Pont Alexandre III description and photos - France: Paris (Topic)

Pont Alexandre III description and photos - France: Paris. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. Title in English - Pont Alexandre III.

Photo and description

Pont Alexandre III is considered to be the most graceful and elegant bridge in Paris. It was built in honor of the Franco-Russian alliance and bears the name of the Russian tsar who initiated the alliance. The first stone of the construction was laid by Nicholas II, son of Alexander III, and the bridge was opened in the presence of the Russian ambassador Lev Urusov.

A new crossing was built for the 1900 World's Fair as part of a large-scale redevelopment of the western part of Paris. The result was the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, and between them - the Alexander III bridge, connecting the Esplanade of Invalides and the Champs Elysees region. The height of the bridge does not exceed 6 meters, so as not to obscure the majestic panoramas on both sides of the Seine.

Like the palaces, the bridge was built in the Beaux-Arts style, which means it is richly and lavishly decorated: sculptures of pegasus, cherubims, water spirits, nymphs of the Seine and Neva, golden coats of arms of France and Russia, lanterns. All decorations are made by different artists. At the entrances to the bridge, there are four seventeen-meter pillars with shining gilded sculptures, symbolizing certain periods of French history. These pillars are an example of a reasonable combination of beauty and utility: in fact, they are counterweights that counterbalance a massive arch.

Thus, the magnificent decoration of the bridge is combined with the latest engineering solutions for that time. The single-arch steel bridge was one of the first prefabricated structures in the world - its elements were produced at the factories of Le Creusot, and then transported by barges to Paris, where a huge, over the entire width of the Seine, a crane was already prepared.

The Alexander III bridge has a "brother" in St. Petersburg - the Trinity Bridge across the Neva with a very similar decor. It was designed by the Eiffel firm and built by the Batignolles firm, with the foundation stone of the then French President Felix Faure.

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Topic: Pont Alexandre III description and photos - France: Paris.