Pont d'Avignon

This is the bridge referred to in the song "Sur le Pont D'Avignon". Pretty site and the Rhone River is peaceful and lovely too. There is a good exhibit on the construction techniques used in the old days to build the bridge.

In 1177, a young shepherd named Bénézet came down from the mountains of the Ardèche. He said he was sent by God to build a bridge in Avignon. The bridge of Avignon was started in 1177 and was built in only 8 years. 920 metres long, it had 22 arches and measured 4 metres wide. Arles having lost its Roman bridge, that of Avignon became the only place between Lyon and the Mediterranean to cross the Rhône. The city attracted travelers, merchants and manufacturers and quickly developed thanks to the revenue generated by the tolls.

In 1226, after the terrible siege to which Louis VIII subjected the city, three quarters of the bridge was destroyed. A few years later, despite it being forbidden, the people of Avignon rebuilt it.

From the 17th century on, the city could no longer bear the costs of the bridge's maintenance and repairs. In 1603, following strong flooding of the Rhône, one arch collapsed, then three others in 1605. Repair work didn't start until1628, interrupted by an epidemic of plague, and the bridge was not usable again until 1633. Two months later, the new arches were swept away by the Rhône, and here it sits today.Read more