The first, wooden, triumphal arch was built hurriedly, after
Romania gained
its independence (1878), so that the victorious troops could march under it. Another arch with concrete skeleton and plaster exterior of elaborate sculptures and decoration designed by the architect
Petre Antonescu was built on the same site after
World War I in 1922. The arch exterior, which had seriously decayed, was replaced in 1935 by the current much more sober
neoclassical design, more closely modelled on the
Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The new arch, also designed by Antonescu and executed in stone, was inaugurated on 1 December 1936. Nowadays, Arcul de Triumf is one of the well-known symbols of the Romanian capital. Military parades are held beneath the arch each 1 December, with the occasion of
Romanian National Day. File:Russians' triumphal entry in Bucharest.jpg|The
Russian Tsar's triumphal entry in Bucharest in 1878,
wood-engraving from
Illustrated London News File:Franz Mandy - Intoarcerea victorioasa in Bucuresti a armatei romane de pe frontul din Bulgaria.jpg|The original Arcul de Triumf in 1878; temporary wooden arch constructed to celebrate Romanian Independence File:Nicolae Ionescu - Pretzel vendors in uniform in front of the Triumph Arch.jpg|
Pretzel vendors in uniform near the current Arcul de Triumf in the late 1930s ==Description and surroundings==