The arch was built in 1765 in honor of the wedding of Leopold to Maria Ludovica of Tuscany. It expresses the joy of the marriage on one side, and sadness of the unexpected death (August 18, 1765) of Francis I (Franz Stephan) on the other. Constantin Walter was the designer and Johann Baptist Hagenauer the sculptor. In 1774 Hagenauer created stucco reliefs that were carved by Balthasar Ferdinand Moll (who was also an architect) in Sterzing marble for the arch.