The Jacques-Gabriel Bridge (named ''pont Jacques-Gabriel'' in French) spans the

Loire river The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher Departments of France, department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the mos ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, since the beginning of the 18th century. With a total length of 283m, it is made up of 11 arches, and is the last

arch bridge An arch bridge is a bridge with abutments at each end shaped as a curved arch. Arch bridges work by transferring the weight of the bridge and its structural load, loads partially into a horizontal thrust restrained by the abutments at either si ...

on the river that is pointed. Since its construction, the edifice holds the name of the architect who designed it,

Jacques Gabriel Jacques Gabriel (1667 – 23 April 1742) was a French architect, the father of the famous Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Jacques Gabriel was a designer, painter and architect of the 17th and 18th centuries and one of the most prominent designers of t ...

. The bridge was partially destroyed three times: in 1870 (

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

), 1940 and 1944 (

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

). It is now crossed by the Route Nationale 156. The bridge was listed as a

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

by order of 22 April 1937.

Location

The bridge spans the Loire river in the middle of

, between the downtown (from the same axis of the Denis Papin staircase) and

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

on the left bank (aligned to ''Wilson Avenue'').

History

Construction of a new Bloisian bridge

Since the 11th century, a stone bridge was used to link both banks. In the night between 6 and 7 February 1716, this medieval bridge collapsed. The construction of a new bridge is decided by August 1716. The project management is given by Duke Philippe of Orléans to

, yet King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

's official architect. As early as the end of that year, a regiment from

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

is called to build the bridge. The infrastructure is inaugurated on 4 May 1724, with an 14.6m-high

obelisk An obelisk (; , diminutive of (') ' spit, nail, pointed pillar') is a tall, slender, tapered monument with four sides and a pyramidal or pyramidion top. Originally constructed by Ancient Egyptians and called ''tekhenu'', the Greeks used th ...

standing in its middle.

Pictures

References

{{Authority control Arch bridges in France Bridges over the Loire Transport infrastructure completed in 1724 Blois Monuments historiques of Loir-et-Cher Buildings and structures in Loir-et-Cher Stone bridges in France