Pont Saint-Bénezet

The Pont Saint-Bénezet , also known as the Pont d'Avignon , is a famous medieval bridge in the town of Avignon, in southern France. The bridge originally spanned the Rhône River between Avignon and Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on the left bank. It was built between 1171 and 1185, with an original length of some 900 m , but it suffered frequent collapses during floods and had to be reconstructed several times. Over the centuries, it became increasingly perilous as arches collapsed and were replaced by rickety wooden sections. The bridge was finally put out of use by a... catastrophic flood in 1668, which swept away much of the structure. It was subsequently abandoned and no more attempts were made to repair it. Since then, its surviving arches have successively collapsed or been demolished, and only four of the initial 22 arches remain intact today. The arches are elliptical, with the long axis vertical. This innovation in bridge building allowed spans of up to 35 meters, longer than any Roman arch spans.
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