Pont de Mirabeau
Coordinates: 43 ° 41 ′ 23 " N , 5 ° 40 ′ 2" E
| Pont de Mirabeau | ||
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_-_Le_Pont.jpg) |
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| use | Road bridge | |
| Crossing of | Durance | |
| place | Mirabeau and Jouques , Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur , France | |
| construction | T-beam bridge made of reinforced concrete | |
| overall length | 175 m | |
| height | 14 m | |
| completion | 1987 | |
| opening | 1988 | |
| location | ||
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The Pont de Mirabeau is a French road bridge between the departments of Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône , over which the departmental road 996 crosses the Durance . The pillars of one of the suspension bridges that precede today's bridge have been classified as a historical monument since 1988 .
geography
The Canteperdrix Gorge, or Mirabeau Gorge, is a narrowing of the Durance valley between the communes of Mirabeau in Vaucluse and Jouques in Bouches-du-Rhône, where the river that goes around the Luberon Mountains makes its way through steep limestone cliffs. Since the 15th century, numerous bridges have been built at this cheap crossing point, which has been known since ancient times.
The next road crossings of the Durance are at Pertuis 18 kilometers downstream and at Manosque 20 kilometers upstream.
history
The Pont de Mirabeau, namesake of the bridge in Paris sung about by Guillaume Apollinaire , has a very eventful history.
In ancient times , the old Roman road from Aix-en-Provence to Riez passed this place. There is evidence that cable ferries have been used for the crossing since the first half of the 13th century . The 19 meter long, 5 meter wide and 80 centimeter high ferries were made of larch wood and moved by the ferryman with the help of poles, ropes and ropes .
The first bridge construction project dates back to the 15th century. The various "Mirabeau bridges" that were built were completely or partially destroyed by floods of the Durance in 1440, 1635, 1843 and 1881 and each time they were rebuilt, which is possibly due to the lucrative road toll .
After two unsuccessful bridge building projects in 1816 and 1817, Marc Seguin pursued the idea of a suspension bridge in 1825, which Jean-François Théophile Sauzet began to realize six years later. The suspension bridge was oversized and a marvel of architecture. It was 150 meters long and 5.5 meters wide. The suspensions were anchored to two neo-Romanesque bridge piers still standing today , which have been registered in the additional directory of the Monument historiques by decree since July 6, 1988 . The bridge pillar opposite Mirabeau recorded on the commemorative plaque, which was largely destroyed today, that this project was carried out by Jean Laurent Isidore Cayre (1800–1863), head of the bridge and road office of the Commune de résidence: Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône).
The bridge, completed in 1835, was torn away by a heavy flood on November 2, 1843 and rebuilt in 1845.
The bridge was left to Sauzet for use from December 14, 1830 for 34 years and 10 months, but after the flood of 1843, Sauzet refused to pay the repair costs alone. After a court hearing, he lost his license , which was reassigned to Chaffard on November 20, 1845. The cost of the restoration amounted to 210,000 francs, on the other hand there were road toll income of 28,000 francs per year.
The bridge was destroyed during the First World War and replaced by a bridge with a span of 175 meters. It had a height of 14 meters and was equipped with two 22 meter high reinforced concrete towers.
It is said that the Pont de Mirabeau had a foot each in one of the four adjoining departments Alpes-de-Haute-Provence , Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Vaucluse, and that each pillar represented its department on a frieze . The friezes were made by Antoine Sartorio and are now united on the roundabout island on the eastern bank of the Durance.
During the Second World War , the Allies tried to bomb the bridge from the air in order to delay the retreat of the German tanks, but this was unsuccessful. The bridge was finally blown up by members of the Resistance on August 17, 1944. During their northern offensive, American troops anchored a ship bridge south of the existing bridge on August 20 .
In 1947 the former suspension bridge was rebuilt.
The T- beam bridge that exists today was completed in 1987 and put into operation in 1988.
Au pont de Mirabèu
The Provencal folk song Au pont de Mirabèu , in the original o-ou pon dé mirabéou , tells of the young Mirabelan Katherina, who washes her clothes under the bridge, when three knights come by and ask for her hand. The first asks if she is already married, the second hands her a ring, which falls into the Durance, the third plunges into the water and drowns.
There are different versions of the song in Occitan . In the west of the language area, Al Pont de Mirabel is sung with reference to the municipality of Mirabel in south-west France, while the song in the east refers to Mirabeau. The melody could be of Slavic origin, but there are no written records of it.
Interpretations:
- Renat Sette on his album A cappella
- Miquela e lei chapacans
See also
Web links
literature
- Maurice Billo, J.-P. Guiol: Le pont de Mirabeau. Edisud, Aix-en-Provence 1989, ISBN 978-2-85744-339-1 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry no. PA00082081 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ Entry No. IA84000136 in the Base Mérimée of the French Ministry of Culture (French)
- ↑ CAYRE (Jean Laurent, Isidore). (PDF, p. 100.) on archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr.
- ↑ Guy Baruol, Philippe Autran: Pour en savoir plus. In: Autran, Barruol, Jacqueline Ursch: D'une rive à l'autre: les ponts de Haute-Provence de l'Antiquité à nos jours. Les Alpes de lumière no 153, Forcalquier 2006, ISBN 2-906162-81-7 , p. 46.
- ↑ Photos of the reliefs. paca.culture.gouv.fr, accessed June 21, 2013 (French).
- ^ Henri Julien (ed.): Guide du débarquement de Provence, 15 août 1944. Éditions de Haute-Provence, Digne-les-Bains 1994, ISBN 2-909800-68-7 , p. 81.
- ↑ a b Renat Sette: Solo - chants de Haute Provence a cappella. CD and booklet, Cantar and Harmonia Mundi , p. 8.
- ↑ Al Pont de Mirabel on: Les plus belles mélodies d'Occitanie lyrics . Lyrics in Occitan. greatsong.net, accessed June 21, 2013 .
- ^ Provencal audio library. Center de Documentation Provençale, accessed on June 21, 2013 (French).