Pont de l'Alma
Pont de l’Alma | |
---|---|
![]() Pont de l'Alma, illuminated at night | |
Coordinates | 48°51′49″N 2°18′06″E / 48.8635°N 2.3018°ECoordinates: 48°51′49″N 2°18′06″E / 48.8635°N 2.3018°E |
Crosses | Seine |
Locale | Paris, France |
Official name | Pont de l'Alma |
Next upstream | Pont des Invalides |
Next downstream | Passerelle Debilly |
Characteristics | |
Design | Girder bridge |
Total length | 153 m (502 ft) |
Width | 42 m (138 ft) |
Location | |
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The Pont de l'Alma (English: Alma Bridge) is a road bridge in Paris, France across the Seine. It was named to commemorate the Battle of Alma during the Crimean War, in which the Ottoman-Franco-British alliance achieved victory over the Russian army, on 20 September 1854.
History[]
Construction[]
Construction of an arch bridge took place between 1854 and 1856. It was designed by Paul-Martin Gallocher de Lagalisserie and was inaugurated by Napoleon III on 2 April 1856. Each side of both of the two piers was decorated with a statue of military nature: a Zouave and a grenadier by Georges Diébolt, and a skirmisher and an artilleryman by Arnaud.
The Zouave statue and flooding[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Paris-zouave-pont-de-l-alma.jpg/170px-Paris-zouave-pont-de-l-alma.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Zouave_du_pont_de_l%27Alma_le_3_juin_2016.jpg/220px-Zouave_du_pont_de_l%27Alma_le_3_juin_2016.jpg)
The general public took the original bridge as a measuring instrument for water levels in times of flooding on the Seine: access to the footpaths by the river embankments usually was closed when the Seine's level reached the feet of The Zouave; when the water hit his thighs, the river was unnavigable. During the great flood of the Seine in 1910, the level reached his shoulders.[1] The French Civil Service used the Pont de la Tournelle, not the Pont de l'Alma, to gauge flood levels, and since 1868 uses the Pont d'Austerlitz.
Reconstruction[]
The bridge underwent complete reconstruction as a girder bridge between 1970 and 1974, as it had been too narrow to accommodate the increasing traffic both on and below it; moreover, the structure had subsided some 80 centimeters. Only the statue of the Zouave was retained: the Skirmisher was relocated to the Gravelle Stronghold in Vincennes, the Grenadier to Dijon, and the Artilleryman to La Fère.
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0b/Alma_tunnel_Paris.jpg/220px-Alma_tunnel_Paris.jpg)
The bridge is close to the Pont de l'Alma tunnel where Diana, Princess of Wales and three others were involved in a fatal car crash on 31 August 1997. They were being chased by paparazzi, and their chauffeur was driving under the influence of alcohol.[2][3] The Flame of Liberty (completed in 1987), at the bridge's north end has become an unofficial memorial to Diana. The square is now officially named place Diana.[4]
Technical specifications[]
Pont de l'Alma has a length of 153 meters (502 ft) and a width of 42 meters (138 ft).
Access[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Paris-Ponts-Alma.png)
The Metro station Alma - Marceau is near the north end of the bridge, RER station Pont de l'Alma near the south end.
References[]
- ^ "Paris readies for floods as Seine surges higher" (video). BBC News. 27 January 2018.
- ^ Whitney, Craig R. (31 August 1997). "Diana Killed in a Car Accident in Paris". The New York Times. p. 1. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ^ John King; John Beveridge (2001). Princess Diana: The Hidden Evidence. SP Books. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-56171-922-8. Retrieved 31 May 2013.
- ^ Chazan, David (30 May 2019). "Paris pays homage to Princess Diana by naming a square after her, 22 years after fatal car crash" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pont de l'Alma. |
- (in French) Pictures of the old and the new bridge
- (in French) Bridge history
- Bridges over the River Seine in Paris
- Bridges completed in 1856
- Bridges completed in 1974
- Buildings and structures in the 7th arrondissement of Paris
- Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris
- 1856 establishments in France
- Diana, Princess of Wales