Pont du Diable (Céret)

Pont du Diable
Le Pont du Diable de Céret (The Devil's bridge of Céret)
Coordinates	42°29′43″N 2°44′39″E / 42.49528°N 2.74417°E / 42.49528; 2.74417Coordinates: 42°29′43″N 2°44′39″E / 42.49528°N 2.74417°E / 42.49528; 2.74417
Crosses	Tech River
Locale	Céret, Pyrénées-Orientales, France
Characteristics
Design	stone arch bridge
Longest span	45.45 metres (149.1 ft)
Clearance below	22.3 metres (73 ft)
History
Construction begin	1321
Construction end	1341

The Pont du Diable (English: Devil's bridge) or Pont Vieux (English: Old bridge) is a medieval stone arch bridge at Céret, France, built between 1321 and 1341. It spans the river Tech with an imposing single arch of 45.45 metres (149.1 ft). At its apex the arch is 22.3 metres (73 ft) high.^[1]

History

At the time of its construction it became the world's largest bridge arch, being bigger than the Ponte della Maddalena in Italy which held the world record until then. It remained so until 1356, when the Castelvecchio Bridge in Verona (Italy) became the new largest bridge. Damaged during the war of the First Coalition (1792-1797), French general Luc Siméon Auguste Dagobert wanted to blow it up to keep the Spanish army from going back to Catalonia. The bridge was saved just before being destroyed thanks to the action of Representative Joseph Cassanyes and restored later.^[1]

Legend

The locals wanted a bridge to be built across the river and called upon the devil to build it for them. The devil agreed on the condition that he would claim the first soul to cross the bridge. Once the bridge was built the locals sent a cat across for the devil to claim its soul. Then for many years afterwards no person would cross, just in case – a legend common to many devil's bridges in France.

In arts

• The bridge was painted by Paul Cézanne and Auguste Herbin.

• It features in a scene from the film The Hunchback by André Hunebelle, in which three swordsmen are sent to Spain to kill Lagardère and the daughter of the Duke of Nevers.

Gallery

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  Pont du Diable (1830)

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  Pont du Diable (1853)

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  Walking across the bridge

See also

• List of medieval bridges in France

Other very large medieval bridges

• Puente del Diablo (Martorell) (37.3 m span)
• Ponte della Maddalena (37.8 m span)
• Puente de San Martín (Toledo) (40 m span)
• Nyons Bridge (40.53 m span)
• Castelvecchio Bridge (48.7 m span)
• Pont Grand (Tournon-sur-Rhône) (49.2 m span)
• Pont de Vieille-Brioude (54.2 m span)
• Trezzo sull'Adda Bridge (72 m span)
• Dyavolski most (56m span)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont du Diable (Céret).

• Pont du Diable (Céret) at Structurae
• Pont du Diable at Brueckenweb (German)
• Ceret virtual Tours