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A little history of Bordeaux pont de Pierre

The bridge | Steven Lek / CC-BY-SA
Bridge Bordeaux pont de Pierre

Originally, it was Mr. Trudaine, general intendant, who wanted to raise a bridge (Pont de Pierre in French) on the river Garonne in 1772.

But the plan was very ambitious, difficult, too! Oh, the Garonne is a pretty capricious river, you know.

Here, in Bordeaux, the Garonne is deep, large, controlled by tides and quick currents.

When the tide is up, a kind of big, big wave appears, because the salty water brought by tides meets with the river waters.

So there was a problem. But Napoleon came! And he wanted to build that bloody bridge! In 1808, he raised a wooden bridge, then, 2 years later, they started a stony one.

Finally, on September 29th 1821, it was inaugurated! 487 metres long, 15 metres large, it has 17 arches and 16 stony piers.

About the the author

Vinaigrette
I'm fond of strolls and History, with juicy and spicy details!