Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris[1] [2].
The bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was built between 1896 and 1900. It is named after Tsar Alexander III, who had concluded the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1892. His son Nicholas II laid the foundation stone in October 1896. The style of the bridge reflects that of the Grand Palais, to which it leads on the right bank.
The construction of the bridge is a marvel of 19th century engineering, consisting of a six-metre high single span steel arch. The design, by the architects Joseph Cassien-Bernard and Gaston Cousin, was subject to strict controls that prevented the bridge from obscuring the view of the Champs-Élysées or the Invalides.
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The bridge was built by the engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d'Alby and inaugurated in 1900 for the Universal Exhibition (as were the nearby Grand Palais and Petit Palais). The Pont Alexandre III is classified as a historical monument.
Numerous sculptors provided the sculpture that features prominently in the bridge. Four gilt-bronze statues of Fames watch over the bridge, supported on massive 17-meter socles, that provide stabilizing counterweight for the arch, without interfering with monumental views. The socles are crowned by Fames restraining Pegasus : on the Right Bank, Renommée des Sciences ("Fame of the Sciences") and the Renommée des Arts ("Fame of the Arts") both by Emmanuel Frémiet; at their bases, La France Contemporaine ("Contemporary France") by Gustave Michel and France de Charlemagne ("France of Charlemagne") by Alfred Lenoir. The lions groups are by Georges Gardet.
On the Left Bank, the Renommée du Commerce ("Fame of Commerce") by Pierre Granet and the Renommée de l'Industrie ("Fame of Industry") by Clément Steiner; at their bases France de la Renaissance ("France of the Renaissance") by Jules Coutan and La France de Louis XIV ("France of Louis XIV") by Laurent Honoré Marqueste. The lions groups are by Jules Dalou.
At the centres of the arches, Nymphs of the Seine with the arms of France correspond with Nymphs of the Neva with the arms of Imperial Russia on the other face; both are executed in hammered copper over forms by Georges Récipon.
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Trivia
- In the film Angel-A it is the Pont Alexandre III from which Angela and André jump into the Seine.
- In the movie Anastasia (1997), the bridge is damaged by Rasputin in an attempt to kill Anastasia, who in real life was the granddaughter of Alexander III.
- In the film Ronin, the spy team meets some arms dealers under the bridge on the Right Bank.
- In the sixth season of the TV series the The Sopranos, in the episode "Cold Stones", Carmela Soprano visits Paris and crosses the bridge.
- In the videoclip Say Something, Mariah Carey appears on the bridge.
- In the movie A Very Long Engagement, Marion Cotillard's character kills François Levantal's under the bridge.
See also
- Trinity Bridge - a bridge in Saint Petersburg conceived as a memorial to the Franco-Russian Alliance (design by Gustave Eiffel, first stone laid in August 1897 by French president Félix Faure)
References
External links
Media related to Pont Alexandre III at Wikimedia Commons- Alexandre III Bridge in the Structurae database
- Pont Alexandre III
- Alexandre III Bridge, current photographs and of the 1900s.
Location
Bridge location on the Seine:
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| Downstream: Pont des Invalides |
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Upstream: Pont de la Concorde |
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