Total length 487 m Body of water Garonne | Phone +33 5 56 00 66 00 | |
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Address Pont de Pierre, 33000 Bordeaux, France Similar Place de la Bourse, Bordeaux Cathedral, Pont Jacques Chaban‑Delmas, Opéra National de Bordeaux, Public Garden | ||
The Pont de pierre, or "Stone Bridge" in English, is a bridge in Bordeaux, (in the Gironde department of France), which connects the left bank of the Garonne River (cours Victor Hugo) to the right bank quartier de la Bastide (Avenue Thiers).
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Overview
First bridge over the Garonne River at Bordeaux, it was planned and designed during the First French Empire, under the orders of Napoleon I, but its construction took place during the Bourbon Restoration, from 1819 to 1822. During these three years, the builders were faced with many challenges because of the strong current at that point in the river. They used a diving bell borrowed from the British to stabilize the bridge's pillars. It has seventeen arches (number of letters in the name Napoléon Bonaparte). On the sides, each pile of bricks is capped by a white medallion in honor of the emperor. It also carries the coat of arms of the city (three intertwined crescents). It was the only bridge until the construction of pont Saint-Jean in 1965.
The bridge and its tide is an important point in the Itinéraire à Grand Gabarit, the logistic schedule transporting parts for the Airbus A380 production.
Postage stamp
On 26 April 2004, a tourist stamp was issued for €0.50 in Bordeaux,. It shows the bridge and a train Pierre tramway de Bordeaux inaugurated on 21 December 2003. Contrary to what the stamp shows, the tram passes on the bridge, and not on a second bridge alongside. The design is the work of Claude Andréotto, engraved by Claude Jumelet for printing intaglio. The stamp was withdrawn from sale on 12 November 2004.