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The
Pont d'Avignon, more properly the Pont St-Bénezet, 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
(2950 ft), 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 bridge's construction was inspired by Saint Bénézet, a
local shepherd boy who (according to tradition) was commanded
by angels to build a bridge across the river.
Although he was ridiculed at first, he dramatically
"proved" his divine inspiration by miraculously lifting a
huge block of stone. He won support for his project from
wealthy sponsors who formed themselves into a Bridge
Brotherhood to fund its construction. After his death, he
was interred on the bridge itself, in a small chapel
standing on one of the bridge's surviving piers on the
Avignon side.
The
bridge was also the site of devotion by the Rhône boatmen,
whose patron saint was Saint Nicholas. They initially
worshipped in the Chapel of Saint Nicholas on the bridge
itself (where Saint Bénézet's body was also interred) but
the increasing dilapidation of the bridge led to the clergy
refusing to preside over services for fear of a total
collapse.
A new chapel was erected on dry land in the 18th century
at the foot of the bridge, on the Avignon side.
The bridge had great strategic importance as the only fixed
river crossing between Lyon and the Mediterranean Sea. It
also formed the only river crossing between the Comtat
Venaissin, an enclave controlled by the Pope, and France
proper under the authority of the Kings of France. As such,
it was closely guarded on both sides of the river.
The left bank, which was controlled by the French crown,
was overlooked by the formidable fortress of the Tour
Phillippe le Bel and the citadel at Villeneuve-les-Avignon.
On the Avignon side, the bridge passed through a large
gatehouse erected in the 14th century (with major
modifications in the 15th century), passing through and over
the city wall and exiting via a ramp (now destroyed) which
led into the city. The song "Sur le pont d'Avignon"
On the bridge of AvignonThe bridge has achieved worldwide
fame through its commemoration by the song "Sur le pont
d'Avignon" ("On the bridge of Avignon"), the lyrics of which
are as follows:
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les beaux messieurs font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les bell' dames font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les jardiniers font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les couturiers font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les vignerons font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse, l'on y danse
Sur le pont d'Avignon
L'on y danse tous en rond
Les blanchisseus's font comm' ça
Et puis encore comm' ça
.....
In fact people would have danced beneath the bridge (sous
le pont) where it crossed a river island (the Ile de
Barthelasse) on its way to Villeneuve. The island was (and
still is) a popular recreation spot, where pleasure gardens
once stood and folk dancing was a popular pastime for many
years. The bridge itself is far too narrow to have
accommodated dancers.
The song was originally composed by the 16th century composer
Pierre Certon, though with a very different melody to its
present version and under the more accurate title of "Sus
(sic) le Pont d'Avignon". The modern version only dates from
the mid-19th century, when Adolphe Adam included it in an 1853
operetta entitled l'Auberge Pleine. It was popularised by an
1876 operetta which renamed the song, inaccurately, "Sur le
Pont d'Avignon."
Credits
: This article is licensed under the
GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from
the Wikipedia
article "Avignon".
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