19th century, many houses were built at the foot of the fortifications, to such an extent that some curtain walls were no longer visible.
The Genie expropriated these hovel-like houses once and for all.
Until the mid-19th century, a building stood against the arch. As with other parts of the enclosure, these houses were definitively expropriated by the Military Engineers during restoration work, which resulted in the restoration of the cornice crowning the building.
For the record:
In 1845, due to the work carried out by the Génie, a project to relocate this arch was studied by the town and approved by the Prefecture. Following the intervention of the Société Historique et Archéologique de Langres, this prospect was ruled out; the Prefect even proposed reopening the arches "if possible". The cornice was restored in 1854 by Eugène Millet, a pupil of Labrouste and Viollet le Duc. Much to the dismay of the members of the Société Historique et Archéologique de Langres, who had encouraged its classification (1846) and identical maintenance, "a heavy cornice, of a dazzling white, without sculpture, crushes and degrades forever the Arc de Triomphe de Langres".
An oblique mark cutting through the two left-hand pilasters attests to the presence of a house whose roof rested on the gate. Until the middle of the 19th century, many houses were built at the foot of the fortifications, to such an extent that some curtain walls were no longer visible.
The Genie expropriated these hovel-like houses once and for all.
