Porte Saint-Martin was built in 1674, on the orders of Louis XIV, in honour of his victories on the Rhine and France-Comte. It replaced a medieval gate in the city walls, and is the second of four triumphal arches in Paris (the other three being the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, the Arc de Triomophe de l'toile and the Porte Saint-Denis). Standing 18 metres high, it is built in limestone with a white marble flat entablature at the top. It was inspired by the Arch of Titus in Rome, and bears the Latin inscription: "To Louis the Great, for having vanquished the German, Spanish, and Dutch armies: the Dean of the Guild and the Aldermen of Paris."
