Pont de pierre



J. P. ALAUX. Vue de Bx. prise de Floirac.1832
© Musée des Beaux Arts

Until 1822 Bordeaux did not have any bridges. The only link between the two river banks was the boat crossing set up between the Bastide and the Sainte Croix gate.
The decision to build a bridge was taken by Emperor Napoleon I. During the war with Spain, his troops had to cross the Garonne by boat en route to the Iberian Peninsula. The Bridges and Highways engineer, Claude Deschamps, was appointed works manager. On 6 December 1812, the first stone was laid, but the fall of the Empire undermined the continuation of the work.



P. Brun. Sur le pont de pierre. Vers 1840. A.M.Fi IX.R182
© Archives Municipales de Bordeaux

After 1815, some rich Bordeaux merchants had the idea of founding an association with the State, in the form of a limited company, the Bordeaux Company. Work then began again.
On 25 April 1821, the last stone was laid by the Prefect of the Gironde and the stone bridge was opened on 1 May 1822.
Composed of 17 cut-stone and brick arches resting on 16 piers and 2 abutments, and 486.68 metres in length, the stone bridge is longer than Waterloo Bridge over the Thames, as well as the bridges crossing the Elbe in Dresden and the Loire in Tours. It is more than twice as wide as the Pont de la Buillotère in Lyon.