Avignon: Pont St-Bénézet
Sur, or is it Sous, le Pont d'Avignon?
The Rhone at Avignon is very wide and fast flowing and nowadays there are two modern bridges but in medieval times crossing the river was very difficult. Legend has it that in 1177 a young shepherd called Bénézet heard voices which told him to build a bridge. Soon volunteers formed a Bridge Brotherhood and by 1185 a 900m/2950ft bridge resplendent with 22 arches linked Avignon with Villeneuve-lès-Avignon on the opposite bank.
Today’s Elegant Ruin
The Brotherhood had to rebuild Pont St-Bénézet a couple of times following devastating floods. However, the catastrophic inondation of 1668 finally swept away most of the structure leaving the elegant ruin we see today. Explore this amazing bridge and visit the Chapelle St-Nicolas with its two sanctuaries, one of which is dedicated to St-Bénézet.
The well-known song which children the world over have learned is arguably a little misleading. The lyrics suggest that people danced on the bridge – ‘Sur le pont d’Avignon l’on y danse tous en rond’. In fact people used to dance on the islands in the Rhone under the arches! Therefore, the words should be ‘sous le pont’ or under the bridge!