The arch was commissioned by King Ludwig I of Bavaria,[1] designed by Friedrich von Gärtner[1] and completed by Eduard Mezger in 1852.
The marble quadriga was sculpted by Johann Martin von Wagner,[2] artistic advisor to Ludwig and a professor at the University of Würzburg.
After sustaining heavy damage in World War II it was to be demolished in July 1945,[1] however, the arch was reconstructed and restored only partially,[4] in a manner similar to the conservation of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche in Berlin.
The new inscription on the back side by Wilhelm Hausenstein reads Dem Sieg geweiht, vom Krieg zerstört, zum Frieden mahnend, "Dedicated to victory, destroyed by war, urging peace".
In the second of the German language film series, Heimat 2 by Edgar Reitz, Evelyne and Ansgar meet and talk by the monument, on which the inscription honoring peace may be seen.