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Seen in today's entry is Pont d'Avignon (also known as Pont Saint-Bénezet), the famous medieval bridge in the town of Avignon, France. The bridge was built between 1171 and 1185, and it had an original length of nearly a kilometer. However, the construction of the bridge was a bit shoddy, and as a result, the bridge suffered frequent collapses during floods. Over the centuries, the arches of the bridge would collapse, only to be replaced by temporary wooden sections, which wouldn't hold for a very long time.
The demise of the bridge came via the catastrophic flood of 1668, which swept away much of Pont d'Avignon's foundation. The bridge was then taken out of service and ultimately abandoned with no future repairs for it planned. Since 1668, its surviving arches have successively collapsed or been demolished, and only four of the initial 22 arches remain intact today (as you can see in the image, which is an HDR image).
The bridge's construction was inspired by Saint Bénézet, a local shepherd boy who (according to tradition) was commanded by angels to build a bridge across the river:
A young shepherd by the name of Bénezet came to Avignon from his native Ardèche, in 1177. He said that he was sent by God to build a bridge in Avignon. At first, he was considered to be crazy, stating that he had heard a voice from heaven say to him: “ Bénezet, take your shepherd’s staff and go down to Avignon, the capital of the river. You shall talk to the inhabitants, and you shall tell them that a bridge has to be built.'
One Sunday during a religious feast day, as the Bishop of Avignon was giving his blessing on the esplanade in front of the church, Bénezet spoke to him and said: “Lord Bishop, I have been sent by the All-Powerful to build a bridge over the Rhône…”
Mocked by the crowd, the shepherd was challenged by the bishop to lift an enormous stone onto his shoulders, and toss it into the Rhône. Bénezet did not hesitate and before the gaze of the amazed crowd, proceeded to lift an enormous block of stone and heave it into the water, assisted, it is said, by divine intervention, even by angels surrounded by a golden light.
Today, there is a famous song called 'Sur le pont d'Avignon' which tour guides might (will) sing to you if you ever visit Avignon on a tour. The bridge is located on the outskirts of the city of Avignon, and there are signs all over the city pointing the way to 'Pont d'Avignon,' sometimes simply stated as 'Pont.'
Through trains now use the Avignon TGV station a few km outside the city, but certain TGV services still terminate in the fine old station in the heart of the Cité des Papes. Here we see a TGV Duplex at rest, under the overall roof and 1500kV DC catenary.
Avignon is the home of the Palais des Papes, a Gothic palace begun in 1252 CE and the home of the popes of the RC Church from 1309 to 1377 when the papacy returned to Rome. It's the largest Gothic palace in Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's an amazing place and much of it is not as ornate and lavish as you might expect. The two bottom, center photos were taken of the area in front of the palace.