Pont de Saint-Cloud
The pont de Saint-Cloud (Saint-Cloud Bridge) is a French bridge constructed of metal which crosses the Seine between the communes of Boulogne-Billancourt and Saint-Cloud in the French department of Hauts-de-Seine.
The first pont de Saint-Cloud appeared in 841 because of a conflict between Charles the Bald et Lothaire I,[1] and consisted of only a simple wooden footbridge. The Seine has been traversable from this location for twelve centuries, and tradition holds that no king of France has traversed it without suffering a sudden death. As a result, sovereigns have crossed the Seine by boat. The wooden bridge was demolished after the death of François I, and in 1556 his son Henri II constructed a new stone bridge consisting of eleven arches. This bridge was too demolished during the Second Fronde and replaced with a bridge made of wooden arches. Napoléon ordered its renovation in 1808, giving it a new width of 12.8 metres (14.0 yd). It was again reconstructed in 1940, expanded another 30 metres (33 yd) for a total width of 186 metres (203 yd). The single-piece deck crosses the entire river, supported by six columns of reinforced concrete.[2] In order to facilitate circulation across the banks, underground passages have been built on the two sides of the river.
A metro station on line 10 of the Paris Métro has been named after the bridge.
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References
- ↑ "Pont dit Pont de Saint-Cloud à Saint-Cloud (92)". Site du ministère de la culture et de la communication (in French). Retrieved 2009-09-13.
- ↑ Île-de-France, Les guides bleus collection, Hachette, 1963 (in French)
Coordinates: 48°50′28″N 2°13′25″E / 48.84111°N 2.22361°E