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A little history of Germanicus arch

The arch | Jack ma / CC-BY-SA
Gallo-Roman Arch Germanicus arch

A rich inhabitant, Caius Julius Rufus, gave this arch to the city. It marked the arrival of the Roman road which came from Lugdunum (Lyon), between 21 and 31BC.

In the Middle Ages, this arch was cut by half, steep-side in a Gothic bridge.

Then in 1665, engineer Blondel fortified it.

In the 19th century, they wanted to replace the old Roman bridge by an iron bridge!

Well, what a horrible thing to do: fortunately, famous architect and historian Prosper Mérimée objected to this plan in 1843 and moved the arch, stone by stone, to its current location, on the quay of river Charente!

About the the author

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